“At the end of the day, we are all driven by self interest rather than other interest”. Is this a comment that sounds familiar? Have you heard yourself saying and believing it? Then as often occurs, we go through an ‘attack of guilts’, repeatedly judging …”self interest= bad person, other interest= good person…Am I a bad person?”
Perhaps in thinking and reflecting on ‘interests’ we are trapping ourselves in an unnecessary space. Could we reframe that space and see happens?
Consider an alternative reality – one where we move away from a mindset which maintains an either/or focus, e.g. we are EITHER self- interested OR other-interested towards a mindset which celebrates the idea that our sense of self can only be realized through our relationships with others.
Might it be the case that being in this mindset offers us hope and inspiration? Would it help us to focus on the idea that every interaction and every conversation with another has the potential to offer us a new path, a different journey or an avenue for opportunity that was previously unknown to us. In this mindset, it is not about self or other ‘interest’, it is about what we can achieve together.
How often does this either/or positioning impact upon the way we think and talk about the world around us?