Seek to do good, and you will find that happiness will run after you.

The saying argues that happiness is best approached obliquely: make the pursuit of “doing good” your aim, and happiness follows as a byproduct rather than a target. It challenges the self-defeating tendency to chase happiness directly—through pleasure, recognition, or acquisition—suggesting that such pursuit often produces anxiety or emptiness. By contrast, altruistic purpose organizes the self, creates connection with others, and supplies a durable sense of meaning; these conditions make happiness more likely to “run after you.” The phrasing also implies a moral psychology: joy is not merely a private feeling but something generated in relationship, through contribution and conscience.