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So, it's probably not a secret to anyone who knows me that I struggle with depressive feelings occasionally.
Since it's, at this point, an intermittent rather than continuous problem, I get to see how it does or doesn't affect my behavior and my attitudes towards others on various days.
Days when I'm happy? I'm a better person to be around if you're not me. I'm kinder, more patient, more generous, a better listener, more able to empathize towards others' emotional situations.
Days when I'm unhappy? I'm a crappier person to be around if you're not me. I'm less patient, more miserly with my time and attention, and have more difficulty listening to or empathizing with others.
Hence, I've developed an informal proto-theory: Increasing happiness can increase our goodness.
People who are broke, cold, scared, hungry, sad, whatever are more likely to respond to situations reactively. Maybe it's a survival mechanism, whatever, but most of us don't react in optimal ways. So making folks happier, filling their lives with better experiences? I like to believe it would make us all incrementally kinder, more generous, more helpful, more fun to be around.
Since it's, at this point, an intermittent rather than continuous problem, I get to see how it does or doesn't affect my behavior and my attitudes towards others on various days.
Days when I'm happy? I'm a better person to be around if you're not me. I'm kinder, more patient, more generous, a better listener, more able to empathize towards others' emotional situations.
Days when I'm unhappy? I'm a crappier person to be around if you're not me. I'm less patient, more miserly with my time and attention, and have more difficulty listening to or empathizing with others.
Hence, I've developed an informal proto-theory: Increasing happiness can increase our goodness.
People who are broke, cold, scared, hungry, sad, whatever are more likely to respond to situations reactively. Maybe it's a survival mechanism, whatever, but most of us don't react in optimal ways. So making folks happier, filling their lives with better experiences? I like to believe it would make us all incrementally kinder, more generous, more helpful, more fun to be around.
