If someone calls you selfish, it may not sound like a compliment. But that trait in your character can really make you a better person, psychology experts say. Psychologists say that it is in our nature to think and care about our own needs first. However, this instinct developed a bad reputation and became the source of negative emotions such as fear and guilt.
We suggest you take a look at situations where practicing healthy selfishness can really make your personality grow and shine.
Enjoying Your Time Alone
Spending time with yourself and taking care of your own needs is a very important part of your overall happiness. People who interfere with their alone time may have a hard time being alone; they may feel bored or unhappy when they are alone.
But it’s not your fault, and you have a moral right to enjoy your own time if you don’t want to share your “silent hours” with anyone else at this time.
Making Different Decisions Than Others
If you want to go your own way that is different from other people’s beliefs, that’s fine. If you don’t want to get married, have children, or even have a job that most people would consider normal, the choice is yours.
Making that decision for someone else can of course be selfish, but choosing something for yourself just means that you know what you want from your own life.
Not Replying To People Immediately
While it may be selfish to neglect the people who trust you, it is not selfish to set your priorities. If you get a text message or call while cooking, it’s absolutely fine to manage your chores before answering the call.
You can call them back and you don’t have to put everything aside to answer someone.
Treating Yourself
In addition to taking care of the people close to you, it is vital that you take care of yourself, as you must love yourself as much as the important people in your life.
While it’s selfish to only worry about yourself, you need to realize that your happiness is your priority, so if that extra pair of shoes is going to make you happy, you probably shouldn’t think twice about buying them.
Not Living With A Toxic Spouse For The Sake Of Kids
People with somewhat broken marriages sometimes claim that they remain a couple because of the children. They are convinced that their children will grow up better in a family in conflict, except for the negative impact of divorce.
But as psychologists argue, children tend to copy their parents’ relationship model when they grow up, and when we divorce a toxic spouse, we not only become happier, but we prevent our children from suffering and struggling in their relationships.
Not Always Following The “respect The Elders” Rule
Since the beginning of time, we are used to relying on older people for knowledge and experience in life. Now, with the rapid progress of technology, the younger generation is better educated than the older ones.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we know everything by the time we graduate from college, but we may want to rely less on our elders to learn what we need to know in life, and we shouldn’t be blamed for that.
What other situations have you been in where you were considered selfish but actually weren’t? Share your experience with us in the comments.
