Distinction #9

Healthy Selfishness vs Harmful Selfishness

Mother Theresa herself said she was selfish as she loved and enjoyed taking care of the poor and sick children in Calcutta. That can be described as healthy selfishness because it includes the good of others.

On occasion, we may be selfish to protect ourselves from some destructive force at work in another individual or a situation.

Mostly, we are selfish for our own benefit just to cater to our fears and that type can be described as harmful selfishness because it focuses on our separatedness from others. It is good neither for us as it strengthens our fears, nor for others because we withhold loving behavior away from them.

No one is ever truly selfish, there are only people who behave selfishly out of fear!