Have you ever contemplated an action with a selfish benefit but that would hurt others you love?

Sometimes, I think, we have an opportunity to take a selfish action that would benefit us greatly. Perhaps it would earn you a lot of money. Perhaps it would bring you power or love. Yet, if you take this action, it would hurt others—sometimes strangers and sometimes people you know and care about.

I would guess that it’s not as hard to contemplate being selfish when only strangers will be hurt, but it must make you really go through a lot of agonizing if it is people you love who will be hurt.

I suppose it will be fairly easy to describe such a thing if you decided not to be selfish. You can tell us what it was and what factors went into making your decision.

What would be more interesting if there is someone who decided to be selfish, although I hardly expect anyone to admit to that. So if someone does, please don’t judge them. Let us hear their thinking. What was it that tipped the decision in favor of getting a benefit for yourself even though others were hurt?