--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No effort is required to define or even…" description: "\"No effort is required to define or even attain happiness, but enormous concentration is needed to abandon everything else.\" — Quentin Crisp" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png" --- # No effort is required to define or even attain happiness… ![“No effort is required to define or even attain happiness, but enormous concentration is needed to abandon everything else.” quote by Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png) > “No effort is required to define or even attain happiness, but enormous concentration is needed to abandon everything else.” [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness doesn’t need effort, but letting go of attachments requires intense focus. **In simple terms:** Letting go needs concentration, not effort. Key Takeaway Practice detachment to find peace. Themes happiness detachment focus Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - minimalist living - decluttering - spiritual practice Key Concepts mindfulness non-attachment concentration Questions to Reflect On - What attachments hold you back? - How can you concentrate on letting go? A Different Perspective Detachment may cause isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concentration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) ## Related quotes > [There are sometimes easier games and others harder, but the Champions League always requires enormous concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-ramos/there-are-sometimes-easier-games-and-others-harder-but-the-champions/) [Sergio Ramos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-ramos/) > [It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly a scream pierced the air'. . . . Good writing takes enormous concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night-suddenly-a-scream-pierced-the-air-good/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [“You're not worried about anything, are you?" said Danglers. "It seems to me everything's going perfectly for you." "That's exactly what worries me," replied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/you-re-not-worried-about-anything-are-you-said-danglers-it-seems-to/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [What is needed to attain happiness is not a comfortable life, but a heart in love, such as Christ's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-castrillon-hoyos/what-is-needed-to-attain-happiness-is-not-a-comfortable-life-but-a/) Dario Castrillon Hoyos > [A good man may make the best even of poverty and disease, and the other ills of life; but he can only attain happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-good-man-may-make-the-best-even-of-poverty-and-disease-and-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Nature provided human beings with all the gemstones needed to attain happiness – physical abilities, intellectual and cognitive capacity, and emotional indexes, yet surrendering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/nature-provided-human-beings-with-all-the-gemstones-needed-to-attain/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“I don’t think man was meant to attain happiness so easily. Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-don-t-think-man-was-meant-to-attain-happiness-so-easily-happiness/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [It has never been given to a man to attain at once his happiness and his salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-peguy/it-has-never-been-given-to-a-man-to-attain-at-once-his-happiness-and/) [Charles Peguy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-peguy/) > [“May all beings attain happiness. May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings never be separated from joy. May all beings abide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama-xiv/may-all-beings-attain-happiness-may-all-beings-be-free-from-suffering/) [Dalai Lama XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama-xiv/) > [To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/to-attain-happiness-in-another-world-we-need-only-to-believe/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [“It is not by sin that we attain happiness, nor is it by virtue, nor is it by that kind of divine fire by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-barbusse/it-is-not-by-sin-that-we-attain-happiness-nor-is-it-by-virtue-nor-is/) [Henri Barbusse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-barbusse/) > [“Only idiots will be able to attain happiness in life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-haruta/only-idiots-will-be-able-to-attain-happiness-in-life/) Nana Haruta > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik ## More by Quentin Crisp > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/never-keep-up-with-the-joneses-drag-them-down-to-your-level/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [“Masturbation is not only an expression of self-regard: it is also the natural emotional outlet of those who, before anything has reared its ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/masturbation-is-not-only-an-expression-of-self-regard-it-is-also-the/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [My mother protected me from the world and my father threatened me with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/my-mother-protected-me-from-the-world-and-my-father-threatened-me/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Nothing more rapidly inclines a person to go into a monastery than reading a book on etiquette. There are so many trivial ways in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/nothing-more-rapidly-inclines-a-person-to-go-into-a-monastery-than/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Most men when they make up their faces, the makeup stands forward, and their faces are behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/most-men-when-they-make-up-their-faces-the-makeup-stands-forward-and/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Development of character consists solely in moving toward self-sufficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/development-of-character-consists-solely-in-moving-toward-self/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Women have decided to be people, which is a great mistake. Women were nicer than people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/women-have-decided-to-be-people-which-is-a-great-mistake-women-were/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Sex is the last refuge of the misreable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/sex-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-misreable/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I was amazed to receive later a substantial sum for sitting in my room and talking about myself. If only I could get some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-was-amazed-to-receive-later-a-substantial-sum-for-sitting-in-my/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [If you live in America, you don't have to work. You can just drift along in the smiling and nodding racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-you-live-in-america-you-don-t-have-to-work-you-can-just-drift/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [“I was from birth an object of mild ridicule because of my movements - especially the perpetual flutter of my hands - and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-was-from-birth-an-object-of-mild-ridicule-because-of-my-movements/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [If a man were to look over the fence on one side of his garden and observe that the neighbor on his left had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-a-man-were-to-look-over-the-fence-on-one-side-of-his-garden-and/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) [Explore all 279 Quentin Crisp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No effort is required to define or even attain happiness, but enormous concentration is needed to abandon everything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Quentin Crisp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even-attain-happiness-but-enormous/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even-attain-happiness-but-enormous/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/quentin-crisp-1163_abandon_no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even_1489539.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No effort is required to define or even attain happiness, but enormous concentration is needed to abandon…” — Quentin Crisp", "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": "Quentin Crisp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No effort is required to define...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even-attain-happiness-but-enormous/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/no-effort-is-required-to-define-or-even-attain-happiness-but-enormous/#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 } } ] } ```