It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.

Waitley’s line reframes “happiness” from a destination into a byproduct of engaged striving. Rather than treating fulfillment as something attained once a goal is reached, the quote argues that meaning arises from the process itself: effort, learning, discipline, and the sense of forward motion. It aligns with a long tradition in moral philosophy and modern motivational psychology that emphasizes intrinsic motivation and “flow”—the satisfaction of being absorbed in purposeful activity. The aphorism also critiques the consumerist or achievement-only model of happiness, suggesting that fixation on outcomes can hollow out the very life one is trying to improve.