"There is no such thing as the pursuit of happiness, but there is the discovery of joy."

Happiness

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Happiness as articulated by Joyce Grenfell. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Happiness provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Joyce Grenfell

Joyce Irene Grenfell was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo shows. She never appeared as a stage actress, but had roles, mostly comic, in many films, including Miss Gossage in The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Police Sergeant Ruby Gates in the St Trinian's series. She was a well-known broadcaster on radio and television. As a writer, she was the first radio critic for The Observer, contributed to Punch and published two volumes of memoirs.

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More by Joyce Grenfell

"Happiness is the sublime moment when you get out of your corsets at night."

— Joyce Grenfell
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More about Happiness

"I think the secret to happiness is having a Teflon soul. Whatever comes your way, you either let it slide or you cook with it."

— Diane Lane
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"He taught me never to smile, which helps me when I visit disaster sites."

— Emo Philips
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"In this life, we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices."

— James E. Faust
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"This is going to sound completely absurd, but I do sometimes feel like the enjoyment of an awards ceremony or the pride in the finished article hasn't ever surpassed the joy of doing the work, of making it. The doing it is really the bit I'm there for."

— Chiwetel Ejiofor
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