Should you feel guilty for being selfish?

Should you feel guilty for wanting to be rich?

Should you feel guilty for wanting to be famous?

Should you feel guilty for wanting to be successful?

The point is...

Should you feel guilty for being selfish?

Source: bigthink.com

A dear friend of mine gifted me a book which compares the 2 ideologies of Individualism (prioritising your individual goals and benefits) and Collectivism (prioritising the society's prosperity).

As I read the book, the one thought that kept coming to my mind was "Hell! I got everything wrong all these years of life on earth"

From birth, we are habituated to align our values to the ones set by society. We are taught ideas of equality, collective responsibility, equitable distribution, and everything else supposed to be meant for the collective good.

In the process, we tend to generalise everything to the extent that it is alright if our mistakes are common rather than fresh ones. When we go to the doctor and if the diagnosis is little unfamiliar to us, we might start to panic. But if the doctor says, "Nowadays everyone of your age has it" will take away a lot of our fears and anxieties.

A friend of mine once said, "I want to work for the money, I love money. I am sorry for making this statement but it is who I am". Now when I think about it, why should one be apologetic for it? Society would say it is selfish to make such a statement, but it is what makes them happy and they deserve if they work their ass off.

An influencer I totally adore, during one of the candid sessions, confessed she pursued engineering and realised it wasn't meant for her. She told, "I wasted 4 years of my life and am not going to ruin the rest." She went on to study what she loved and is an inspiration for a lot of young women today. How amazing is that?

Altruism is also one kind of selfishness as it brings joy.

The human race has come this far till the age of artificial intelligence on the back of selfish ideas like survival of the fittest, capitalism, free market, a hell lot of unique and selfish ideas.

BE SELFISH AND BE HAPPY...