The problem with taking responsibility for our own happiness is very similar to the Bystander Effect. In short, it's a following phenomenon:
- If you need help and there is only one person around you, there is a high chance that he/she will approach and help you.
- If you need help and there is 15 people around you, for each of them individually, there is a drastically lower chance that they will approach and help you, since everybody thinks "why me" or "if anyone else isn't helping, I don't have to help either".
We humans tend to hope too much that things will just work out, and have a habit on acting only when it's absolutely necessary or when it's absolutely obvious that it's our own responsibility.
I'm actually planning on publishing a full article about the Bystander Effect tomorrow.
Cheers! : )