I’ve noticed recently a character persona where someone will go out of their way to help others, while completely ignoring themself. Maybe it’s my calloused mind surfacing here from experiencing the short end of this stick, but I feel like people forget one of the most oft repeated pieces of advice we hear when we fly: put your oxygen mask on first before helping others.

I don’t know if some people have elected for some sort of Sisyphean pattern for their life or what, but it can be challenging to watch someone you care so deeply about, forget about themself. And for the myriad of reasons why someone would pursue this course, I think the root cause is that we live in a system that, for the most part, does not reward this behavior.

Please don’t get me wrong: the very act of orienting oneself outward—expressing virtues like love, compassion, and service—is one of the highest examples of character. I’m all for it and I think the world needs more of it. However, as a precursor to this, one must first be able to turn inward and extend those same virtues to oneself, at least to some degree.