--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Happiness is a myth. It was invented to…" description: "\"Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy new things.\" — Gregory David Roberts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/gregory-david-roberts-1039_happiness_happiness-is-a-myth-it-was-invented-to-m_2293452.png" --- # Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy new… ![“Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy new things.” quote by Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/gregory-david-roberts-1039_happiness_happiness-is-a-myth-it-was-invented-to-m_2293452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/gregory-david-roberts-1039_happiness_happiness-is-a-myth-it-was-invented-to-m_2293452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85a/gregory-david-roberts-1039_happiness_happiness-is-a-myth-it-was-invented-to-m_2293452.png) > “Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy new things.” [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests happiness is a constructed concept used to drive consumerism. **In simple terms:** Happiness is portrayed as a marketing tool. Key Takeaway Question consumer motives. Themes consumerism psychology materialism Mood skeptical reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - shopping - personal finance - mindful living Key Concepts social engineering marketing culture Questions to Reflect On - Do you equate happiness with purchases? - How can you find contentment beyond material goods? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-myth-2378423/) [Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Myth Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth-invented-2336741/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) ## Related quotes > [The devil is only a convenient myth invented by the real malefactors of our world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-devil-is-only-a-convenient-myth-invented-by-the-real-malefactors/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/wickedness-is-a-myth-invented-by-good-people-to-account-for-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Sustainable Happiness is a myth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiz-amit-prakash/sustainable-happiness-is-a-myth/) [AMIZ AMIT PRAKASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiz-amit-prakash/) > [Happiness is a myth we seek, If manifested surely irks; Like river speeding to the plain, On its arrival slows and murks. For man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/happiness-is-a-myth-we-seek-if-manifested-surely-irks-like-river/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“It seems to us that there are four great collective sociological assumptions in the modern world. By this we mean not only the Western…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-seems-to-us-that-there-are-four-great-collective-sociological/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“What is Happiness? Happiness is a myth. It doesn't exist. What we call happiness is merely a temporary sensation of excitement that we receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/what-is-happiness-happiness-is-a-myth-it-doesn-t-exist-what-we-call/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [A limit is a myth created by those who are not willing to try new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-limit-is-a-myth-created-by-those-who-are-not-willing-to-try-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is the mythosphere. It's made up of all the stories, theories and beliefs, legends, myths and hopes, that are generated here on Earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/this-is-the-mythosphere-it-s-made-up-of-all-the-stories-theories-and/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [Accursed be he that first invented war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/accursed-be-he-that-first-invented-war/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [I don't think I really invented anybody. I have drawn on real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hailey/i-don-t-think-i-really-invented-anybody-i-have-drawn-on-real-life/) [Arthur Hailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hailey/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Congress as a whole is less popular than it's been since polling was invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/congress-as-a-whole-is-less-popular-than-it-s-been-since-polling-was/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Redemption is invented by the sinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hill/redemption-is-invented-by-the-sinner/) [Lawrence Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hill/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I don't think I'm the one that invented glamour at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-lang/i-don-t-think-i-m-the-one-that-invented-glamour-at-all/) [Helmut Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-lang/) ## More by Gregory David Roberts > [The simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that when you go there, and deal with them, your heart always guides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-simple-and-astonishing-truth-about-india-and-indian-people-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-think-the-novel-form-chose-me-i-was-a-writer-before-i-became-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Men are just men - it is what they do, or refuse to do, that links them to good and evil. The truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/men-are-just-men-it-is-what-they-do-or-refuse-to-do-that-links-them/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/indians-are-the-italians-of-asia-and-vice-versa-every-man-in-both/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [A lot of bad stuff in the world wasn’t really that bad until someone tried to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-lot-of-bad-stuff-in-the-world-wasn-t-really-that-bad-until-someone/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Of course I wanted to know. I was a writer. I wanted to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/of-course-i-wanted-to-know-i-was-a-writer-i-wanted-to-know-everything/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/sometimes-we-love-with-nothing-more-than-hope-sometimes-we-cry-with/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/love-is-the-passionate-search-for-a-truth-other-than-your-own-and/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I know now that it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-know-now-that-it-s-the-sweet-sweating-smell-of-hope-which-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I don't know what frightens me more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-don-t-know-what-frightens-me-more/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I hesitated. Karla once said that men reveal what they think when they look away, and what they feel when they hesitate. With women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-hesitated-karla-once-said-that-men-reveal-what-they-think-when-they/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [you can't kill love. you can't even kill it with hate. you can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. you can kill them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/you-can-t-kill-love-you-can-t-even-kill-it-with-hate-you-can-kill-in/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Some loves are like that. Your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/some-loves-are-like-that-your-heart-starts-to-feel-like-an/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I sometimes think that the size of our happiness is inversely proportional to the size of our house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-sometimes-think-that-the-size-of-our-happiness-is-inversely/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) [Explore all 276 Gregory David Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 myth. 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