For generations, happiness has been held up as the summit of a life well-lived — yet a growing body of psychological research suggests the summit may be a mirage. Writing in The New York Times, an opinion essayist argues that the relentless modern pursuit of contentment may quietly foreclose the very experiences — struggle, uncertainty, failure — that give life its depth and meaning. The question being raised is not whether happiness matters, but whether making it permanent is the wisest thing we could wish for ourselves.