This Quote Means: ‘Contentment is the only real wealth’, said by Alfred Nobel

This sentiment resonates with another quote, “There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path,” which was a question in the 2024 UPSC Civil Services Exam. Both suggest the ideal of happiness — constant joy devoid of pain — is an illusion. Real wealth lies in contentment, said Nobel, while happiness is found in the journey itself, said the other quote.

Why do such quotes encourage focusing away from happiness as a goal? We take a look.

The meaning of happiness

Questions about happiness and its attainment have intrigued major philosophical schools, from Greek thought to Buddhism.

Aristotle said that to achieve happiness and live the good life, humans should exercise the rational part of the soul, in accordance with virtue. This conception said humans are different from animal species since they have the capacity to reason. They can thus aspire for goals other than meeting their basic physiological needs.

Further, he said, happiness can occur only in conjunction with some goods and relationships, such as friends, wealth, and power, because a lack of these things endangers the capacity to be virtuous and the ability to reason.

On the other hand, Buddhism arose from the Buddha’s observations of suffering. He attained Nirvana through meditation, articulating the Four Noble Truths, which recognise suffering as an inherent human experience. Knowledge, of the right actions and thoughts, can alleviate this suffering.

Is happiness a worthy goal?

Despite historical discussions around it, happiness is emphasised upon in modern society to a great degree in many ways. A BBC article from 2021 cited the book The Enlightenment: The Pursuit of Happiness to supplement this view. The Enlightenment was a 17th and 18th-century movement in Europe that implored reason to be the driving force in society, instead of unscientific methods of thinking.

Historian Ritchie Robertson wrote in his book that the Enlightenment “should be understood not as the increase in value of reason itself, but instead as the quest for happiness through reason.” Today, surveys examining human values in multiple cultures show a greater inclination towards achieving happiness rather than once greatly revered values, such as honour or duty.

From jobs to relationships, the final goal of such pursuits in life seems to be happiness and it is seen as natural to move on from them when they no longer result in that feeling. This perspective aligns with Utilitarianism, the philosophy propounded by English philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, which advocates for minimising pain and maximising pleasure.

To be sure, happiness can be a good goal to pursue. It propels action and happy people are less likely to engage in self-destructive behaviours or harm others in society. It can also be argued that the quest for happiness can result in pushing oneself to make improvements — looking for a more fulfilling relationship, a job that leads to greater satisfaction, or changing minor things in their life for the better.

The counter-point

However, constantly striving for happiness poses significant challenges. Happiness is an emotion and so it is fleeting, requiring significant effort to continue feeling it. External factors can also disrupt our plans to derive happiness out of something.

In a world where self-help, mental health and satisfaction are commodified with mini-industries around them, achieving signifiers of happiness can put pressure on individuals. Acquiring more material things, which act as markers of “success” for society at large, can also make happiness seem conditional on attaining them. It could make more personal markers of happiness (say spending time with loved ones) seem insignificant.

In this context, happiness might be viewed as an experience rather than the ultimate goal. Striving towards contentment in some areas, reflecting on one’s desires and appreciating what one has, could be more sustainable. The journey of achieving a goal can itself also provide joy, rather than anticipating happiness as something which only comes towards the end.

As John Stuart Mill stated, “Those only are happy (I thought) who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way. The enjoyments of life (such was now my theory) are sufficient to make it a pleasant thing, when they are taken en passant, without being made a principal object. Once make them so, and they are immediately felt to be insufficient. They will not bear a scrutinising examination. Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.”