Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Happiness lies not in happiness but only in the attempt to achieve it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness is found not in the state of being happy, but in the pursuit of it.
Dostoevsky suggests that genuine happiness is not a destination to reach, but rather a journey full of effort and striving. It is the pursuit and the struggle to find happiness that brings fulfillment, rather than merely achieving a state of happiness itself.
Themes
HappinessPursuitEffortFulfillmentJourney
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to encourage resilience and pursuit of goals.
More from Fyodor Dostoevsky
All quotes βWhat if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that if you have the guillotine in the forefront, and with such glee, it's for the sole reason that cutting heads off is the easiest thing, and having an idea is difficult!
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
...to return to their 'native soil,' as they say, to the bosom, so to speak, of their mother earth, like frightened children, yearning to fall asleep on the withered bosom of their decrepit mother, and to sleep there for ever, only to escape the horrors that terrify them.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Similar quotes
I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live.
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Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.
Emily DickinsonRead
Men have physical needs, and they have emotions. While physical needs are unsatisfied, they take first place; but when they are satisfied, emotions unconnected with them become important in deciding whether a man is to be happy or unhappy.
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Bodily labor alleviates the pains of the mind and from this arises the happiness of the poor
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Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.
Dale CarnegieRead
No matter where you go, no matter how many gifts you give and receive this holiday season, unless you are actually present, it all flies by as if in a dream. Satisfaction in anything--a meal, an interaction, a gift, a sunset--depends on your willingness to take it in. Breathe. Feel your arms and your legs. You are allowed to love every little thing about yourself and your life. You are allowed to take up space and be all that you are. Really you are.
Geneen RothRead