--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are to be happy, we must first…" description: "\"If we are to be happy, we must first react against our tendency to follow the line of least resistance, a tendency that causes us either to remain as w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_look_if-we-are-to-be-happy-we-must-first-reac_3066426.jpg" --- # If we are to be happy, we must first react against our… ![“If we are to be happy, we must first react against our tendency to follow the line of least resistance, a tendency that causes us either to remain as we are, or to look primarily to activities external to ourselves for what will provide new impetus to our lives.” quote by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_look_if-we-are-to-be-happy-we-must-first-reac_3066426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_look_if-we-are-to-be-happy-we-must-first-reac_3066426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e09/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin-134_look_if-we-are-to-be-happy-we-must-first-reac_3066426.jpg) > “If we are to be happy, we must first react against our tendency to follow the line of least resistance, a tendency that causes us either to remain as we are, or to look primarily to activities external to ourselves for what will provide new impetus to our lives.” [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness requires resisting the easy path and seeking internal motivation rather than external distractions. **In simple terms:** To be happy, push against taking the easy route and find inner drive. Key Takeaway Choose effort over comfort. Themes self-improvement motivation resilience Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career stagnation - creative projects - personal crises - habit change Key Concepts existentialism personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What easy habit are you avoiding? - How can you cultivate inner motivation? A Different Perspective Comfort can be seductive and may mask deeper dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [React Tendency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/react-tendency-5167560/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Resistance Tendency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance-tendency-5167559/) [Tendency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency/) [Tendency Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency-causes-5167561/) [Tendency Follow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendency-follow-3693835/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [The tendency to follow the path of least resistance guarantees failure in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-tendency-to-follow-the-path-of-least-resistance-guarantees/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [We have a tendency to put ourselves last, we concentrate on everything else; work, friends, family, home issues, but we ignore the deeper stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/we-have-a-tendency-to-put-ourselves-last-we-concentrate-on-everything/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [The tendency of humanity is towards the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-tendency-of-humanity-is-towards-the-forbidden/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a tendency for things to right themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-a-tendency-for-things-to-right-themselves/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We pass for what we are. 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The tendency in men toward risky behaviour keeps turning up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-stark/high-testosterone-levels-have-been-proven-to-make-men-more-likely-to/) [Rodney Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-stark/) > [No government can be strong and flourishing while the national character is weak and degraded. A government must flourish and decay with its subjects;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-robbins-curtis/no-government-can-be-strong-and-flourishing-while-the-national/) [Benjamin Robbins Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-robbins-curtis/) > [Nonresidents have a tendency to rush their visits to Harlem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-gondelman/nonresidents-have-a-tendency-to-rush-their-visits-to-harlem/) [Josh Gondelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-gondelman/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## More by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin > [Long before the awakening of thought on earth, manifestations of cosmic energy must have been produced which have no parallel today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/long-before-the-awakening-of-thought-on-earth-manifestations-of/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The longer I live, the more I feel that true repose consists in 'renouncing' one's own self, by which I mean making up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-longer-i-live-the-more-i-feel-that-true-repose-consists-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. 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We are spiritual beings having a human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/we-are-not-human-beings-having-a-spiritual-experience-we-are/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“In the shadow of death may we not look back to the past, but seek in utter darkness the dawn of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/in-the-shadow-of-death-may-we-not-look-back-to-the-past-but-seek-in/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The stars are laboratories in which the evolution of matter proceeds in the direction of large molecules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/the-stars-are-laboratories-in-which-the-evolution-of-matter-proceeds/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [It is not our heads or our bodies which we must bring together, but our hearts. . . . Humanity. . . is building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/it-is-not-our-heads-or-our-bodies-which-we-must-bring-together-but/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Each elect soul ... possesses God directly and finds in that unique possession the fulfillment of his own individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/each-elect-soul-possesses-god-directly-and-finds-in-that-unique/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [In the final analysis, the questions of why bad things happen to good people transmutes itself into some very different questions, no longer asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/in-the-final-analysis-the-questions-of-why-bad-things-happen-to-good/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [When humans truly discover the power of love, it will prove more important than the harnessing of fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/when-humans-truly-discover-the-power-of-love-it-will-prove-more/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) [Explore all 253 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) ## More Look quotes > [The World Is Perfect, But It Depends How You Look At.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria/the-world-is-perfect-but-it-depends-how-you-look-at/) [Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria/) > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [If you want to edit your photos and make yourself look different, go for it. That is up to you, but in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peyton-list/if-you-want-to-edit-your-photos-and-make-yourself-look-different-go/) [Peyton List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peyton-list/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [Leo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Eden. Every year, you look at their numbers - score goals, assists, minutes - to see they play very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro/leo-cristiano-ronaldo-neymar-eden-every-year-you-look-at-their/) [Pedro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. 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