Help Yourself First! It’s Not That Selfish

Many people look at all the suffering in the world and wish that they could help end it. Sadly, for some that concern causes inaction or even worse strife in their own lives, or that of their family. Often, when we watch television or troll The Internet, we are inundated by commercials of starving children or suffering animals. If you are a person who watches the news a lot, you may be subjected to stories of various tragedies around the world. There becomes a point when this information begins to be mentally corrosive or we become immune to all of it. Some would say that we should not ignore all of the suffering it the world. That is true, to some extent, however, we must avoid becoming overwhelmed by it all. I feel that the best way to end suffering in the world is to start within our own lives. Before we can truly begin to make changes in the world we must start first, in our own minds, and second, within our own families.

The first step that we need to take, is creating a positive mental attitude that we are going to change the course of our own future and make life better for our own family. This has nothing to do with being selfish. This what must be done for a change in the world. Everything in this world is connected and affects everything else. If we are off balance it has an effect on another part of the world. This may not be apparent at first glance. If you do not first try to have a state of well-being yourself, that impacts on your family, friends, co-workers, and anyone whom you come in contact with. It starts a chain reaction that can find its way around the globe very shortly. Focus on achieving happiness within yourself first and then let it spread to others.

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Another area that we need to focus on if we truly want to change the world is our own success. I am not talking about purely a financial success. I am talking about having a successful life in all areas. In order for you to be in a state where you can affect change globally, you must first focus on being a success in your relationships, your career, your faith, and your hobbies. This is in no way meaning that you need to wait until the end of your life before making an impact on the world. It means that you need to keep focus on striving forward and finding happiness in that journey. It means that you should not get sidetracked along the way by all of the suffering in the world. If you see a need and can help out, do so. If you see a need and have no means of helping out, let those who can, do so.