Know then this truth, enough for man to know virtue alone is happiness below.

Pleasures, possessions and reputation all depend on circumstances that can change overnight. A good character, meaning honesty, kindness and fairness practised steadily, is the one source of contentment that luck cannot simply take away, which is why it can seem the only secure happiness available in this life. Many would add love, health or beauty to the list, and that is a reasonable objection.

What holds either way is that acting well leaves a quieter mind. At the end of a day, notice whether you feel easier after the choices you are proud of than after the ones you had to justify to yourself.