30 Uplifting Quotes on Happiness to Brighten Your Day
What Is happiness? Some days, it’s simple, effortless, and in our grasp at any moment. Other times, it feels complicated, elusive, and out of reach. Check out what famous poets, philosophers, and writers had to say throughout history about happiness and how to embody it in your daily life.
Release What You Can’t Control
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.” ― Epictetus
Happiness When Everything Aligns
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
Your Thoughts Create Your Happiness
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Happiness Is Being Free
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.'” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Happiness Is Being Present
“If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
What You Think Is What You Feel
“It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” ― Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People
You Can Choose Anger, or You Can Choose Happiness
“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Mindfulness Over Overthinking
“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
You Are in Control
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Happiness Leaves No Scars
“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, Diary
The Rarest Thing
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden
Count Your Life by Smiles
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” ― John Lennon
Loved Ones Make Our Souls Blossom
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust
Take Ownership Over Your Happiness
“Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Happiness Is Wanting What You Get
“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.” ― Dale Carnegie
Happiness and Sadness Go Hand in Hand
“You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” ― Jonathan Safran Foer
A Bad Memory Can Enjoy Good Things Multiple Times
“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
Helping Others Multiplies Happiness
“If you want happiness for an hour—take a nap. If you want happiness for a day—go fishing. If you want happiness for a year—inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime—help someone else.” — Chinese Proverb
Replace Scarcity Mindset With Abundance Mindset
“If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.” — Lao Tzu
Passionate Goals Bring Happiness and Fulfillment
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” — Andrew Carnegie
Gratitude Leads to More Blessings
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ― Oprah Winfrey
Happiness Never Decreases When Shared
“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” — Buddha
Happiness Is a Way of Seeing the World
“Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” — Margaret Lee Runbeck
Happiness Is a Perfume
“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Relax Into Your True Self
“Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are.” — Chinese Proverb
Enjoy the Little Things
“Happiness consists more in conveniences of pleasure that occur everyday than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom.” — Benjamin Franklin
Happiness Is Inside You
“Why should we build our happiness on the opinions of others, when we can find it in our own hearts?” ― Jean-Jacques Rousseau
It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination
“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” ― Andy Rooney
Love What You Do, and You’ll Be Happy
“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” ― J.M. Barrie
Happiness Is an Inside Job
“Happiness is an inside job. Don’t assign anyone else that much power over your life.” — Mandy Hale