Does your happiness matter to others? Should it? There is one very good reason why it does and should.

Happy people behave better

Happiness creates a set of inner circumstances that lend themselves to people being more patient and loving, more generous, giving and kind. If goodness is the sum of all moral qualities, all character traits you possess, then it is only fair to say that happy people are more likely to be good people.

Happy people tend to be better children and better parents

They are more likely to be better employers and employees, better grandparents, friends and neighbors.

Happy parents, for example, don’t yell at their children as much. They don’t belittle them or lose their tempers as often as depressed, anxious, frustrated or chronically angry parents.

Now think about a boss you’ve had who was judgmental, bitter and angry. How did he or she treat others? How did you feel? How productive are people when they feel that way?

Happy people are more likely to raise happier children who will more likely than not, raise happier children in turn, who then will have a greater likelihood of living more rewarding lives doing more good to more people.

So, you see, happiness is more than a feelings issue. It’s more than a personal issue of the heart. It’s a moral issue. It affects others. It influences generations. I know, it is a heavy responsibility and merely by typing these words, I have decreased some of your happiness.

But life must teach the hard lessons so corrections can be made to improve long-term happiness. Then, happiness also radiates out to others, improving – one day, one person at a time – the human experience.

People treat others worse when they are unhappy

They treat others better when they feel good and are experiencing more joy in their lives.

It is easier being married to a happy person than a depressed or angry one.

It is easier being the son or daughter of a happy dad than it is to an angry dad. Angry parents and neighbors and bosses are feared. Happy ones are easier to love, befriend and respect. Homes and offices are filled with an entirely different spirit when parents and employers are happy and positive rather than angry and miserable.

There is, therefore, a moral obligation life places on you to seek out happiness, search for the principles upon which happiness is the natural outcome, and to pursue it with zeal.

Life is not the obstacle to human happiness. Life simply provides the opportunities to learn Life’s lessons and develop in ways, and acquire the necessary characteristics that can only be acquired through those opportunities Life provides.

So go out and live Life with more joy and more happiness. You will find that as you do, being good will be that much easier too.

What Do You Think?

Please comment: I would love to hear from you. What do you think about happiness as a moral responsibility?