What Putting Yourself First Really Means
It’s not about doing whatever you feel like.
Some people put themselves first in the worst possible way. Maybe you’ve noticed. They scurry from the slightest flicker of responsibility. Like rats from an LED bulb.
Don’t you dare interfere with their personal time — which mainly involves talking too loud at Starbucks.
Or maybe pursuing some kind of passion with complete recklessness and disregard for others.
Possibly going to strip clubs every night.
Almost every one of us has listened to a deadbeat boyfriend or girlfriend use this line in a breakup monologue. “I need to start putting myself first.” You’d like to ask them what’s new. They’ve been putting themselves first for a while now. Occasionally, they’ll need to justify an even more egregious act of selfishness. So the line comes in handy.
The logic of “putting yourself first” has probably justified a lot of childish behavior. Spoken in a certain tone, it sounds immature as hell. So what does it actually mean to put yourself first? Well, let’s start with what it doesn’t mean. Like a lot of words including love, friendship, etc, it helps to study a thing by its opposites and counterfeits.
