Why Should You Be Selfish?

The cruelest person, as we have been told, is the one who is selfish. Is there any truth in it actually? What is selfishness anyway? As per the dictionary, selfishness is "thinking only about your own needs or wishes and not about other people’s." Isn't that what we all are? Selfish people. Are we all not thinking about our own needs and wishes? And I don't see anything wrong in that. If we are not taking care of our own needs and wishes, who else is going to? If we are not supposed to be selfish and take care of others, wouldn't that breed a whole lot of people who live irresponsible lives and expect help from people who lived responsible lives? Who is selfish here? Is it the one who has taken care of themself responsibly and doesn't depend on anyone else? Or is it the one who lived an irresponsible life and demands help from others? 

Of course, there are some unfortunate people affected by life, but not because of their irresponsibility, who aren't able
to take care of themselves, and they definitely need help. It's absolutely fine for them to expect to be taken care by those who are comparatively more fortunate in lives. But who is going to take care of them if everyone is selfish? Ironic, but the responsible, selfish people are and will take care of them. Not because they should, but because they want to, again for their own selfish reasons. 

Think about this: if you have ever helped anyone, did you not do it for your selfish reasons? Either it makes YOU happy, or satisfies YOUR ego, or to balance the bad deeds YOU did, or YOU believe in the concept of karma that if you do good today, you will get it back someday. You may have your own reason, but at the end you have a reason, and that makes you selfish, regardless. 

Selfishness is not to be mistaken for taking care of your own needs and wishes at the expense of others. If you hurt or harm someone else to fulfill your own needs, that's being inhuman, inconsiderate and incompassionate. Someone who takes care of themselves, without being considerate toward others is the opposite of selfish. And, selflessness isn't the opposite of selfishness.

Selflessness is divine; it's what love is supposed to be. Selflessness is putting yourself behind others, but without expecting anything in return, and totally accepting the irresponsibility of not taking care of yourself. 

If one isn't capable of being selfless, one can at least be selfish, be responsible for oneself, and take care of others out of that selfishness.