Don’t be a Pig (selfish): Pigs get Eaten

It can send a terrible message if you only feel satisfied if you get everything available in a relationship. Be careful not to send a message to those around you that you’re selfish. This is a trap everyone can fall into.

A salesperson with a perfect relationship with a buyer sometimes will ask for business he doesn’t have, with no apparent benefit offered. It can appear to suggest it is just expected because of the relationship. In a similiar situation, I recall a buyer who told this type of salesman:

“Don’t be a pig: pigs get eaten.”

Our selfishness can mean we hurt others as we ruthlessly strive to satisfy our needs. Self-centeredness can damage our reputation and lead to loneliness. It destroys families. Desire may make it easier for us to fall into traps like an addiction.

Don't set yourself up for Productivity Shame with Unrealistic Goals


Productivity shame comes from unrealistic goals and measuring your self-worth with achievements. Productivity measures the efficiency of a person completing a task expressed in numbers. Even your life is measured in numbers.

According to the United Nations, today’s average global life expectancy is 72 - 70 for men and 75 for women. If a person livers to age 69, another 17 years can be added to that total, and the life expectancy becomes 86 on average. In the United States, life expectancy in 2019 was 78.87 years, but if a person reaches the age of 69, that time is lengthened to 85 years on average.

Establishing how many years of a person’s life will be productive is subjective. Productivity can be a philosophy of life, a state of mind, or even someone’s opinion. Freeing yourself from productivity shame requires you to stop defining your self-worth by quantitative accomplishments.

Instead of setting a goal to do all you can, decide how much is enough for each undertaking. For your individual goals to be realistic, you need to be able to answer the question of why you want that goal. Then you need to recognize that making progress is enough and take satisfaction in doing just that.