Selfishness is commonly defined as the habit of looking out for oneself first, to the exclusion of looking out for others. By this definition we see the word as negative, when it really isn't.

Everyone should look out for themselves first before they look out for others. If you're not in good shape emotionally/financially/physically, how can you help anyone else?

What selfishness really is, is the act of expecting others to look out for us instead of them doing the same thing each of us should be doing- looking out for Number One.


You're not doing yourself any good by not being selfish- in fact, you're hurting yourself. By offering help to others when you haven't helped yourself first, you're essentially weakening everyone involved in the process. Once you are good, then you can make sure everyone else is also good. Between now and then, be selfish.