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How Do You Know You Are a Good Person?
The answer isn’t as easy as you think
Don’t we all hope we’re good people? Most of us strive for goodness, to do the right things, and be righteous. But are we really good? Have we got what it takes? And what, exactly, does being good mean, anyway?
I used to believe I was good. The idea that I wasn’t didn’t occur to me. After all, I meant well. But that’s not the same as doing the right thing. Not always.
Experience taught me that being nice also doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good person. It just means you have a pleasant demeanor. You can be perfectly pleasant and still hurt people, even by mistake.
But if being nice and striving to do good things doesn’t make you good, what does?
What does being good mean?
The problem with defining goodness correctly stems from perspective. You could imagine it means something different from my idea.
It turns out goodness is relative.
For example, if you follow a religion that insists non-worshippers go to hell, you will think you’re doing good by persuading people to follow suit. You’ll think you’re a good person because of your beliefs.
