The Conquest of Happiness – by Bertrand Russell
Date read: 2/23/20. Recommendation: 8/10.

An accessible introduction to the work and philosophy of Bertrand Russell. In many ways, The Conquest of Happiness is a predecessor to the self-improvement genre that exists today. The book is broken down into two main sections, causes of unhappiness and causes of happiness. I got the most out of the second section as he discusses finding in harmony the stream of life and developing a zest for life. As Russell suggests, “The secret to happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the thing and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.”

See my notes below or Amazon for details and reviews.

My Notes:

Teach and be taught, rather than judge and be judged mindset:
“The secret to happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the thing and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.”

Expand your interests:
“The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has and the less he is at the mercy of fate, since if he loses one thing he call fall back upon another.”

Alex note: Every year that passes, life should be more enjoyable. You discover more of the things you love and are able to recognize more things that you don’t. 

Alex note: With age, there’s a diminishing preoccupation with yourself. Take yourself less seriously, get out of your own head, avoid tricking yourself into believing that you are the center of the universe, and you will be happier. 

“But the monk will not be happy until the routine of the monastery has made him forget his soul.”

Zest:
“The man who has the zest for life has the advantage over the man who has none. Even unpleasant experiences have their uses to him.”

The adventurous enjoy even the unpleasant experiences…”It gives them pleasure to have their knowledge of the world increased by this new item.”

The Stream of Life:
“To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future.” 

“The happy man feels himself a citizen of the universe, enjoying freely the spectacle that it offers and the joys that it affords, untroubled by the thought of death because he feels himself not really separate from those who will come after him. It is in such profound instinctive union with the stream of life that the greatest joy is to be found.” 

Alex note: Life is motion. The goal is to remain in harmony with that motion as best you’re able to.

“Success can only be one ingredient in happiness, and is too dearly purchased if all the other ingredients have been sacrificed to obtain it.”

Work:
“Even the dullest work is to most people less painful than idleness.”

“We are less bored than our ancestors were, but we are more afraid of boredom.”

Unhappiness:
“I believe this unhappiness to be very largely due to mistaken views of the world, mistaken ethics, mistaken habits of life, leading to destruction of that natural zest and appetite for possible things upon which all happiness, whether of men or animals, ultimately depends.”