Is choosing happiness as a top goal too selfish? Ethical issues. Would you feel comfortable telling most people that your most important goal in life is to be happy? Or would you feel a little embarrassed or guilty? Why is this? Do you think people will accept your saying,,"I want to be successful" more than saying, "I want to be happy"? Is "happy" a dirty word? If you are embarrassed to openly say that you want to be happy, then it is important to examine the sources of this feeling.
What assumptions underlie that feeling? Where did you first hear that putting happiness first is bad? Resolving the selfishness and ethical issues. Many people are afraid that if they make their own happiness a primary goal in life, they will become too selfish, too self-centered, too hedonistic, or even unethical. These fears of making happiness a primary goal need to be examined. If we give undo attention to our own happiness at the expense of others , then almost any thoughtful person would agree that we are, indeed, being selfish or unethical.
Is making happiness a primary goal incompatible with being ethical and caring? If you are concerned about being too selfish, hedonistic, or unethical, consider the following nine points. Great religious leaders and philosophers promote happiness as a goal. Some people think that their religion does not value their happiness.
There is an old saying, "Put God first, others second, and yourself last. What Jesus said was to love God first and love others as you love yourself--or equal to how you love yourself. Could God be a less loving parent than you? Happiness was a top-priority value for each of them.
Gautama the Buddha made happiness his ultimate concern and centered his philosophy around that goal. The heart of his approach is the eightfold path to find the goal of happiness. If we all seek happiness and are successful, then we will all be happy. Is there any other end goal that seems more desirable? Certainly, it would not be that we all sacrifice our happiness for each other. If we all did, no one would be happy. Maximizing happiness is different from maximizing pleasure.
