{"id":3719,"date":"1976-12-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1976-12-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T00:14:52","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T00:14:52","slug":"vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Vol. 57, No. 12 &#8211; December 1976 &#8211; The Search for Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">Opinions differ from age to age                     as to what happiness is. Popular &#8220;how to&#8221; books of the 18th                     century were chiefly concerned with the subject of how to                     die a good death; those of the 19th century moved on to the                     subject of how to make a good living; and those of the 20th                     century are devoted to telling us how to live happily.<\/p>\n<p> Many people &#8211; perhaps the majority of people &#8211; would say                     that the greatest happiness they could achieve would be freedom                     and ability to do what they want to do. That is not a very                     good description of happiness, because it is difficult to                     be sure just what one wants today, let alone next year and                     twenty years from now.<\/p>\n<p>Human beings are changeable. What may seem the supreme material                     good today may be completely out of date within a few months.<\/p>\n<h3>What is happiness?<\/h3>\n<p>Happiness arises largely from the mental qualities of contentment,                     confidence, serenity, and active goodwill. It includes the                     pain of losing as well as the pleasure of finding. It thrives                     best in a crowded life. The men and women who are recorded                     in history and biography as most happy were people with always                     somewhat more to do than they could possibly do. Every waking                     hour of their lives was occupied with ambitious projects,                     literature, love, politics, science, friendship, commerce,                     professions, trades, their religious faith, and a thousand                     other matters. The secret of happiness may be found by making                     each of these interests count to its utmost as part of the                     fabric of life.<\/p>\n<p>Aristotle summarized this view in his Ethics, written in                     the hey-dey of Greek thought 2,300 years ago: Happiness lies                     in the active exercise of a man&#8217;s vital powers along the lines                     of excellence, in a life affording full scope for their development.<\/p>\n<p>We need to avoid the extremes of sluggish placidity and                     feverish activity. We are not going to be satisfied with felicity                     which resembles that of a stone, unfeeling and unmoving, but                     will look back from future years with sorrow and regret if                     we run to and fro, giving in to what Socrates called &#8220;the                     itch&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Happiness obviously includes two sorts of behaviour: active                     and passive. We may say that the active part consists in searching                     and sharing, while the passive part is made up of security                     and possession. Neither part is complete of itself, and neither                     yields full satisfaction if it is over-emphasized. Philosophers                     from the ancient Greeks to Buddha and Balzac and Pascal and                     Pitkin have been extolling a balanced life as the most happy                     life, and many unhappy people can, when they face the issue,                     trace their discontent to imbalance.<\/p>\n<p>The recipe for happiness cannot be given in any single word,                     because its many virtues have to be combined in their proper                     quantities, at the proper times, for proper purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Martin Gumpert, who leans toward belief in physical                     well-being as the foundation of happiness, provides this prescription                     in his book called <em>The Anatomy of Happiness<\/em>: prevent                     physical suffering; prevent guilt; do not accept illusions&#8221;                     accept the reality of death; do what you like to do; keep                     learning; accept your limitations; be willing to pay for everything                     you get; be willing and able to love; avoid secrets.<\/p>\n<h3>About seeking happiness<\/h3>\n<p>It is legitimate to seek happiness. We cannot help observing                     that while followers of some schools of thought are telling                     us to avoid seeking happiness, they intimate that if we do                     so we shall be happy.<\/p>\n<p>The search requires a plan. We need to know what sort of                     happiness we seek, what the ingredients are, what are our                     strongest wants, and what we have to start with. We should                     train ourselves to keep the programme simple and free from                     complications and side trips, to pay attention to little things,                     to deflate quickly after being praised and to bounce back                     quickly from disappointment, to seize or create opportunities                     to put our special abilities to work, to seek excellence in                     everything we do, to remain modest, and to review and revise                     periodically.<\/p>\n<p>Most of us do not really have to seek far and wide. Happiness                     grows at our own fireside, if we cultivate it.<\/p>\n<p>The romantic minds of young people are likely to imagine                     that happy events and happiness-bringing people will make                     their entrance to the sound of drums and trumpets, but when                     we look back from the vantage point of maturity we see that                     they came in quietly, almost unnoticed. As Benjamin Franklin                     remarked in his autobiography, &#8220;Human felicity is produced                     not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen,                     as by little advantages that occur every day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Succeeding in a job<\/h3>\n<p>Emphasis on the little things applies in whatever profession                     or business we take up. Look at the multitude of little things                     included in the three insistent problems of industrial management:                     the application of science and technical skill to raw material;                     the systematic ordering of operations, and the organization                     of team-work and sustained co-operation.<\/p>\n<p>The worker who can do the little things well for which he                     is responsible contributes to the success of the biggest enterprise,                     and the man who devotes himself to his task with zeal and                     determination, using his best ability, will have a sense of                     achievement, which is an ingredient of happiness.<\/p>\n<p>One mark of a man who is determined to achieve happiness                     in his work is that he does not ask as a preliminary to taking                     a job whether the seat is soft or the building air-conditioned.                     He is in too much of a hurry to get busy.<\/p>\n<p>A medical writer points out some of the virtues in work                     aside from the pay we get for it. Work is a physical and mental                     exercise without which we would get sick and waste away. it                     is vital for development of personality. It maintains our                     contact with the outside world, and &#8211; very important physically                     &#8211; it guarantees the pleasure of rests.<\/p>\n<h3>Know the job well<\/h3>\n<p>If it is true that there is no happiness in ignorance, this                     is doubly true about ignorance of one&#8217;s work. One needs, as                     a preliminary to success and contentment on a job, to know                     the job thoroughly. Only the man who has experienced it knows                     the wonderful sense of power that comes from the simple assurance                     that he is equal to his tasks.<\/p>\n<p>By learning his job, a man gains insight that qualifies                     him to accept responsibility. One requirement of good management                     is that the manager shall be in the secret of why events occur,                     and that is revealed only to those who study the reasons for                     and the causes of business practices.<\/p>\n<p>How do they get that knowledge? By asking questions. No                     matter what activity we engage in, we need to ask questions.                     At first they will pertain to the learning of procedures and                     techniques, but as we progress we will be well-advised to                     challenge and probe ideas which other people take for granted                     as settled once and for all.<\/p>\n<p>After the raw material of information has been gathered,                     then we must turn it to account in our lives. Knowledge is                     the material stored; intelligence is the capacity for putting                     it to use. Capacity in a job is ability to do it well; it                     is genius that takes what is known, injects imagination, improves                     the product of one&#8217;s work, and thus leads into wider fields                     of opportunity.<\/p>\n<h3>Above all, be active<\/h3>\n<p>Happiness loves action, and the philosophers agree that                     happiness must include some form of worthy activity. Life                     demands work, but happiness requires dreaming, planning, aspiring,                     doing, and pressing on from one attainment to another still                     greater.<\/p>\n<p>Indolence is a distressing state. It leads only to a feeling                     of futility. Our greatest delight is the satisfaction which                     follows full honest effort. Pleasure, enjoyment and recreation                     are the wages we have; but when night falls the real question                     is: &#8220;What of my day&#8217;s work? What have I accomplished?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The enthusiasm which prompts us to be usefully active needs                     to be tempered by art, good sense and discretion. When an                     inspiration for something big strikes us, let us take it for                     a long, cool walk. Brahms said the reason for much of the                     bad music in the world is haste: the composers imagine that                     every splutter of their hastily-driven goose-quills is part                     of a swan-song. Even if our grand conception is realized only                     in part, it is better to accomplish something exquisitely                     right than to engage excitedly in something that can be, at                     best, mediocre.<\/p>\n<p>To seek what is impossible is madness. We must front the                     facts, find our strengths and weaknesses, apply our mental                     vigour, and choose to do that which is according to our nature                     and capacity.<\/p>\n<h3>Self-confidence<\/h3>\n<p>Out of such self-government there arises self-confidence.                     The world is likely to believe in a man who believes in himself,                     providing he shows that his self-reliance is grounded upon                     a true appraisal and is well managed.<\/p>\n<p>No one can be great in business or a profession or an art                     who wants advice before he does anything important. Self-reliance                     is the end expression of many qualities: emotional stability,                     willingness to face facts and to bear responsibility, discipline,                     faith in one&#8217;s judgment, and practice in making decisions                     and abiding by them.<\/p>\n<p>We must admit that to make a decision &#8211; or, still more,                     to revise one &#8211; is the most responsible and most exacting                     part of the process of living. &#8220;No blunder in war or politics,&#8221;                     said Scott in his <em>Life of Napoleon<\/em>, &#8220;is so common as                     that which arises from missing the proper moment of exertion,&#8221;                     and his warning is quite applicable to business. The man who                     trains himself to make quick energetic decisions, even about                     small matters such as writing a letter or keeping an engagement,                     is contributing to his happiness by realizing his capacity                     as a vigorous, accomplishing, character.<\/p>\n<p>Such a person, having set one idea upon its feet, springs                     another. He knows that, for him, happiness does not abide                     in imitation or conformity, but arises from his ability to                     think and do new things.<\/p>\n<h3>On choosing wisely<\/h3>\n<p>Those succeed best in their search for happiness who form                     definite ideas of what they are going to do before they start                     to do it. Aim is necessary, and it must be specific and within                     the bounds of reality. Lots of people get nowhere simply because                     they do not know where they want to go.<\/p>\n<p>What do we seek in order to be happy? Our decision need                     not be one of self-enclosed finalities, but we should plan                     for definite goals, each of which will be the starting place                     for a new effort. Our first plan is merely the sketch of a                     picture still to be painted.<\/p>\n<p>To choose our course means more than wishing we were at                     its end. We must run the course. That means leaving something                     behind and passing scenes which invite us to linger for their                     enjoyment. There is a loss and a gain in every step forward,                     and acceptance of this unalterable fact is involved in making                     our choice. But the happiness of the person who sets up a                     good and worthy goal and goes all-out toward it is far more                     sublime than that of one who achieves pleasure without sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>To choose the goal requires wisdom, the highest type of                     thinking. It silences useless discussion of insignificant                     things and concentrates on reaching judgments about important                     affairs.<\/p>\n<p>Good judgment involves recognition of our life&#8217;s possibilities                     and limitations. It informs us when to put forth effort and                     when to meditate. It recalls to us that there is a time to                     hurry in our enterprises, and a time to go slowly. When timid                     Adeimantus said, referring to the Olympic games: &#8220;Those who                     rise in the games before their time are flogged,&#8221; Themistocles                     replied, &#8220;Yes, but those who loiter are not crowned.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Wisdom does not plod along in ruts, but is scouting far                     and wide in search of truth. It is likely to challenge our                     cherished beliefs, prompting us to ask ourselves: &#8220;How did                     I come to think that?&#8221; The more answers we get, the less likely                     are we to judge intolerantly, because we find that a few things                     are altogether good or true, and nothing is altogether bad                     or false.<\/p>\n<p>To choose wisely demands that we give a proposed plan our                     concentrated attention. Dispersion of thinking is a grievous                     fault. We should not reach any decision while our minds are                     occupied with other matters. Many of us divert just enough                     attention from one thing to take care of another. Such casual                     consideration, born of our miserly measuring out of our attention,                     is an obstacle to great achievements. It robs our conclusions                     of the decisiveness that marks the judgments of great executives.<\/p>\n<p>If we concentrate, we can accomplish, both in thought and                     in work. Concentration is the secret of the success of versatile                     men from Leonardo da Vinci, who was sculptor, musician, architect,                     mathematician, engineer, and painter of the immortal <em>Mona                     Lisa<\/em>, to Dr. Wilder Penfield, internationally respected                     surgeon, neurologist, scholar, director of research, first                     man to &#8220;map&#8221; the human brain, and author of the novel <em>No                     Other Gods<\/em>. All men of many talents have had in high degree                     the ability to concentrate on one activity, one problem, one                     thought, at a time and forget all the others.<\/p>\n<p>In choosing our route toward happiness we should not forget                     that the pursuit will demand courage. When we refuse to accept                     some insipid fate instead of happiness, we throw down a gage                     to life. We make a gesture of heroism. We assert our ability                     to maintain a course we have decided upon and in some slight                     way to steer the ship in inevitable storms.<\/p>\n<h3>Aids to happiness<\/h3>\n<p>There are some things which will make our search for happiness                     easier, though never easy. Good habits, for example, will                     accustom us to free our minds and hands of petty chores so                     that we may devote our strength of mind and body to our life                     job.<\/p>\n<p>Civilization advances by extending the number of important                     operations we can perform without thinking of them. The skills                     which we develop into habits save time and energy, accustom                     us to disposing of unpleasant tasks, make us exercise the                     virtues of punctuality and shun the vices of procrastination,                     and, generally, free us to pay particular and undistracted                     attention to matters that are significant.<\/p>\n<p>If pattern living takes over the routine tasks, freeing                     us from the necessity of deciding less important things afresh                     every day, that is a good thing, but we must not carry habit                     to the point where it becomes our master. The year in which                     a man&#8217;s habits become sacred and untouchable marks the beginning                     of his old age.<\/p>\n<p>Good health is an essential part of happiness. When our                     nervous system has a surplus of energy at its disposal we                     take pleasure in working it off and in recuperating. Absence                     of health, or indulgence in pleasure beyond the limit of our                     stored force, causes unhappiness.<\/p>\n<p>In keeping the balance so often referred to between income                     and outgo of energy, emotion, social feeling, and the other                     forces which influence our happiness, we discover the virtue                     that resides in self-control.<\/p>\n<p>Self-control does not mean merely surface composure. Down                     among our nerve cells and fibres the molecules are counting                     every discomposure and every mental disturbance. Nothing we                     ever do is, in strict scientific literalness, wiped out. The                     emotions we allow to seethe under a tranquil exterior appearance                     leave their mark upon the record, and we must make an accounting,                     debit or credit.<\/p>\n<p>To sit quietly in a room with nothing but one&#8217;s thoughts,                     or with the companionship of someone with whom we are in intellectual                     communion, in an atmosphere of tranquillity and the appreciation                     of vital matters &#8211; that can be a happiness in itself and the                     parent of more happiness.<\/p>\n<h3>Things to do<\/h3>\n<p>Just as a business executive conducts his affairs by comparing                     today&#8217;s liabilities and assets with yesterday&#8217;s, and proceeds                     to project plans for tomorrow by a study of the movement thus                     indicated, so we can do in the business of living.<\/p>\n<p>No reading of books or of essays like this will take the                     place of a candid, honest examination of what one has recently                     done and what one is about to do. The person who floats along                     on life or on his job without thinking of whence he came or                     whither he is going may be contented, but it is the contentment                     of a clam in the mud-flats of the harbour.<\/p>\n<p>This personal inventory is an important, if not vital, factor                     in the life of anyone seeking happiness. The Greek philosopher                     said: &#8220;Know thyself&#8221;; the Roman philosopher improved this                     by saying &#8220;Be yourself&#8221;; and St. Paul struck the complete                     chord when he said: &#8220;Neglect not the gift which is in you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It is knowledge of his clear-cut objective and his capability                     in management that enables the executive to run his business                     straight and true; it is knowledge of his sure foot that gives                     the steeple-jack confidence; it will be self-knowledge, leading                     to self-improvement, that will guide everyone of us into the                     path of happiness.<\/p>\n<p>This self-appraisal should not linger too lovingly in the                     past, or embrace too heartily the present, or anticipate tomorrow                     in too rosy tints. It should preserve a proper proportion.                     One can no more find happiness by backing into the future                     than by fleeing into the past.<\/p>\n<h3>Living in society<\/h3>\n<p>Never are we alone with our lives. We are enmeshed in families,                     in offices, in factories, in groups, and in obligations. We                     cannot be content with self-maintenance. A machine that does                     no more than keep itself going is of no value whatever. Making                     a contribution is essential to realization of happiness.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. N. V. Peale quotes this recipe in his deservedly best                     seller <em>The Power of Positive Thinking<\/em>: &#8220;The way to                     happiness: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from                     worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life                     with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others.                     Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will                     be surprised.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Self-love &#8211; the narcissistic stage of life &#8211; is the most                     tragic of all fixations. It prevents our adapting ourselves                     to social relations. Our own conceit blinds us to the esteem                     and admiration we might enjoy from others. Those who are so                     self-centred remind us of Aesop&#8217;s fly. it sat upon the axle-tree                     of a chariot wheel and said: &#8220;What a dust I raise!&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Happiness must be won<\/h3>\n<p>We cannot buy a ticket to happiness. It is a destination                     reached only as we search for a trail and follow it. Nothing                     good, and that includes happiness, is ever reached without                     labour or won without toil. The mark of an overcoming man                     is to be able to say with Euphorion in Goethe&#8217;s <em>Faust<\/em>:                     &#8220;Unto me hateful is lightly-won spoil.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The condition of winning happiness in life &#8211; social, business,                     professional &#8211; is the opposite of inertia, and it includes                     little of accident. It demands direction and growth. The things                     which help to make up happiness, like health, wealth, honour                     and successful business endeavour, are in themselves neutral.                     They are good or bad according to the use made of them. If                     a man does not know how to use them, he is better off without                     them. If he fails to use them well, they wilt and die.<\/p>\n<p>There is no place in the search for happiness for lotus-eaters                     those people who cling to a static life. But it is a mistake                     to hurry unduly. We cannot leap to heights we were meant to                     climb. No artist can paint all creation on one canvas; he                     balances his effort in the confines of a frame.<\/p>\n<p>The principles we live by, in business and in social life,                     are the most important part of happiness. We need to be careful,                     upon achieving happiness, not to lose the virtues which have                     produced it. The person who is successful in his daily work                     should not forget prudence, moderation and kindness, the qualities                     essential to his success. Life can be beautiful for its grace                     and goodness as well as for its strength and accomplishments.<\/p>\n<p>We should find comfort in the thought that happiness, though                     it may be menaced and buffeted by many forces, is saved by                     hope. Everyone has, or may attain, the faculty of making use                     of what befalls. If we can say at the end of a day that it                     was not an empty, not a lost day, and that we are glad to                     be alive because tomorrow is coming, is that, perhaps, happiness?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[56],"class_list":["post-3719","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-56"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Vol. 57, No. 12 - December 1976 - The Search for Happiness - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vol. 57, No. 12 - December 1976 - The Search for Happiness - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Opinions differ from age to age as to what happiness is. Popular &#8220;how to&#8221; books of the 18th century were chiefly concerned with the subject of how to die a good death; those of the 19th century moved on to the subject of how to make a good living; and those of the 20th century [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-28T00:14:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"16 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/\",\"name\":\"Vol. 57, No. 12 - December 1976 - The Search for Happiness - RBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1976-12-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T00:14:52+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vol. 57, No. 12 - December 1976 - The Search for Happiness - RBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/vol-57-no-12-december-1976-the-search-for-happiness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vol. 57, No. 12 - December 1976 - The Search for Happiness - RBC","og_description":"Opinions differ from age to age as to what happiness is. 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