“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.”- Oscar Wilde
I denied a friends comment on me as "sELfiSh/sELf cEntErEd pErSoN" during my first year of my college!! I couldn't accept this statement when it came from a person who was dear to my heart. That day I thought I wasn't a selfish person, but after I traversed a couple of phases and seen quite a few people in this half a dozen years I have realized couple of things,
A) I was selfish THEN.
B) Everyone Are !!
C) Degree of Selfishness varies b/w each person.
D) Being sELfiSh is not wrong as long as it doesn't affect others !!
Leave A as it is my own personal life. But coming to point B and C, why Am I making a statement like that, Why, What made me say that ? Going by hypothesis - "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" we humans live our life with that as a THUMB RULE knowingly or unknowingly in this world. By living like this we automatically fall prey for being selfish - U may ask how ? If you think deeply - A work is done for some motive/need to satisfy SELF/FAMILY/SOCIETY. Whatever the cover we can take to hide ourselves in these forms - it will cover, to the outside world but to our conscience we may or may not know that whatever we do is for OUR sake. Selfishness is taught/breed/seen by our society in different forms like Passion,Goals,Vision etc. It might be little harsh but IT's THE HARSH REALITY !!
1) As a student you submit assignments first - Why ?
2) As a professional you finish your work as early as you can and report it to your head - Why ?
3) As a CEO you want to show profits to stake holders - Why ?
4) As a PM/President of a country you try to curb INFLATION - Why ?
To get good marks, To get raise in post/salary, To build the brand, To come to Power again - Degree of Selfishness varies !! If you look at the positives of this selfishness everything is good.Is it not good to get good marks ? Is it not good to finish the project before the deadline ? Is it not good to put INFLATION under check ? Everything is good from our angle but if you see the other side of the coin, Not everyone can finish or be sincere as you are to submit before the deadline/ your ways to curb inflation might/is/are affecting other economy - so here we pave the way for the COMPETITION to start and for SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST life cycle to lead us to crooked /wrong /unethical way of achieving it !!
When you are selfish for your improvement or your family's improvement or your country's - then it is good as a person/ as a family member/ as a citizen but it might/is/are affecting some other person/family/country somewhere else !! Yes one selfish motive of UK to make a statement "SUN NEVER SETS IN BRITAIN" true brought 2 world wars, birth and death of Japan, Germany. If US of A is not sELfiSh for natural resources then why they are still allowing their soldiers/Iranians/Humans to die ? Cycle keeps repeating in itself - only the nations/ boundaries keep changing TAKING TURNS forgetting the basics - WE ALL ARE UNDER ONE ROOF - EARTH !! We can BE SELFISH - wHo iS nOt ?? AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT OTHERS - Its very tough but Doable !! Yes and it is not wrong to be selfish as THAT drives the world in a healthy direction to some extent as LONG AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT OTHERS !! If not this "What made us where WE ARE ?"
A) I was selfish THEN.
B) Everyone Are !!
C) Degree of Selfishness varies b/w each person.
D) Being sELfiSh is not wrong as long as it doesn't affect others !!
Leave A as it is my own personal life. But coming to point B and C, why Am I making a statement like that, Why, What made me say that ? Going by hypothesis - "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST" we humans live our life with that as a THUMB RULE knowingly or unknowingly in this world. By living like this we automatically fall prey for being selfish - U may ask how ? If you think deeply - A work is done for some motive/need to satisfy SELF/FAMILY/SOCIETY. Whatever the cover we can take to hide ourselves in these forms - it will cover, to the outside world but to our conscience we may or may not know that whatever we do is for OUR sake. Selfishness is taught/breed/seen by our society in different forms like Passion,Goals,Vision etc. It might be little harsh but IT's THE HARSH REALITY !!
1) As a student you submit assignments first - Why ?
2) As a professional you finish your work as early as you can and report it to your head - Why ?
3) As a CEO you want to show profits to stake holders - Why ?
4) As a PM/President of a country you try to curb INFLATION - Why ?
To get good marks, To get raise in post/salary, To build the brand, To come to Power again - Degree of Selfishness varies !! If you look at the positives of this selfishness everything is good.Is it not good to get good marks ? Is it not good to finish the project before the deadline ? Is it not good to put INFLATION under check ? Everything is good from our angle but if you see the other side of the coin, Not everyone can finish or be sincere as you are to submit before the deadline/ your ways to curb inflation might/is/are affecting other economy - so here we pave the way for the COMPETITION to start and for SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST life cycle to lead us to crooked /wrong /unethical way of achieving it !!
When you are selfish for your improvement or your family's improvement or your country's - then it is good as a person/ as a family member/ as a citizen but it might/is/are affecting some other person/family/country somewhere else !! Yes one selfish motive of UK to make a statement "SUN NEVER SETS IN BRITAIN" true brought 2 world wars, birth and death of Japan, Germany. If US of A is not sELfiSh for natural resources then why they are still allowing their soldiers/Iranians/Humans to die ? Cycle keeps repeating in itself - only the nations/ boundaries keep changing TAKING TURNS forgetting the basics - WE ALL ARE UNDER ONE ROOF - EARTH !! We can BE SELFISH - wHo iS nOt ?? AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT OTHERS - Its very tough but Doable !! Yes and it is not wrong to be selfish as THAT drives the world in a healthy direction to some extent as LONG AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT OTHERS !! If not this "What made us where WE ARE ?"
6 comments:
Vinod,
Very much impressed by your writing and inspired by your thoughts.. I am feeling a litle jealous on you. Why am I feeling J form within...... Can u do a little research.....Awaiting few catchive paragraphs from you on topic..aeap :)
Ram.
be selfish but don't say selfish ;)
- YoU KnoW Who!
Bro,
Good to see that you are doing lot of intrrospection,Keep doing,but i would like to add something here,Unless & untill the act we do doesnt affect/hurt others then it can't be termed a selfish act & once it hurts others then you call it as a selfish act,As that action was exectuded/done w/o considering others feelings so here we are selfish,For me this look better,So let's try not to be selfish(from my perspective),May be iam putting in otherway but i have attempted to convey the same message
Vinod,
I would say you need to take everything in the aspect of how it works well for you, it doesn't mean that you need to be selfish, I would like to point to the wikipedia's def: its here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfish
It clearly means "It is the act of placing one's own needs or desires above the needs or desires of others."
It would be better if you take it from the perspective of the result of an selfish act. So for you to decide whether the act of selfishness is that ok or not depends on the type of selfish act you perform.
It's just as simple as you encounter in each day, being in a competitive world try to do as best as you can, if you were not allowed to do map those acts against your principles, if that act seems to break your principles, just quit from performing that act do as you like to do. As in think this world is created for you to accomodate everyone on this land and for a better living.
Just overriding other thoughts for a good purpose makes some sense.
Find that balance and you are set.
I can see a difference in your attitude in writing this post, while you start it seems you were in a different mood and while you complete you were in a different mind set, it seems to me you were in the middle of something, sorry if I am wrong.
I may be diversified to an extent here, but it would be good to attack this problem from all the corners :)
Take care buddy
One thing that got in ma mind long tym after reding yar post is dat its not effective utilisation of your life given by God if u r nt selfish. It neednt b correct always.
Thx 4 all ur feedback - i'm happy I made all u 2 think !!
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