Perhaps, we don’t need a one-size-fits-all concept of happiness. We know it when we experience it and sometimes use the term to describe a variety of positive thoughts and emotions, including joy, pride, contentment, and gratitude. Our selection of happiness quotes can further inspire you to smile and seek your own interpretation of happiness.
And while happiness may mean a variety of things to different individuals, it is, first of all, a state. Happiness is a state of contentment or satisfaction. Some have also associated the term with a sense of healthy, meaningful, and worthwhile life.
According to Courtney Ackerman, we can feel and show happiness. True happiness, therefore, starts from the inside. We may not always have the perfect external factors to induce happiness, but we can learn to sustain our optimism and positive attitude. We can start acknowledging and letting go of negativity, rather than holding on to it and compromising our happiness.
It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.
Denis E. Waitley, an American motivational speaker, writer, and consultant, is the founding partner of the National Council on Self-Esteem. Many know Waitley as the best-selling author of international Best-sellers such as Seeds of Greatness, Being the Best, and The Winner's Edge (all on amazon). With some of his works translated to over 14 languages, the media has described Waitley as one of the most listened-to voices in personal and business developments in the world.
According to Waitley’s happiness quote, fulfillment is not at the end of a discovery journey. Fulfillment is in the journey itself, in the little and large victories along the way. You find fulfillment in pursuing a purpose. You find happiness and fulfillment in your little victories in the pursuit of your purpose.
Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.
Missouri-born Dale Carnegie was an American writer and educator. He is a pioneer of self-improvement, selling, business, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, although he started from a poor background. He was the author of How to Gain Friends and Influence People (1936, amazon), a bestseller that earned him national recognition and enabled him to expand his Institute to other countries around the world.
We usually find happiness while pursuing a purpose or while doing something we are passionate about. So, if you’re bored with life, why not doggedly pursue something you believe in? Live for it, and you’re sure to find happiness.
There is nothing that you can't overcome. So it's never too late for happiness.
Sandra Jacqueline Denton, also known as Pepa, is a Jamaican-American hip-hop singer and actress. Most people recognize her for her work as a member of Salt-N-Pepa (amazon), the Grammy Award-winning female rap group. Denton appeared in the 2008 VH1 network's The Salt-N-Pepa Show, and also appeared as a supporting cast on the WE TV show, Growing Up In Hip-Hop in 2016.
One of the most important things to know is that there is nothing that we cannot overcome. You can figure out whatever is in your path to happiness. So, find joy in little things and you just might find the strength you need to keep going.
Wellness is associated with happiness. When you're happy, you're feeling good in your mind and body. That ties into being healthy, eating well, and exercising regularly. It also ties into being excited about things - like getting up in the morning and having a healthy breakfast.
Belgian-born Stella Maynes Maxwell is a Northern Irish-New Zealand model best known for her work with Victoria's Secret. She became Victoria's Secret Angel in 2015 and is now Max Factor's makeup brand face.
Maxwell's happiness quote reminds us that our happiness and physical wellness are intertwined. To be happy, you need to feel good in your body and mind. Being healthy is a really important part of being happy. For a better quality of life, it’s important to work on improving both aspects.
The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.
“Chief Scout of the World” Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, was a British Army officer, journalist, founder, and first Scout Leader of the World Scout Movement. He is the creator of the worldwide Girl Guide/Girl Scout Movement with his sister Agnes. Baden-Powell wrote the first editions of his pioneering work Scouting for Youth, which influenced the Scout Movement.
Doing things that make others happy could be a vital part of finding your happiness. Putting a smile on someone’s face puts a smile on your face too. So, if you want to be happy, all you need to do may be to make someone else happy.
Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It's the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.
Sharon M. Draper is a competent and experienced author. She has been named the Year's National Writer, is a five-time Coretta Scott King Literary Awards recipient, and is a New York Times bestselling author of the book, Out of My Mind (amazon), which remained on the best-selling list for nearly two years. She was named Ohio's Outstanding High School Language Arts Instructor, the Year's Ohio Teacher, and was chosen as NCNW Teaching Award recipient.
It's the little things that count. Just like drops of water make an ocean, the little happy moments make a happy person. True happiness is a compendium of the little happy moments. The little things like a random kid smiling and waving at you, are what make true happiness.
Make space in your life, space for health and happiness.
Kris Carr (amazon) is a New York Times best-selling author, health activist, and thriver of cancer. She is the narrator and producer of Mad Sexy Cancer, a documentary that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and screened on TLC and The Oprah Winfrey Network. She’s reported to have said, “The doctors told me to ‘watch and wait.’ What I prefer is the ‘watch and live’ approach”, five years after being diagnosed with the slow-moving vascular cancer- EHE.
Carr shared that the cancer diagnosis served as a wake-up call to her. She improved her lifestyle, became vegan, and exercised more; and she generally feels she is much healthier than she was before the diagnosis. Carr, as outlined in her happiness quote, thus understands the importance of making out time and room for health and happiness.
I knew everything and received everything. But real happiness, is giving.
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor and businessman, recognized as one of Europe's 1960s' most influential actors and television sex icons. In films like Rocco and His Brothers (1960), Plein Soleil (1960), L'Eclisse (1962), The Leopard (1963), The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965), and Le Samouraï (1967), he received critical acclaim. Some of his biggest successes came in the self-produced Borsalino and Mr Klein in 1970 and 1977 respectively (all on amazon).
Alain shared that he knew everything and he received everything but found real happiness in giving. Giving is happiness. Merely seeing the joy you bring to someone by giving is enough to make you happy.
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.
Tennessee-born Harriett Jackson Brown Jr. is an American author best known for his inspirational books, Life's Little Instruction book, and its sequel, Life's Little Instruction Book: Volume 2; both New York Times bestsellers (1991-1994). Brown also published P.S. I Love You (all on amazon), a book containing 511 reminders about "how to live a happy, rewarding life" and also became a worldwide best-seller.
We can’t all follow the same path, and therefore we can’t find happiness in the same thing. Brown’s happiness quote reminds us that there are different routes to happiness. A different route from yours does not necessarily translate to disaster.
Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.
Virginia-born Oliver Napoleon Hill was an author and advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Starting from being a reporter at the age of 13, he used the money earned from this venture to send himself to law school. He's now best known for his book Think and Grow Rich (1937), one of the 10 best-selling self-help books ever; and the 12-pack series, The Laws of Success (both on amazon).
Hill’s happiness quote reminds us that having things does not guarantee happiness. Some of the most miserable people are those who hoard things, hoping to get happiness from having a lot. Truly happy people give to others and lend helping hands.
The world is full of a lot of fear and a lot of negativity, and a lot of judgment. I just think people need to start shifting into joy and happiness. As corny as it sounds, we need to make a shift.
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is one of the most popular comedians in America. This is partly because she has hosted her tv show- The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003. Ellen, as many refer to her, has also been a staunch advocate of LGBTQ rights ever since she came out as gay in 1997. The Ellen DeGeneres show is particularly famed for sporadic acts of kindness and giveaways.
Humans harbor fear, and a lot of negative emotions; and news outlets have been particularly culpable in invoking fear. If we want to be truly happy, we need to make a change and shift into joy and happiness. Ellen, as stated in her quote, thus sees happiness as a choice to make. Make conscious efforts to see the positive part of life and stop dwelling on the negativity.
It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution. It's also a very clear path to happiness.
Sheryl Kara Sandberg is Facebook's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a philanthropist. Many have commended her for transforming Facebook’s $56 million loss in 2008 when the group elected her, to a profit of $22.1 Billion by 2018. Sandberg also played a key role in shifting the focus of Facebook to being a platform for small business advertisement, a move which has increased revenue and ensured facebook's continued relevance in the social media space.
Not everybody gets to say they combine their passion with contributing positively to the world. But those that get to contribute to society while pursuing their passion find true happiness. Pursuing your passion while contributing positively to society is a sure path to happiness.
Teaching yourself to be optimistic is paramount because happiness starts from the inside. Living in the moment and savoring the pleasures of life also seem like good practices. You are also far more likely to feel focused, content, and at peace when you focus on helping people and living with meaning.
There's something rewarding about helping people and contributing your efforts towards making a difference in the world. When you support others in need and give back to your community, it becomes easier to find happiness and contentment in yourself.
Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.
~ Marcus Aurelius
A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.
~ Albert Einstein
It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.
~ Chuck Palahniuk
Happiness is a warm puppy.
~ Charles M. Schulz
There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.
~ Stephen Chbosky
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
~ Albert Camus
A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.
~ Albert Einstein
In order to have great happiness you have to have great pain and unhappiness – otherwise how would you know when you're happy?
~ Leslie Caron
Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.
~ Benjamin Franklin
The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
The mere sense of living is joy enough.
~ Emily Dickinson
Are you so unobservant as not to have found out that sanity and happiness are an impossible combination?
~ Mark Twain
No medicine cures what happiness cannot.
~ Gabriel García Márquez
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
~ Anaïs Nin
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.
~ James Oppenheim
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
~ Marcel Proust
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
~ Dalai Lama
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.
~ Anne Frank
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.
~ George Sand
Happiness depends upon ourselves.
~ Aristotle
I never dwell on what happened. You can't change it. Move forward. Don't waste your energy on being angry at something that somebody did six months ago or a year ago. It's over. Done. Move forward.
Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one's identity as a being of worth and dignity.
Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye.
Your successes and happiness are forgiven you only if you generously consent to share them.
It's OK to have a plan, to invest in your future - for your financial security, your love life, your personal fulfillment, and even your happiness. To have personal happiness as a stated goal doesn't detract from it if you get there.
The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul; one must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others.
The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.
Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.
I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.
The good life consists in deriving happiness by using your signature strengths every day in the main realms of living. The meaningful life adds one more component: using these same strengths to forward knowledge, power or goodness.
Happiness is a matter of one's most ordinary and everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self.
A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away.
No one is perfect... absolutely no one. Like precious stones, we have a few flaws, but why focus on that? Focus on what you like about yourself, and that will bring you happiness and peace.
Values are principles and ideas that bring meaning to the seemingly mundane experience of life. A meaningful life that ultimately brings happiness and pride requires you to respond to temptations as well as challenges with honor, dignity, and courage.
Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.
I am a spiritual person in an eastern religion kind of way. I learned that happiness for all of us is a switch that you flick in your brain. It doesn't have anything to do with getting a new house, a new car, a new girlfriend, or a new pair of shoes. Our culture is very much about that; we are never happy with what we have today.
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.
Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.
Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you got.
Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.
There is no such thing as the pursuit of happiness, but there is the discovery of joy.
My mantra is: Let there be happiness in my soul, and let me share it with the world.
The secret to life is finding joy in ordinary things. I'm interested in happiness.
Happiness is only real when shared.
Feeling sorry for ourselves is the most useless waste of energy on the planet. It does absolutely no good. We can't let our circumstances or what others do or don't do control us. We can decide to be happy regardless.
You can be happy where you are.
Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.
I'm a very positive person. My grandmother taught me that happiness is both a skill and a decision, and you are responsible for the outcome.
I relate to happiness as an ecstatic moment - something you don't create, you encounter.
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.
Happiness is the cessation of suffering.
In my life I've learned that true happiness comes from giving. Helping others along the way makes you evaluate who you are. I think that love is what we're all searching for. I haven't come across anyone who didn't become a better person through love.
We must have courage to bet on our ideas, to take the calculated risk, and to act. Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.
A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.
Jen’s a passionate environmentalist and sustainability expert. With a science degree from Babcock University Jen loves applying her research skills to craft editorial that connects with our global changemaker and readership audiences centered around topics including zero waste, sustainability, climate change, and biodiversity.
Elsewhere Jen’s interests include the role that future technology and data have in helping us solve some of the planet’s biggest challenges.
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