“A person is never happy till their vague strivings has itself marked out its proper limitations.”
What this quote means
Goethe emphasizes the importance of limits for happiness. Vague, limitless aspirations lead to dissatisfaction because you never know when you have enough. By clearly defining our goals and desires, we give them a precise shape, and we can then feel the pride of achieving them. It is by delimiting our ambitions that we become capable of being happy.
How to apply it daily
Write down three specific goals for the coming year, with deadlines and measurable success criteria.
Reading guide
Which book should you read to discover Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?
Our starting point
An intense, relatively short novelistic entry point
The Sorrows of Young Werther
This novel immediately shows the sensibility and Romantic force that made Goethe a central figure in European literature.
- Level
- Accessible
- Reading time
- 4–6 hours
- Formats to compare
- Print · Ebook · Audio
Merchant links help compare editions. Recommendations are editorially independent.
Continue
Related quotes
Same author or same theme — keep reading.
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”Create visual
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”Create visual
“The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have.”Create visual
“The world is full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.”Create visual
“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.”Create visual
“The constant happiness is curiosity.”Create visual
More quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Ask for the business...always! Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”Create visual
“Never let a day pass that will make you say, "I will do better tomorrow". It is not enough to have knowledge; one must apply it. It is not enough to have wishes; one must also accomplish it.”Create visual
“For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him, he must regard himself as greater than he is.”Create visual
“What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”Create visual