Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy. By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being happy is often overlooked as a responsibility, yet it positively impacts others around us.
This quote by Robert Louis Stevenson suggests that happiness is not just a personal feeling but also a duty that we have towards ourselves and society. When we embrace happiness, we not only enhance our own lives but also spread joy and positivity to those around us, creating a ripple effect of goodwill and benefits that often go unnoticed.
Themes
HappinessDutyPositive ImpactJoyBenefits
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about mental health, you might say: 'As Robert Louis Stevenson said, there's a duty in being happy that we often overlook, one that can influence others positively.'
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes βLike a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
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I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives.
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