If you haven’t watched The Good Place yet, you’re missing out. The second series of the show aired on NBC recently, but both series can be found in Netflix – with fans eagerly awaiting the third. The episodes are short, but pack a big morale punch with each one. We watch as Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) attempts to navigate ‘The Good Place’ (you could call it heaven) when she knows she’s not supposed to be there – and we won’t give anything else away. Go and watch it now before you read the rest of this article!
While The Good Place is definitely entertaining and humorous, there’s actually a whole lot we can learn from it about being a good person. We go along for the ride as a gang of misfits learn about ethics from a painfully indecisive ethics teacher, and as they do, we learn a few things too. Read on to find out what we can learn from The Good Place about being a good person (be warned, this post may contain one or two spoilers)…
Being Good Is A Habit
Nobody is born inherently good or bad. That goes for most people. People become either good or bad based on many things, from their upbringing to their neighborhood and the people they spend time with at school. However, what becomes clear on this show is that being good is a habit. Doing good things as often as possible is the only way to make it stick – and make it become second nature. You might think you’ve cracked the art of ‘being good’ only to trip up. That’s fine, as long as you keep going on the path to righteousness, like Eleanor, as she attempts to earn her place.
You Can’t Help Somebody Just So They Return The Favor
One of the worst reasons to help somebody is the hopes that they will help you in return. You shouldn’t help others for your ego, to make yourself look better than somebody else, or even just stay in The Good Place. You need to help people because you want to. It’s that simple. Helping people can be tough, especially since a lot of people don’t actually want to accept help, or pretend that they don’t need it. However, helping others is a great way to feel happier almost instantly. Most don’t believe it until they try it, but it makes us feel better than helping ourselves, according to studies. Even small acts of kindness make a huge difference!
If You Say You’re Going To Do Something, Do It
You can’t say you’re going to do something and then not do it. If you’re going to sit and learn ethics, learn ethics. No reading trashy magazines instead. If you’re running out to get frozen yogurt on a hot day, and you get excited because you let somebody in front of you in the queue, and run back to tell Chidi about it, then you have to run back and get the frozen yogurt. Just because you said you would. If you can’t commit to doing something, don’t tell somebody you’ll do it. You might sound great when you tell them you will, but you’ll let yourself down when you don’t follow through.
There’s Never Just One Correct Moral Answer
One of the most interesting things about The Good Place is that it’s clear there’s never one correct moral answer for problems. It’s easy enough to say what they correct answer is if you’re never actually presented with the problem in real life – just take the trolley problem as an example. The series covers it in an episode, and it becomes clear that there isn’t an easy answer to the problem. It totally depends. As long as you believe you’re doing the best thing, then that’s usually all you can do.
You Can Change At Any Stage In Life
Just because you’ve been one type of person your whole life doesn’t mean you have to continue being that person. You can change at absolutely any stage. If Eleanor can change after spending her whole life being selfish and mean, you can change. If you need help with something serious that you could get into trouble for, the first thing you need to do is contact The Rowdy G. Williams Legal Team or a similar team and ask for advice. Remember, things like this can be a wake up call. Get yourself back onto the right path. It’s rare that doing bad things makes anybody feel good – just ask Jason Mendoza, who spent his time on earth doing questionable things. You might not get a smart answer out of him, but you should feel enlightened.
It doesn’t matter if you’re 15 or 50; you can change if you want to change.

Spend Time With Likeminded People
One of the biggest and most effective things you can learn from The Good Place, is that spending time with like minded people is one of the easiest ways to become a better person. In fact, scientific studies back this up. If you spend time with people who commit crimes, are mean, or just don’t look after themselves, you’re more likely to do the same. We become like the people we spend the most time with. If you find new people you want to be like, spend time with them, and even develop a mentor/student style relationship like Eleanor and Chidi, you can become a happier, better person.
The thing that’s most evident about The Good Place is that it’s pretty tough to be good on your own. Having other people to help you and lift you up is one of the most important things when you’re on the path to living a happier, better life. Spend more time with your loved ones, make them happy for no reason, and change past habits that have been holding you back. Then, if you haven’t already, watch The Good Place. You won’t regret it and you’ll learn a thing or two!
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