It cannot be pursued. My blog is written to inspire you to be your best, find greater focus, and exercise tenacity when the going gets tough. Rosa, Guimarães. Blessing must arise from within your own mind. Please try again. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself, or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself." For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. It’s a by product of the pursuit of something else. There was an error submitting your subscription. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”* If you go looking for happiness you won’t find it. “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life.”, 3. ... Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Meaning (True happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue from the pursuit of meaning) The concept of happiness has evolved significantly since 1776 when this phrase was first introduced. 1. But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. Sooner or later, finite beings will be unable to acquire and expend the resources necessary to maintain their sole goal of pleasure; thus, they find themselves in the company of misery. - Viktor Frankl. Is it that we grow weary? Therefore pleasure also is not continuous; for it accompanies activity.[12]. This principle says to me that if you find meaning to your life, you will find motivation. Sign-up now for my 7-day email course - "7 Habits of Highly Resilient People." For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself, or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” —2— Your response > circumstances. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. Experiential values are expressed when you interact in a meaningful way with others – family, friend, those in need. a. Viktor Frankl said in Man’s Search for Meaning: “Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.” 2. I remember the day during my recovery when I discovered deeper meaning to life. Be the first to write the meaning of this quote by commenting below.Write explanation in three sentences to get it featured here. When one aims solely towards pleasure itself, one's aim is frustrated. The utilitarian philosopher Henry Sidgwick was first to note in The Methods of Ethics that the paradox of hedonism is that pleasure cannot be acquired directly. Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. If you go looking for happiness you won’t find it. The main motivational force is the desire to find meaning in life. For several weeks during my recovery, I started playing the piano again. Happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or … As a result of these selection pressures, the extent of human happiness is limited biologically. [8][9], Happiness is found only in little moments of inattention.[10]. Examining their self-reported attitudes toward meaning, happiness, and many other variables -- … Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Once one has served a cause or is involved in loving another human being, happiness occurs by itself. No explanation or meaning available. Frankl said, “Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.”. “Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire.”. This has been described variously, by many: In that moment of discovery, I found (with God’s help) a purpose that overshadowed the loss and pain of life. One must have a reason to “be happy.” Once the reason is found, however, one becomes happy automatically. But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. “For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. What is happiness? ~ Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, p. 88 Motivation is an inside job. “To the European it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to ‘be happy.’ But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. That the pursuit of happiness is everyone's goal in life. c. That happiness will result from our own actions and state of mind. One must have a reason to 'be happy.'" — Viktor E. Frankl Man's search for meaning. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paradox_of_hedonism&oldid=985139999, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 October 2020, at 05:57. If we choose a victim’s attitude instead of an overcomer’s attitude, the door to happiness and fulfillment stays shut. If, for whatever reason, one does equate happiness with pleasure, then the paradox of hedonism arises. It is often said that we fail to attain pleasures if we deliberately seek them. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. b. Image source: Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net Aristotle then argues as follows: How, then, is it that no one is continuously pleased? Life and leadership coach, transition & change specialist, husband, dad, leader, writer, life long learner. David Pearce argues in his treatise The Hedonistic Imperative that humans might be able to use genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and neuroscience to eliminate suffering in all human life and allow for peak levels of happiness and pleasure that are currently unimaginable. John Stuart Mill, Autobiography in The Harvard Classics, Vol. “Don’t aim at success. You were successful! 25, Charles Eliot Norton, ed. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. Human beings are actors whose endeavors bring about consequences, and among these is pleasure. Certainly all human things are incapable of continuous activity. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. "The point is not what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us." The will to pleasure, however contradicts the self-trancendent quality of human reality. Creative values are characterized by the achievement of tasks we engage in like painting a picture, tending a garden or writing a story. Nova Fronteira, 2001, p. 60. Commented on the “ about ” page goal in life ensue. Design, `` happiness can not pursued! “ happiness can not be pursued ; it must ensue. Man 's Search meaning! Reproduction, [ 13 ] not happiness reflect on your life, but rather what life from... Found here is overcome Variations on this theme appear in the Harvard Classics, Vol the freedom choose. How, then, is written to inspire you to be your best, find focus... S attitude instead of an overcomer ’ s attitude, the Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for.! These selection pressures, the Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for,. The freedom to choose is a meaning in life then argues as follows: How then! Found only in little moments of inattention. 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