"Worth Every Penny"

This guys tuition has been money well spent. He's pretty smart and if there can remain any doubt as you read this it will be dispelled in the second last paragraph!.....


.....Hello! First of all, I am honoured to be guest blogging tonight, and I hope I don't bore you all. The goal of my post tonight is to make some reflections that are in line with my father's journey on this blog but that are from my own learning and personal perspective.

One of the running themes, I feel, of my dad's blog has been selfishness versus selflessness. When am I being selfish? And is that a good thing or a bad thing? When I do volunteer work for my own gain or pleasure, am I being selfish? When I dedicate so much time and energy to my Ironman, to myself, am I being selfish? When I'm not interested in other people's troubles because I'm too focused on my own pain, am I being selfish?

Dad said a little while ago,

"I think I've done a few things that may in the normal course of events be considered unselfish but always there has been some kind of feedback... some kind of reward. Is that truly unselfish then?"

There is an American philosopher named James Rachels who argued that there is a fundamental distinction between selfishness and self-interest. Altruism is the opposite of selfishness, not the opposite of self-interest. The main idea here is that altruistic behaviour (or 'unselfish' behaviour) occurs frequently, however it may still be self-interested. Self-interest does not negate the altruistic behaviour.

Moreover, there is a philosophical theory out there called 'psychological egoism', which asserts that we are always, in fact, motivated by our own interests. No matter what we do, all of our behaviour is self-interested. This just means, simply put, that we do whatever we want to do. And sometimes, what we want to do is to help other people. If we want to help other people then our behaviour is unselfish (because it helps others), but is still self-interested (because it satisfies our wants).

The conclusion to take away from this is that because I derive satisfaction from unselfish behaviour doesn't stop the behaviour from being unselfish. If you choose to volunteer because you gain pleasure and satisfaction from helping others, you are not thusly or consequently being selfish.

Behaviour can also be motivated by both self-interest and the interests of others. If I act both out of other-interest and out of self-interest, the other-interest is still genuine, even if it is not pure. And even if it is difficult, or even impossible, to be completely and purely other-interested (and to not be self-interested), it doesn't mean we are incapable of being purely unselfish.

There are even some that argue our own interests should always motivate us. If we aren't self-interested, if we don't do things that help ourselves and make us happy, then we can't really make the people around us happy. The people around us will be affected by our own unhappy state of being, a state in which we have very little power to help others. We need to serve ourselves in order to also serve others.

So maybe we need to give ourselves a break. Perhaps we aren't being selfish just because we do things for our own pleasure as well as the pleasure of others. Maybe being self-interested isn't necessarily such a bad thing? Perhaps accomplishing an Ironman, and focusing on one's own physical (and mental) health, does more good for others than one would believe. Perhaps being equipped with a happy and healthy self is more potent for helping to support your family and children than is being equipped with wealth. And perhaps overcoming your own pain ultimately lends yourself to being a good teacher for others. All in all, maybe we should just relax and do what feels right.

Finally, I just want to say publicly that I love my dad and I think he's the greatest, wisest, smartest person ever (yes, even wiser and smarter than you, Aunt Cory! Though you're pretty brilliant, too.) And also to everyone, on his blog my dad is always right, so it is henceforth futile to disagree in the comments section.

And that's all! Happy holidays everyone! Have fun with whomever and whatever you celebrate! I’d like to leave you with one of my favourite quotations; a small quote that I think speaks volumes:

“Let the world change you, and you can change the world.”

Peace,
Mike

"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." ---Malcolm Forbes

“Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant."---Epictetus

love
peter