THE PARADOX OF THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

"There are immense difficulties with this modern regime of self-generated happiness. It’s a regime filled with paradox. The self-conscious pursuit of happiness often leads to un-happiness, an unhappiness that is only intensified by the perception that one’s unhappiness is entirely one’s own responsibility—precisely because we assume that happiness is, or should be, something within our power to achieve for ourselves. So the experience of being unhappy, which is bad enough in itself, is rendered even worse by the sense of failure that attends it. Not only are you unhappy, but it’s your fault that you are."

WILFRED M. MCLAY, "THE PARADOX OF THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS"