What Is Selfishness?

Selfless acts of kindness are advertised as the only way service should be given. The need to make sure oneself is portrayed as “giving enough” to friends, family, and on social media look to be more of the focus than the actual act of service itself. Contrarily, selfishness gets a bad reputation as the “wrong” way to serve, and that those who are selfish are only thinking of themselves. People who think that selfishness 100% of the time shows as an unfavorable attribute to carry do not fully understand the importance of having some form of selfishness to further become a selfless person. Caring for oneself first allows for a person to more fully give all of one's energy, time, and resources to helping others. Understanding the world’s negative

John Johnson has this same idea of what he calls “good selfishness” and explains to readers that more advantages come to others, and ourselves, if we come fully prepared to serve with our personal problems taken care of, rather than halfway do a service job because we are worried about issues that do not pertain to the act of kindness (Johnson). People who are completely self-absorbed in their personal issues are not able to give their all for the service experience. Those receiving service may also feel an attitude of carelessness given off by the server, which can leave a bad taste in the recipient's mouth. Serving in any capacity is great, but proves hard for people who are receiving the service to detect any sincereness if one acts passively while serving. An example of this concept can clear up any confusion about this form of selfishness that is deemed as acceptable. If person A has a paper deadline for his final essay of his career due at noon, and person B comes over at 11:55 to ask for help with trying to figure out the problems of the copier, what is person A supposed to do? The “right” answer would be for person A to go help person B with the copier because that displays the selfless answer. Thinking of it from a different perspective though, person A’s paper should prioritize

In order to become self-reliant in anything, one must act diligently selfish in doing and taking care of the issue to become fully independent of it. Larry Hiller wrote a talk over the importance of becoming self-reliant, he said, “The more self-reliant we are, the greater our ability to be an agent for good” (Hiller). Nothing will get done or change unless we first change ourselves. Getting all of the “kinks and knots” out of our system will allow us to give more selflessly once we are all straightened out. There are different aspects in which a person can become self-reliant in, but two substantial ones are financial independence and physical independence. To become financially self-reliant, a person needs to work on budgeting and staying out of debt. He would need to have self-control and remain patient while trying to get his bank account to a stable place. A person needs to take school seriously, and diligently study for his education, knowing that his education will lead him to a better life. Finally, striving to attain a stable job to support them self. After becoming comfortable with finances, then that person can now easily give money to charity, family members, or strangers without wondering if they will have money for gas. Becoming financially independent allows someone to showcase