John Stuart Mill's 'A Crisis In My Mental History: One Stage Onward'

In John Stuart Mill’s autobiography A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward, Mill opines that when a person sets happiness as an expectation or life goal, he or she is normally left discontent and unsatisfied. He argues that the easiest way to feel happy is to not focus on trying to be happy. Furthermore, Mill states that there are plenty of things in life that can lead to our enjoyment and make us blissful if only our goal is not to find happiness from them. He closes by stating that this is a great life philosophy for anyone who is sensible. John Stuart Mill is correct because trying to find happiness leads to discontent but bliss comes to a person when they are not focused on finding happiness.

The pursuit of happiness ultimately leads to disappointment and a lack of satisfaction because people’s cravings can never be entirely fulfilled. Dalai Lama once said “When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.’” This quote shows that having high expectations of anything leads to disappointment when the expectation is not met. Also, having anticipations for what happiness is makes attained happiness irrelevant and inadequate relative to what one wanted to get

from a situation. “It is as if the harder one tries to experience happiness, the more difficult it is to actually feel happy, even in otherwise pleasant situations,” states Dr. June Gruber, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley. For this reason, the more people try to pursue happiness, the less likely it becomes that they will be able to obtain it. When a person does not set a standard or create an image of what happiness should be, it is much easier for them to fully accept and enjoy whatever good happens to them. Clearly, discontent is the result of attempting to find happiness because pure bliss is impossible to attain.
When a person stops focusing on their own happiness and does things for others, they are more likely to get a sense of fulfillment and joy. “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose,” said Helen Keller. This quote illustrates that trying to make oneself happy by fulfilling one’s needs and desires does not work but one can get bliss through compassion towards others. Moreover, by devoting oneself to the betterment of others, one finds happiness during the process, or as Mill stated, “by and by.” John Wooden remarked, “Happiness begins where selfishness ends. Give and that is where you find happiness.” His words explain how happiness stems from selflessness, and a true sense of joy comes from serving others and making them happy. This demonstrates that, in reality, most people are so self-centered and obsessed with their own happiness that their compassion for others is lost, when that is what brings true happiness. Without a doubt, serving others and concentrating on how to make those around you happy eventually leads to the sense of internal happiness.
Although people think that things like money, people, and fame are the key to happiness, the truth is that happiness comes from being grateful and content with what you already have. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” This quote by Frederick Keonig establishes that if one appreciates and gives value to what one has instead of regretting and worrying about what he or she doesn’t, the person will be much happier. By giving value to what one has using the phenomenon of synthetic happiness proposed by Dan Gilbert, a person will begin to like what they have more than what they don’t. “Confidence comes with maturity, being more accepting of yourself,” says Nicole Scherzinger. This quote shows that when people accept themselves for who they are and stop comparing themselves to what they should be like, they allow happiness to come to them. As Mill said, individuals must stop self-interrogating and being self-conscious and enjoy their situation and life for what it is. Plain to see, true happiness originates from accepting a situation for what it is rather than manipulating it to what it ‘should’ be.
As you can see, John Stuart Mill’s argument that the relentless pursuit of happiness generally leads to dissatisfaction and that happiness comes when one is not looking for it is accurate.

First, the expectation of being happiness normally undermines its purpose, making us unhappy. Subsequently, devoting oneself to the happiness of others in turn brings happiness to the person. Finally, true happiness comes from being content with what one already has instead of worrying about he or she doesn’t. So the next time you think that you are not and want to be happy, remember that instead of following the feeling around, let happiness come to

you.