Hopefully by now you feel more optimistic about how you can have a nice life by finding growth and reducing suffering. If it helps, you should also know that if doing the right thing matters to you at all, then you must try. Here’s the reasoning:
- Suffering, as defined in this book, is a state that makes it harder for people to meet their needs.
- When it’s hard for someone to meet their needs, the things they do are…
- … more likely to cause harm and suffering for others.
- …less likely to reduce the suffering of- or benefit others.
- The less a person is suffering, and the more easily they can meet their needs, the things they do are…
- …less likely to cause harm or suffering for others.
- …more likely to reduce the suffering of- or benefit others.
- If we care about anyone’s welfare, then suffering is an inherently bad thing, morally speaking. It’s in everyone’s best interests that there is as little suffering in society as possible.
- If we want to reduce the overall amount of suffering, we must try to cause as little suffering as we can…
- …which means we must try to reduce our own suffering…
- …as long as the ways we reduce our suffering don’t cause suffering to other people.
If you consider yourself a moral person, or want the world to be a better place, or care about one single person and want minimal harm and suffering for them, then working at having a nice life isn’t really even a choice. It’s definitely not selfish, self-indulgent or narcissistic.
Have a Nice Life 