The happiness of this life depends less on what befalls you than the way in which you take it.

The line argues that well-being is shaped more by interpretation than by circumstance: external events matter, but the decisive factor is one’s response—habits of thought, emotional regulation, and chosen perspective. It implies a locus of control within the self, encouraging resilience and agency even amid misfortune. The aphorism also carries a moral undertone: character is revealed in how one “takes” what happens. In Hubbard’s broader rhetorical mode, the point is motivational and democratizing—happiness is not reserved for the lucky, but is available through disciplined attitude and mental reframing.