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

Many active people are of opinion that the slightest
grain of resignation, the faintest gleam of humour,
would destroy the energy with which they do their
work and the determination by which, as they
believe, they achieve success. These people, in my
opinion, are mistaken. Work that is worth doing
can be done even by those who do not deceive
themselves either as to its importance or as to the
ease with which it can be done. Those who can
only do their work when upheld by self-deception
had better first take a course in learning to endure
the truth before continuing their career, since
sooner or later the need of being sustained by
myths will cause their work to become harmful
instead of beneficial. It is better to do nothing than
to do harm. Half the useful work in the world
consists of combating the harmful work. A little
time spent in learning to appreciate facts is not
time wasted, and the work that will be done
afterwards is far less likely to be harmful than the
work done by those who need a continual inflation
of their ego as a stimulant to their energy. A certain
kind of resignation is involved in willingness to