It’s the holiday season, which is a really popular time for giving! It is awesome to do what you can to give back— but what about the rest of the year? I don’t mean for this to sound preachy. I love all the things that come with Christmas as much as the next person, trust me. I think it is great that everyone is in the giving spirit, but there are some people who put others first, as much as they can, year-round and I think it is important to recognize that. It is difficult to do, it might not always seem worth it (but many times it is), but lastly, it is important that those people take care of themselves.

It’s not “one of those articles.” You know…the kind where I get negative and it kind of turns into a roast. I just want to get this basic message across: don’t overstretch yourself for people who won’t return anything back to you. Selflessness is awesome, wanting everyone around you to be happy is great, but don’t let people mistake that kindness for weakness. I know I am saying “selfless” which comes with the notion that you don’t need anything in return, but we are human after all. We hope that while we are looking out for the people we care about, there are people out there who care about us—and do not take advantage of us.

There are people out there who are mainly interested in themselves. You may not even realize if you are one of them. Maybe you justify your actions by making yourself believe they are for the benefit of others. It is crucial to have regard for other peoples feelings at the very least. Selflessness is not simply doing a good deed, it is thinking about how your actions will affect other people. As I said before, we are human (aka imperfect), but make sure your words, actions, and motivations don't hurt the people around you.

There is something very brave and strong about people who are able to sacrifice their own happiness for that of someone else. I look up to those types of people and aspire to be more like them. We say we live in a selfish world, which may be true, but why focus on that when we could be focusing on the selfless people? I am sure we can all pick at least one selfless person in our life: a parent, grandparent, sibling, friend, significant other, etc. The kind of people who put others first year round. We look up to them and commend them for that. I wish the world had more people like that and if you are that person, don’t forget to take care of yourself.