Or any other such statement which seems good on the surface. So often it flows out of a desire to remove from yourself people who take advantage of you, stop yourself from always being worried about what other people think, and allow yourself to be your own person.

There is an element of truth, but there is also a serious shadow side.

Friends have responsibility to each other. Husbands and wives have responsibilities towards each other. Human beings have responsibilities towards each other!

If we take prioritising our own happiness to its logical conclusion, we become the selfish person who we say that we set boundaries on. We become a friend who doesn’t turn up when they are needed. Who makes promises they don’t keep .

Being selfish is not the path to true joy. Finding ways to give to others, and dare I say, give to our Creator is.

None of us wants to be used, nor do we want to be people pleasers. But neither do we want to prioritise our own happiness over where true joy is found. In loving others, in giving to others. As the Great Man said, it is better to give than to receive.