Do Good. Fight Evil.

“Do Good. Fight Evil.” as an article title may make you wonder what this has to do with this website and my books, which focus on your happiness as a runner or walker.

Let me explain.

Doing good and fighting evil are two sides of the same coin — of goodness.

Dennis Prager, author of Happiness Is a Serious Problem, explains that gratitude leads to happiness and to goodness.

So, I say …

[Tweet “Happy people are more likely than unhappy people to do good.”]

In contrast, look at Islamist terrorists for glaring examples of unhappy people.

So, I say …

[Tweet “Unhappy people are more likely than happy people to do evil.”]

Many Opportunities to Support Those Who Do Good

There are many opportunities to support others who do good. Charities such as Feed the Children and Salvation Army come to mind.

As my own small way to support some people who do a lot of good, I dedicated my recent book Injury-Avoidance Habits for First-Time Marathoners and Half-Marathoners to the precious children served by CURE International. (You can read more about the dedication here.)

Rarer Opportunities to Support Those Who Fight Evil

There are rarer opportunities to support others who fight evil. But, organizations such as USO and Wounded Warrior Project come to mind.

As my own small way to support some people who fight evil, I dedicated the second edition, just released, of my book Gratitude Power for Runners and Walkers to Operation Underground Railroad. The first edition of this book was dedicated to you, my readers, for whom I am grateful. But, after learning about O.U.R. while producing the second edition, I decided that it was more important to use the dedication page to express my gratitude to O.U.R.

O.U.R. Rescues Kidnapped Children from Slavery

According to research published by the organization Free the Slaves, the conservative estimate is that there are 21 to 30 million people worldwide in slavery today — more than at any other time in human history.

Operation Underground Railroad focuses on freeing the estimated two million children who are trafficked as sex slaves today.

A short video by O.U.R. founder and CEO Timothy Ballard tells the story of one rescue mission.

If you want to help Ballard and his jump teams to fight this evil, then I encourage you to visit the O.U.R. website to learn more and to get involved.

I Admit It

I admit it: Tears come to my eyes almost every time that I watch Ballard’s video.

And, I admit it: I want you to be a happier runner or walker not only because I believe that happiness affects performance but also because I believe that you are more likely to do good and fight evil when you are happier.

You benefit when you are happier, but the rest of us benefit, too.