Growing up, most of us were taught that being selfish is wrong. We were told constantly by our parents, our teachers. If we were raised practicing a certain religion, we were told of the selfless acts of the people of the past and told that we should aim to act the same way so that we could experience “true paradise” when we left this mortal plane. Society as a whole has been teaching its citizens that being selfish is not an admirable trait.
Personally, any time I had any selfish thoughts, I would hear my mother and father in my head telling me, “Don’t be selfish, Alex”. Then I would go against my instincts and not act in my own best interests for fear of being called selfish. I remember my best friend telling me once many years ago that I was “a selfish person” and at the time it was the most hurtful thing ever said to me.
I struggled with this for most of my life. And please don’t mistake this as me blaming my parents for any troubles I may have had, that’s not the case at all. They were raising me with the best of intentions and only passing down the lessons they were taught growing up.
I finally came to the realization that in order to succeed, really in most things, you have to become more selfish. That goes for anything, not just health and fitness.
Interestingly, the people that society as a whole has propped up as role models, as “success stories”, all got to where they are by being incredibly selfish. Funny, though, we are told by those same people to be more charitable, to be more giving. It’s one big contradiction.
Hollywood actors are rich, famous and looked at by a large segment of society to be told how to act and what to believe. They all have great wealth and fortune but lecture everyone else about how we should act. The same goes for athletes and politicians, societal elites. We are bombarded in all media with stories of how charitable they are or how they visit sick children in hospitals, all great things, and it inspires us to be more like that. But few of us have the means or the time to do such things.
Think about it, though… if you want to start a business, you must devote countless hours to that business in order for it to be successful. That means less time with friends and family. But if you want that business to succeed, that’s what’s required. You have to be selfish.
For almost two decades, I was involved in the world of professional wrestling. That’s an incredibly difficult profession, for obvious reasons, but in order to really succeed and make it to the top in that world, you must be selfish.
The same can be said for any other professional sport. In order for an athlete to make the team, earn a lot of money, get endorsement deals, big-money contracts, etc. , they must be selfish.
Bringing it to health and fitness, you have to eat right, drink enough water, get enough rest, exercise often and properly… you have to do things that may not be popular with those around you or fit into their social norms or atmosphere. You have to be selfish and do what’s right for you.
It took me most of my life to realize this. It took me decades to “erase the programming” of society and figure out that it’s okay to be selfish. And like with anything else in life, there must be a balance in order for everything to align properly. We have to be careful not to become too self-absorbed and selfish. We still gotta look out for our family and loved ones, our children.
If you struggle with this at all, in any way, know now that it’s ok to be selfish. It’s ok to have your own best interests in mind. In my view, we all collectively could be better off as a society if we were more selfish and worked on ourselves to be the best people that we could be.
Imagine if we were all taught early on that it was ok to focus on ourselves to be as strong, healthy, and educated as possible. To become financially independent early on in our lives.
Then, the majority of society could be stronger, healthier, smarter, wealthier. We could then assist those less fortunate than us who needed help. Wouldn’t that be something? But that’s not reality. That’s not the world we live in.
In order to succeed, be more selfish. Take the time (your most valuable asset) required for your physical, mental, spiritual improvement to better yourself. It’s the only way to really truly succeed. And once you get to where YOU want or need to be, feel free to reach down from the top and help a few other people out.
Always Activate. Get Going.
