Selfish
This was originally posted at the Life In Perpetual Beta site, however, I felt that it was too much of a tangent for the theme of the site, so I’ve removed it and placed it here. To view the video interview, click here.
Meeting Carin was one of the highlights of my trip to NY. Not only was she charismatic, knowledgeable, funny, and gracious, she also fed me and my film crew the best chocolate we’ve ever had. Which is why it’s hard for me to take issue with a point that she brought up about not being selfish enough. What exactly does that mean?
- ?sel-fish adjective
1: concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others
2: arising from concern with one’s own welfare or advantage in disregard of others <a selfish act>
From my perspective I think Carin is being incredibly selfish in choosing her family over her work, doesn’t she know she has a larger responsibility to the world to create amazing art? Who is she to prioritize what matters most? I guess it matters who one thinks of as “others”. In the context that Carin is thinking of Others, it’s her family, it’s her friends, it’s her students. She goes on to say that they are the most important to her, so once again, from my perspective – she’s looking out for numero uno. She’s selfishly looking out for what’s important to her, and I respect her for knowing what that is, even if it’s a knowing she wrestles with.
I for one am a huge proponent for being selfish. I think people should do exactly and precisely what make them happy, and do it often. Problem is, I don’t think most people know exactly what that is that does make them happy, they have no idea what they want, which is why I think “selfish” has gotten such a bad wrap. Being selfish is not being a pig headed ass, it’s taking care of home, taking care of heart, doing what makes you feel best. For Mother Theresa, that was serving the poor, for Michael Jordan playing sports. Both of them selfishly doing what made their heart sing and inspiring millions to live more selfishly.
Being selfless doesn’t solve anything in the long term, being selfish, being 100% serving of your own happiness, that kind of thinking can change the world.
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