The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

of effort.
Happiness is not, except in very rare cases,
something that drops into the mouth, like a ripe
fruit, by the mere operation of fortunate
circumstances. That is why I have called this book
The Conquest of Happiness. For in a world so full
of avoidable and unavoidable misfortunes, of
illness and psychological tangles, of struggle and
poverty and ill will, the man or woman who is to
be happy must find ways of coping with the
multitudinous causes of unhappiness by which each
individual is assailed. In some rare cases no great
effort may be required. A man of easy good nature,
who inherits an ample fortune and enjoys good
health together with simple tastes, may slip through
life comfortably and wonder what all the fuss is
about; a good-looking woman of an indolent
disposition, if she happens to marry a well-to-do
husband who demands no exertion from her, and if
after marriage she does not mind growing fat, may
equally enjoy a certain lazy comfort, provided she
has good luck as regards her children. But such