With all the bad people around us, why should we keep being good? Why should we be kind, thoughtful, and compassionate when other people aren’t? Why should we pray for other people when they don’t give a crap about what happens to us? Why should we try to help create a better world when other people are trying to tear it down? What’s the point? I think every good person gets drained and asks these questions on some level. Negativity, hate, mean people, and bad situations can drag you down, but you shouldn’t give up on being good because it’s worth it. Here are 5 reasons why.
1. You Maintain Your Happiness By Being A Good Person
Only one person can be in charge of your joy and of your bliss – and that’s YOU. – Lisa Nichols
When you give up on being a good person, you bring bad choices, thoughts, and feelings into your life, and that impacts your joy and bliss in a negative way.
Have you ever seen a bad person truly happy? I haven’t! They are stuck in their own ego where worry and fear live. They get angry easily. They get jealous, offended, and upset easily. They are never truly peaceful and content – which is where happiness really lives.
In other words, if you want to be happy, content, and fulfilled, you are the only one who can make that happen for yourself. You must live by your truth. You must do what feels right to you. And, if you are a good person, doing good things feels right – even when everyone else is doing bad things around you.
2. You Maintain Healthy Relationships And Change Lives
Never regret doing the right thing or being a good person. Not everyone will appreciate you, but the right people will. – Tim Fargo
Not everyone will appreciate that you are a good person. In fact, you may run into a lot of people who don’t care that you are good – they still want to abuse you, hurt you, or bring you down.
But, the right people – the people who will support you, help you, and encourage you, will appreciate your goodness. And that’s what really matters. You will maintain healthy relationships with people that you want to maintain healthy relationships with.
Moreover, there will be people who only get a glimpse of your goodness, but will be impacted by it for life.
For instance, think of the person who is just about to hurt themselves and receives a kind word from you that promotes a change of heart. You saying something kind or doing something kind could literally save a life or change the direction of their life.
I know many people who had a teacher who was a good person and said one encouraging thing that changed their lives forever. That’s the kind of impact I want to have on others. How about you?
3. Our World Depends On Your Goodness
Whether science or religion is constructive or destructive depends on our motivation and whether we are guided by a real concern for the well-being of others and an appreciation of the oneness of humanity. – Dalai Lama
Imagine if bad people had complete control over things like science and religion. They would be able to use those things to promote hate and destroy people who they don’t agree with.
It takes good people to do good things with these kinds of things. Good people, guided by a concern for others and compassion for the world, will choose to use things like science, religion, and technology in a good way.
And, this doesn’t just apply to the big things. Things like how you use the internet each day can be destructive or constructive. Your comments and interactions can impact the mood of many people that they reach and, therefore, have an influence on the world as a whole.
4. You Are Influencing Others In A Positive Way
Role models are few and far between. Work on being a good, successful person for yourself. That may affect others positively. – Wasanga Mehana
A role model is simply defined as someone who is looked up to by others as an example or to be imitated. Wasanga is talking about positive role models, but there are many negative role models out there.
For instance, many YouTubers are role models now. They have an audience of millions and have a huge influence over those people. And many of them are saying things and doing things that good people would never do, which has a negative impact on their audience – especially young or impressionable people.
You don’t have to be in the spotlight to influence others, though. You can influence your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or even someone who sees you doing something good at random. They may not always let you know that you have had an impact on them, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t.
The best thing you can do to influence other people around you in a positive way is to focus on being a good person. That will help you lead by example and show others how rewarding being a good person really is.
5. Maintaining Your Goodness Helps You Know Yourself Better
Never regret being a good person to the wrong one. When you do that, you begin to compromise your character. – Bruna Nessif
How many of you regret being good to that one guy or girl who treated you like shit? How about being good to a mother-in-law who purposely goes out of her way to make you feel bad about yourself? I know I’ve been there. But this quote about being a good person is a great reminder that we shouldn’t regret being good to the people in our lives who end up not giving a shit about us.
The fact is that the way we choose to live life doesn’t depend on other people. If we base it on other people, then we will be in a constant state of change and confusion. You will start to ask yourself all kinds of questions like:
- Should I be compassionate?
- Should I treat them with respect?
- Am I someone who is compassionate and treats someone with respect?
Know who you are and own it. If you good to someone and they are not good to you, that’s their problem. At least you can say you were good and that you know who you are and that your character is permanent, not dependent on others.
A Quick Thought On Being A Good Person
Being a good person isn’t just about doing good things for recognition. It’s about what you do when nobody is watching. – Crawford Collins
Try to do good things when no one is watching. It feels great to do so because you aren’t worried about what other people think about you, your whole focus is on how you think about yourself – and you will find that you respect and like the person looking back at you in the mirror!
