I cannot stand it!!! Shut up with that bu******!
Being selfless is widely seen as a quality, as a character trait you should strive for. But who really is? And even more importantly: What does that really mean?
We find seemingly selfless behaviour all the time in our everyday-life. Helping an old lady cross the street. Carrying a heavy bag up the stairs for a disabled person. Giving food and money to homeless people. You don't get anything back, do you?
You do it for the sole reason of helping others. That is at least what everyone is saying. Even when it comes to doing paid community work people still claim to do it only to help others.
Then I always ask them very politely if they would still do the job if they weren't getting paid anymore, even though I honestly feel like telling them to just shut up with this bullsh** at this point and guess what, they wouldn't. What a surprise!
Is an action selfless when there is no money involved?
But giving food and money to homeless people has to be a selfless act since there is no money involved, right?
Wrong! It is not selflessness that makes us do it, it is our conscience. For evolutionary purposes we feel like we need to help.
Only if we follow that feeling and take action, we get to feel good ourselves. I guess in some way you could call conscience the human slavedriver. But since the human race generally prefers to use euphemisms, you can replace "slavedriver" with "motivator", just to make yourself feel better. But remember: Changing the term doesn't change the situation;)
Conclusion
Try to be honest to others and also yourself. I know it is not easy for most, especially since integrity is sadly not painted on as easily as makeup is. For everyone who still thinks he is some kind of special selfless Samaritan, you need some kind of medical attention!
Hope you liked this piece!