--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret of happiness is something to do." description: "\"The secret of happiness is something to do.\" — John Burroughs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png" --- # The secret of happiness is something to do. ![“The secret of happiness is something to do.” quote by John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png) > “The secret of happiness is something to do.” [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness stems from having meaningful activity to engage in. **In simple terms:** Doing something gives happiness. Key Takeaway Find purposeful work. Themes purpose happiness engagement Mood hopeful thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - creative projects - career planning - daily chores Key Concepts meaningful work psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What activities fulfill you? - How can you align work with values? A Different Perspective Purpose may not guarantee joy if misaligned. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [I have discovered the secret of happiness. 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The moment I have something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-have-discovered-the-secret-of-happiness-it-is-work-either-with-the/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [The secret of happiness is freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/the-secret-of-happiness-is-freedom/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [The secret of happiness is renunciation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/the-secret-of-happiness-is-renunciation/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [The secret of happiness is: Find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-secret-of-happiness-is-find-something-more-important-than-you-are/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [A Sufi mystic who had always remained happy was asked… For seventy years people had watched him, he had never been found sad. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-sufi-mystic-who-had-always-remained-happy-was-asked-for-seventy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The secret of happiness is learn to accept the impossible, to do without the indispensable and to bear the intolerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-secret-of-happiness-is-learn-to-accept-the-impossible-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The secret to happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison/the-secret-to-happiness/) Allison > [The secret to happiness is to lower your expectations. ...that is what you compare your experience with. If your expectations and standards are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-secret-to-happiness-is-to-lower-your-expectations-that-is-what/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Pursue whatever it is that you want to do with your life. It is the only secret to happiness that I know except for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/pursue-whatever-it-is-that-you-want-to-do-with-your-life-it-is-the/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [The secret of happiness is in a cheerful, contented mind. 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No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/what-a-severe-yet-master-artist-old-winter-is-no-longer-the-canvas/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Following World War II, the U.S. was the architect of the UN system, and the world financial system, and the Human Rights Declaration, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/following-world-war-ii-the-u-s-was-the-architect-of-the-un-system-and/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“Go to the sea or climb the mountain, and with the ruggedest and the savagest you will find likewise the fairest and the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/go-to-the-sea-or-climb-the-mountain-and-with-the-ruggedest-and-the/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) [Explore all 281 John Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) ## 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 [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret of happiness is something to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Burroughs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/john-burroughs-1157_happiness_the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to_386805.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret of happiness is something to do.” — John Burroughs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Burroughs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The secret of happiness is something...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/the-secret-of-happiness-is-something-to-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```