--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She wondered if it counted as being good…" description: "\"“She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the good thing for purely selfish reasons. Probably not, but who cared. What was important was wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/emily-gould-27361_actions_she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good_2310693.png" --- # She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the… ![“She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the good thing for purely selfish reasons. Probably not, but who cared. What was important was what you did, not how you felt.” quote by Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/emily-gould-27361_actions_she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good_2310693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/emily-gould-27361_actions_she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good_2310693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b3/emily-gould-27361_actions_she-wondered-if-it-counted-as-being-good_2310693.png) > ““She wondered if it counted as being good if you did the good thing for purely selfish reasons. Probably not, but who cared. What was important was what you did, not how you felt.”” [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good deeds done for selfish motives may lack moral worth, yet actions matter more than feelings. **In simple terms:** Intent matters less than the act itself. Key Takeaway Focus on actions, not motives. Themes morality selfishness intentionality Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - workplace decisions - personal choices Key Concepts Ethics psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - Is altruism necessary for moral good? - Can selfish motives be justified? A Different Perspective Self-interest can still produce positive outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actions/) [Charity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Selfish reasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-reasons/) [Selfless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfless/) [Volunteering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volunteering/) ## Related quotes > [“Your self-defense becomes a self-defeat when you are doing it for selfish reasons! 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If one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-am-not-primarily-an-advocate-of-capitalism-but-of-egoism-i-am-not/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“If you do the right thing for selfish reasons, does that detract from the rightness of the act itself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-trimnell/if-you-do-the-right-thing-for-selfish-reasons-does-that-detract-from/) [Edward Trimnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-trimnell/) > [Never consider marrying anyone based solely on material or financial means. Have a pure heart and motives for being with someone and not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/never-consider-marrying-anyone-based-solely-on-material-or-financial/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [If you practice Yoga for small, selfish reasons, you will remain the same, bound by your beliefs about what you can and cannot do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/if-you-practice-yoga-for-small-selfish-reasons-you-will-remain-the/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) ## More by Emily Gould > [Women especially are trained to protect other people's feelings, and a lot of that involves not telling the truth even about the fundamental details…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/women-especially-are-trained-to-protect-other-people-s-feelings-and-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No one ever addresses the possibility that a writer might not like her book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-one-ever-addresses-the-possibility-that-a-writer-might-not-like/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [A lot of people get to the point in their careers where blurbs are ghostwritten for them, because they're like, "I want to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/a-lot-of-people-get-to-the-point-in-their-careers-where-blurbs-are/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [If a woman writes about herself, she’s a narcissist. 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He said he’d liked the part where the narrator…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-stopped-typing-and-started-having-a-conversation-about-the-blog/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I don't think being a lawyer is more or less valuable than being a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/i-don-t-think-being-a-lawyer-is-more-or-less-valuable-than-being-a/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [When you write in the third person, you get to imagine other people's interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/when-you-write-in-the-third-person-you-get-to-imagine-other-people-s/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [No human walking the earth thinks of himself as a bullshitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/no-human-walking-the-earth-thinks-of-himself-as-a-bullshitter/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [To some extent the shorter the writing assignment is, the harder it is to accomplish, and a blurb is 200 words max. 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