The Conquest of Happiness

I am rereading a book that I purchased, I think, more than 30 years ago. The book in question is The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell.

Russell was one of my favourite authors in my teenage years and early 20s. And this book above shaped the decisions which I took at various points in my life. I read the book over and over for the sheer pleasure of reading. I did not have much money to buy many books and being relatively friendless I did not have much else to do in my spare time other than reading repeatedly the books that I managed to get my hands on. There was no 24 hours TV at that time or computers or the internet. Technology or rather lack of technology has its advantages.

I thought I would refer to Russell again today in order to write my blog and I read the chapter on Work. I thought I could come up with some intelligent comments based on what Russell mentions about Work as a cause of happiness. But in the end, I can do no better than refer you to the master himself. Read the book – especially if you are young – and read it repeatedly. It will change your values and what you think is important. The chapter on Work has, in a few pages, many pieces of advice which can change the life of a number of persons. Due to copyright reasons I do not want to quote from the book itself too much. But I cannot resist one quotation which I think will serve as a sort of appetizer to the main course still to come (i.e the book itself).

The last paragraph of the chapter (on Work) states –

Human beings differ profoundly in regard to the tendency to view their lives as a whole. To some men it is natural to do so, and essential to happiness to be able to do so with some satisfaction. To others life is a series of detached incidents without directed movement and without unity. I think the former sort are more likely to achieve happiness than the latter since they will gradually build up those circumstances from which they can derive contentment and self-respect, whereas the others will be blown about by the winds of circumstance now this way now that, without ever arriving at any haven. The habit of viewing life as a whole is an essential part both of wisdom and of true morality and is one of the things which should be encouraged in education. Consistent purpose is not enough to make life happy, but it is an almost indispensable condition of a happy life. And consistent purpose embodies itself mainly in work.

I can testify through my own experience that this piece of advice above is worth its weight in bitcoins. I don’t want to talk too much about my private life but I faced a crisis in the year 2006 where one phase of my life came to an end. I had worked for a certain result for about 13 years prior to that and in 2006 I achieved it. But following that period I did not take up any constructive purpose in the years which followed. As a result, I wasted much of the time since then – time which I cannot now get back. As Omar Khayyam says – The Moving Finger writes…

Read Bertrand Russell and I can promise you – if you are unhappy – that you will most likely find your situation diagnosed and a method of escape suggested.

I’ll end here. Hope this helps someone. Please explore this blog for more articles on Politics, Spirituality and Self Help. If you liked this article then please share it on Facebook and Twitter and feel free to post your comments or contact me. Link to contact is below.

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