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Selfish or Selfless: Why a Little Bit of Both is Healthy

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It’s a fact that your life is not about you. If you haven’t figured that out yet, than don’t worry, give it some time and you will. For those of you who are married and for those of you with children, you know all too well that you live for others. Personally, I’ve got two under two and they keep me and my wife busier than we can often handle. There are days when we feel like we can’t do anything for ourselves because we’re so focused on them.

We were created by God, for God. Our short lives on Earth are designed to get us to be more like God who is love, to learn how to love like He loves. Selflessness is our acceptance of this truth.

When It’s Okay to Be Selfish

Now, it’s okay to be selfish, sometimes. Not always. Let me clarify. What I mean is that it is important to focus on ourselves at times. A leader needs to take care of oneself. That includes you: parent, spouse, teacher, co-worker, employee, employer. You are a leader and you can’t challenge people to be the best-version-of-themselves if you aren’t at your best. That means you need to take care of yourself, mind, body, and soul.

If you’re tired, hungry, and carrying a bundle of burdens than you are not very likely to be a good leader to anyone. This means that it’s time to be selfish. It’s time to put some quality time into to getting your stuff together. So be selfish, then be selfless. Work on yourself before you work on anybody else.