Go Ahead and Be Selfish. But in a Good Way.

There’s a negative misconception that focusing on oneself is selfish.

But being selfish is not only good—it’s essential.

For the record, the suffix “ish” means “belonging to.” The word “selfish” literally means “belonging to self”; there is no negative connotation as we’ve created in our western culture.

The same misconception applies to the words “self-centered” (meaning “centered in self”); these terms aren’t originally negative in meaning, only in the meanings we’ve applied to them.

Belong...