--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happiness is a hard master--particularly…" description: "\"“Happiness is a hard master--particularly other people's happiness. A much harder master, if one isn't conditioned to accept it unquestionably, than tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/aldous-huxley-97_happiness_happiness-is-a-hard-master-particularly_1286270.jpg" --- # Happiness is a hard master--particularly other people's… ![“Happiness is a hard master--particularly other people's happiness. A much harder master, if one isn't conditioned to accept it unquestionably, than truth.” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/aldous-huxley-97_happiness_happiness-is-a-hard-master-particularly_1286270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/aldous-huxley-97_happiness_happiness-is-a-hard-master-particularly_1286270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8a/aldous-huxley-97_happiness_happiness-is-a-hard-master-particularly_1286270.jpg) > ““Happiness is a hard master--particularly other people's happiness. A much harder master, if one isn't conditioned to accept it unquestionably, than truth.”” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True happiness is difficult, especially when it conflicts with others' expectations and truth. **In simple terms:** Happiness is a demanding teacher. Key Takeaway Seek authentic joy. Themes happiness truth expectations Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationship counseling - ethical decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethical dilemmas Questions to Reflect On - What does authentic happiness look like for you? - How do you balance personal joy with truth? A Different Perspective Happiness may clash with societal norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Happiness is a hard master, particularly other people's happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/happiness-is-a-hard-master-particularly-other-people-s-happiness/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Honor is a harder master than the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/honor-is-a-harder-master-than-the-law/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [For the professors in the academy, for the humanities generally, misery is more amenable to analysis: happiness is a harder nut to crack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/for-the-professors-in-the-academy-for-the-humanities-generally-misery/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [If happiness is a state of the inward life, we have to look for its chief obstructions not in outward conditions but in deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-black/if-happiness-is-a-state-of-the-inward-life-we-have-to-look-for-its/) [Hugh Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-black/) > [Be a hard master to yourself - and be lenient to everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/be-a-hard-master-to-yourself-and-be-lenient-to-everybody-else/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Saturn is a hard master. You may deny him all your life but when he comes knocking at your door, you will have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-east/saturn-is-a-hard-master-you-may-deny-him-all-your-life-but-when-he/) Cate East > [The art of losing isn't hard to master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/the-art-of-losing-isn-t-hard-to-master/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [When first we met we did not guess that Love would prove so hard a master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bridges/when-first-we-met-we-did-not-guess-that-love-would-prove-so-hard-a/) [Robert Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bridges/) > [Being happy is a great science. If you are not happy, do not be confused. Happiness is hard to achieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-deunov/being-happy-is-a-great-science-if-you-are-not-happy-do-not-be/) [Peter Deunov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-deunov/) > [Happiness is hard to recall. Its just a glow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/happiness-is-hard-to-recall-its-just-a-glow/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [There is no happiness without hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-happiness-without-hard-work/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So long as we are under the control of disturbing emotions, real happiness is hard to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-long-as-we-are-under-the-control-of-disturbing-emotions-real/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Happiness is often hard-hearted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/happiness-is-often-hard-hearted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Be a hard worker. Work and happiness are like mother and daughter. Work brings forth happiness. Hard work brings great happiness. Enjoy life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/be-a-hard-worker-work-and-happiness-are-like-mother-and-daughter-work/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [What excuses do you make? Happiness is hard to find. I didn't catch a break. maybe I'm dying inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-excuses-do-you-make-happiness-is-hard-to-find-i-didn-t-catch-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Happiness is a hard master--particularly other people's happiness. 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