Why are people selfish?

Selfishness is self-centric behavior. When you are selfish, your behavior revolves around benefitting yourself at the expense of others.

Selfishness is caused by a competitive mindset. When you are selfish, you see the world as a competitive place where everyone has to take care of themselves. You think that everyone is out to get you. This mindset makes you self-centric as you have to safeguard yourself from the world.

The competitive mindset is created by mental weakness. Mental weakness is the inability to handle emotions. Emotions are a fact of life. People experience both positive and negative emotions throughout life. When you are mentally strong emotions don’t affect you. They rise and go away leaving you as it is. You can withstand the psychological pain of negative emotions. You know that they are a part of life.

When you are mentally weak, emotions have a lasting effect on you. Both positive and negative emotions overpower you. You struggle to withstand the psychological pain of negative emotions. You magnify the psychological pain by overthinking. Every problem in life feels like a matter of life and death. You blame others for your problems because, to you, everyone else seems to be living a happy life. Everyone looks mean to you. So you become chronically competitive. You believe that you have to safeguard your happiness because everyone is trying to harm you. You become selfish.