Sacrifice is always regarded as an inherently noble, altruistic thing to do, but I feel like that's not always the case.

Sacrifice is always regarded as an inherently noble, altruistic thing to do, but I feel like that's not always the case. You see, in a way, I think that some instances of sacrifice can actually be selfish in a way. Take for instance one of my favorite anime characters, Subaru Natsuki. Basically, he has the ability to return by death, which means every time he dies, he respawns at a spawn point in his previous life. The premise of the story revolves around him dying over and over again just to save his friends and achieve a perfect ending. In a way, he's basically sacrificed everything for his friends, but that's not always the case. His sacrifices are frequently driven by ego and self-image. He always wants to be the noble knight in the story, the hero, because he inherently feels that there's no worth to his character except for sacrifice. And in a way, I can see that there are many instances of sacrifice being selfish. Many people just want the benefits of sacrificing themselves because they hold themselves to such a low character that treating their life as basically worthless in a way. And in a way, sacrificing is their way of justifying their uselessness. In a way, people will sacrifice themselves just for their own pride, just so they can have their own satisfaction in a twisted way. Let's say, for example, you're a noble knight who went out to war to sacrifice yourself for the country. Although that sounds patriotic at first, think about all the people you're leaving behind. Your loved ones, your friends, your significant other. Think about all the hurt you're bringing to them just for your noble hero story to play out. So the next time you make some sort of self-sacrifice, think about it. Are you actually doing this from the own kindness of your heart, or are you just trying to be the hero in your own story?