There is no such thing as a selfless act.

If you want to believe that you’re a selfless person, I am here to inform you that you are completely wrong. If that upsets you, you’re not visiting the right website, go here if you can’t handle being told you’re not as perfect of a human being as you believe you are. Otherwise, hear me out.

Let’s do a mini, hypothetical, case study involving person A (we’ll call him Adam). Now, Adam is a pretty nice guy. He doesn’t make much money, but he does what he can in his community to help the children. He’s a tutor to a local elementary school and frequently gives up his weekends to visit the old folk’s home to cook them spaghetti and change the bedpans out, all without asking for any kind of compensation.

It’s easy to see that Adam is an extremely nice guy; however, he’s still not selfless in these acts. Allow me to elaborate: Adam, though not asking for anything in return, still gets the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of helping those who need the help. I am not, in any way, saying that Adam is a bad person; just that he’s not selfless.

Another example, which is most come up with when I bring up this topic, is that of the anonymous contributor to a charity. That still, in itself, is a selfless act. The reason this act is considered selfish is based solely on the fact that the contributor is, though not only looking for nothing in return or acclamation, contributing to receive that deep down feeling of warm gooey-ness that one gets when doing something good.

My opening statement covers a few other humanly aspects, as well. Every action one does in his or her life is a completely selfish act. From cleaning the house to painting a picture to giving a gift in the name of Saint Nick, every action in one’s life is to complete a goal that he or she has set for themselves.

The only thing that involves humans, that isn’t selfish, is when an action is done onto them; however, that selflessness only lasts a fraction of a second. If someone decides to give a gift, the receiver is selfless until their brain computes that they are being offered a gift. The decision to accept or reject the gift doesn’t matter, it is still selfish. I’ll assume I don’t have to explain why accepting a gift is selfish but I’m sure some will wonder why rejecting a gift isn’t selfless. No matter the reason for rejecting the gift, it still completed a goal for the intended recipient. They may know the giver can’t truly afford to give gifts or it may go deeper into the relationship and the receiver just doesn’t like the gift-bearer. The recipient might just want to look selfless, thus, still, achieving their goal.

Whatever the case may be, all actions on Earth are one-hundred percent selfish.