--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One has to spend so many years in…" description: "\"One has to spend so many years in learning how to be happy. I am just beginning to make some progress in the science, and I hope to disprove Young's th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/george-eliot-84_believe_one-has-to-spend-so-many-years-in-learni_1250889.png" --- # One has to spend so many years in learning how to be… ![“One has to spend so many years in learning how to be happy. I am just beginning to make some progress in the science, and I hope to disprove Young's theory that "as soon as we have found the key of life it opes the gates of death." Every year strips us of at least one vain expectation, and teaches…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/george-eliot-84_believe_one-has-to-spend-so-many-years-in-learni_1250889.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/george-eliot-84_believe_one-has-to-spend-so-many-years-in-learni_1250889.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/george-eliot-84_believe_one-has-to-spend-so-many-years-in-learni_1250889.png) > “One has to spend so many years in learning how to be happy. I am just beginning to make some progress in the science, and I hope to disprove Young's theory that "as soon as we have found the key of life it opes the gates of death." Every year strips us of at least one vain expectation, and teaches us to reckon some solid good in its stead. I never will believe that our youngest days are our happiest. What a miserable augury for the progress of the race and the destination of the individual if the more matured and enlightened state is the less happy one!” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning happiness takes years; youthful optimism fades, leading to a paradox of wisdom and sorrow. **In simple terms:** Happiness is learned, not innate. Key Takeaway Embrace growth and realistic expectations. Themes happiness wisdom aging Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - midlife reflection Key Concepts psychology of joy life stages Questions to Reflect On - How do you define happiness now? - Can wisdom coexist with joy? A Different Perspective Happiness may not increase with age, challenging idealistic views. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Destination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destination/) [Disprove Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disprove-young-3941729/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Expectation Teaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectation-teaches-2372841/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates/) [How to be happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how-to-be-happy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Learning Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-happy-800973/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Matured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matured/) [Matured Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matured-enlightened-3941728/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-theory-3941727/) ## Related quotes > [One has to spend many years in learning how to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/one-has-to-spend-many-years-in-learning-how-to-be-happy/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Every year strips us of at least one vain expectation, and teaches us to reckon some solid good in its stead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/every-year-strips-us-of-at-least-one-vain-expectation-and-teaches-us/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I enjoyed the whole process of learning and was always happy when autumn came and school or college started up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-enjoyed-the-whole-process-of-learning-and-was-always-happy-when/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Unnatural to expect that learning to be happy should be any easier than, say, learning to play the violin or require any less practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/unnatural-to-expect-that-learning-to-be-happy-should-be-any-easier/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Far from perfect & still learning but happy & working on my dreams & goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/far-from-perfect-still-learning-but-happy-working-on-my-dreams-goals/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This summer is about learning to be happy and moving on with my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-summer-is-about-learning-to-be-happy-and-moving-on-with-my-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In order to open the door of happiness, there are five things you must let go: 1. Let go of the habit of judging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/in-order-to-open-the-door-of-happiness-there-are-five-things-you-must/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [If you aren't unhappy sometimes you don't know how to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-you-aren-t-unhappy-sometimes-you-don-t-know-how-to-be-happy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned or worn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/happiness-cannot-be-traveled-to-owned-earned-or-worn/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [The marriage partner is not really the problem. No other person can ultimately make you happy. You must learn how to be happy within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/the-marriage-partner-is-not-really-the-problem-no-other-person-can/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Do not spoil what u hav by desiring wat u dont have but remember that you now have was once among the things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-spoil-what-u-hav-by-desiring-wat-u-dont-have-but-remember-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [O merry, merry, merry, like only dogs know how to be happy and nothing more, with an absolute shameless nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/o-merry-merry-merry-like-only-dogs-know-how-to-be-happy-and-nothing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I felt pissed off because I realized that you have to teach people in a clichéd way how to be happy-and happiness has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-felt-pissed-off-because-i-realized-that-you-have-to-teach-people-in/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [“To be happy, make others happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/to-be-happy-make-others-happy/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One has to spend so many years in learning how to be happy. I am just beginning to make some progress in the science, and I hope to disprove Young's theory that \"as soon as we have found the key of life it opes the gates of death.\" Every year strips us of at least one vain expectation, and teaches us to reckon some solid good in its stead. I never will believe that our youngest days are our happiest. 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