Selfishness Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old selfishness quotes, selfishness sayings, and selfishness proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be horribly selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden to be both red and roses. Oscar Wilde
If all the people in this world, in which we live, were as selfish as a few of the people in this world, in which we live, there would be no world in which to live. W. L. Orme
Selfishness at the expense of others' happiness is demonism. Henry Ward Beecher
I think that in today's world, by nature, we are all self-centered. And that often leads to selfishness. Gary Chapman
That man who lives for self alone, Lives for the meanest mortal known. Joaquin Miller
We are all selfish and I no more trust myself than others with a good motive. Lord Byron
Human history is the sad result of each one looking out for himself. Julio Cortazar
He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies. Tertullian
It is selfishness which is the cause of most of our misery. It is as a cankering disease. Gordon B. Hinckley
Selfishness is really self-destruction in slow motion. Neal A. Maxwell
The most difficult thing for us seems to be to give of ourselves, to do away with selfishness. If we really love someone, nothing is too difficult for us to do for that individual. There is no real happiness in having or getting unless we are doing it for the purpose of giving it to others. Half the world seems to be following the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness many think it consists of having and getting and being served, when really happiness is found in serving others. N. Eldon Tanner
The hardest work you and I will ever do is to put off our selfishness. It is heavy lifting! Neal A. Maxwell
Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless. Edward Albert
Sometimes you have to be selfish to get what you want and move forward in life. Kristen Stewart
The man who lives by himself and for himself is apt to be corrupted by the company he keeps. Charles Henry Parkhurst
There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up. Oscar Wilde
Those who do not hate their own selfishness and regard themselves as more important than the rest of the world are blind because the truth lies elsewhere. Blaise Pascal
Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. 'How everything affects me' is the center of all that matters - self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking. Ezra Taft Benson
There are points in your life, especially if you have creative ambitions, where selfishness is necessary. Kris Kristofferson
We found evolution will punish you if you're selfish and mean. For a short time and against a specific set of opponents, some selfish organisms may come out ahead. But selfishness isn't evolutionarily sustainable. Chris Adami
A life directed chiefly toward the fulfillment of personal desires will sooner or later always lead to bitter disappointment. Albert Einstein
It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions especially selfish ones. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes. Andrew Jackson
Selfishness does not mean only to do things for one's self. One may do things, affecting others, for his own pleasure and benefit. This is not immoral, but the highest of morality. Any Rand
If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears. Cesare Pavese
Being sorry is the highest act of selfishness, seeing value only after discarding it. Douglas Horton
If you don't like me, remember it's mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter. Dr. Seuss
True selfishness, if obedient to the other constraints of mammalian biology, is the key to a more nearly perfect social contract. Edward O. Wilson
The sin which is indulged to the greatest extent, which separates us from God and produces so many spiritual disorders, and which are contagious, is selfishness. Ellen G. White
The weakness of the social affections and the strength of the private desires constitute selfishness; a vice utterly at variance with the happiness of him who harbours it. James Mackintosh