Self-Interest Is Natural
Society wants you to focus your time and attention on others. Self-interest is natural. There is nothing wrong with being selfish. You must invest in yourself before you can help other people.
Society praises altruism. Modern society encourages people to relinquish their inherent interests to belong to a group. You are told to give up your self-interest for a broad and generic concept labeled the “greater good.”
All three are ways that society indoctrinates you to go against your interests. Here is why self-interest is natural.
The Problem With Group Mentality
Herd mentality is a problem, yet it is encouraged by society. You can see it in the stock market with people chasing the latest stock. You can see it with the fashion trends. You can hear it in your conversations with people when they say they are afraid of doing something because someone may find out or it is not culturally acceptable.
The longer you continue to look to a group or “society” for answers, the more you may discover you cannot find the answer. You are told to focus on other people and things for your happiness. You are told to respect “experts” and public figures. Yet, those who say they act on your behalf as a “public servant” act in their own self-interest.
The longer you follow the crowd and do what society tells you, the longer it will take you to reach your goals. You may never reach your goals if you continue to follow the crowd. You can start to have success once you begin to act in your self-interest.
Self-Interest Is Natural
Society wants you to work against your inherent self-interest. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines self-interest as “a concern for one’s own advantage and well-being” and acting in “one's own interest or advantage.”
The longer you fight against your self-interest, the more you will delay learning about yourself, improving yourself, and building wealth.
It is natural to want to care for one’s well-being. It is natural to want to do things that are to one’s own advantage. Working to improve one’s interests in various aspects of your life is natural, from health to finances.
You are the one who is responsible for where you are in life. The sooner you accept that it is best to act in one’s self-interest, the sooner you can discard the illusion that society says to always focus on others.
Invest In Yourself
The best thing you can do is to invest in yourself. There are a variety of ways that you can invest in yourself. Some ways you can invest in yourself are:
Time.
Invest in other people.
Add value.
Discover your passion.
Hone your skills.
Monetize your skills.
Take action.
Time
You can start to value your time. We all have the same amount of time in a day and year. You can practice time management skills to get more time out of your day.
A basic way to get more time each day is to wake up and go to bed later. You can also make a to-do list of the top three to five tasks to do each day.
Invest In Other People
You can invest in other people. You can do this by providing value to people in your life and professional network and working to grow people who value your message.
When you give value to other people, some may be able to help you when you need assistance with a project or want to learn about another area.
Add Value
You can add value to other people. You can do this by providing information, knowledge, and experience, giving thoughts from your skillset, or by being entertaining.
People will want to be around or follow you when you add value. This is also vital for building an audience on social media, a newsletter, or your email list.
Discover Your Passion
You want to discover your passion. You want to know what you enjoy doing. You will be happier working when your work is what you obsess over.
If you do something you hate, you will be miserable. When you are miserable, it can lead to unhealthy habits that hinder your success. You may drink excessively when you are off to forget about your job. Or, you may do another vice to excess.
There are different types of work environments. You could work with a large group of people. You could work with only a few people. You could work alone.
I have found that I work the best on my own. I do not work well in large group environments. This means that I would not be a good fit for corporate jobs.
You want to understand what type of environment you work best. You can then align that workplace style with your passion.
Once you know what your passion is. You want to find a way to monetize it!
Hone Your Skills
You want to continue to improve your skill set. This will help you to be more competitive in your industry or niche. The more time you spend improving your skills, the more you can set yourself apart from your competitors, people in your niche, or your co-workers.
Your skills should naturally align with your interests. Once you have become a master of your skills, you want to find ways to profit from your skill set.
Monetize Your Skills
You want to monetize your skills. A person cannot live without making money.
You want to find the overlap between your skill sets, passion and monetize them. It could be working for an employer. It could mean starting your own business.
You can then learn the basics of money management once you have consistent cash flow. You can save money. You can invest your money. You can invest in different types of assets.
Money is required to live. Money is a tool. Money can help you reach your goals.
Take Action
It would be best if you took action. Knowledge or skills without application are useless.
You can take action to find ways to increase your income. You can take action to work to lose weight. You can take action to manage your time better.
You can take action to work to reach your goals. You can work smart and hard. You must take responsibility for your life to live the life you want to live.
Knowledge is not power. Applied knowledge is power.
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Summary
Society wants you to be mediocre. Society wants you to get validation from other people and things rather than yourself, which goes against your self-interest.
It is best to accept that you will act in your self-interest. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself. There is nothing wrong with being selfish. You must first help yourself before you can help others.