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Here are over 55 happiness quotes to inspire you through some difficult times this year, and hopefully, help you find and give joy in this world!
Happiness Quotes
Finding happiness is not an overnight fix, and is something we have to constantly work toward and seek out in our everyday lives.
Whether you’re having a bad day, or just looking for some inspiration, use these happiness quotes to help you set your mind up on a path toward happiness in all areas of life.
True Happiness
Happiness cannot bring meaning to your life if you’re associating it with the wrong things. Use these true happiness quotes to help you accept and embrace who you are and the life you live, and from there you can strive to find happiness and meaning in everything you do and feel.
1. “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”- Jane Austen.
2. “The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness.”- Fyodor Dostoevsky.
3. “A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.” – Albert Einstein.
4. “One is happy once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness: simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self-denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience.” – Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (George Sand).
5. “The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” – William Morris.
6. “True happiness is… to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.” – Seneca.
Short
Happiness starts from the moment you wake up in the morning, and these short quotes are perfect to have by your bedside or on the wall. Read them in a matter of seconds, and get inspired to start your day the right way.
7. “Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well-lived.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
8. “A disciplined mind brings happiness.” – The Buddha.
9. “Happiness is the natural flower of duty.” – Phillips Brooks.
10. “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” – Ernest Hemingway.
11. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” – Mark Twain.
12. “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam.
Meaningful
Being happy can help bring true meaning to your life, and these meaningful quotes can help you stop focussing on the menial and trivial, and start focusing on what brings you joy in life.
13. “Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. You give the most when you give joy.” – Mother Teresa.
14. “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” – Abraham Lincoln.
15. “Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.” – Albert Schweitzer.
16. “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth.
17. “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
18. “The secret of happiness, you see is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” – Socrates.
Pursuit of Happiness
Strive to search for happiness in all areas of your life, and use these happiness quotes to inspire you to prioritize feeling happy as much as possible.
19. “Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it.” – Jean Antoine Petit-Senn.
20. “If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows them like a never-departing shadow.” – The Buddha.
21. “We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one.” – Voltaire.
22. “Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit.” – The Buddha.
23. “Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” – Guillaume Apollinaire.
24. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” – Artistotle.
25. “Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore.
Inspirational
Often happiness depends on your state of mind, and whether you’re open to becoming happier. Use these inspirational happiness quotes to help shift your mindset and open yourself up to more love, joy, and warmth.
26. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”- Dalai Lama.
27. “Stop giving other people the power to control your happiness, your mind, and your life. If you don’t take control of yourself and your own life, someone else is bound to try.” – Roy T. Bennett.
28. “Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.” – Henry David Thoreau.
29. “Sometimes happiness is simply the hope that tomorrow will be better.” – Ordinary & Happy.
30. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” – Marcus Aurelius.
Deep
Give yourself plenty to muse and ponder by spending time processing these deep happiness quotes to help you think differently about life and the world around you.
31. “Happiness during difficult times is elusive, but I think it starts with giving yourself permission to not be okay and finding occasional sparks of joy in the little things and with the people you love!” – Ordinary & Happy.
32. “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Hellen Keller.
33. “Where there is love, there is joy.” – Mother Teresa.
34. “There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.” – Alexandre Dumas.
Famous
When it feels like the whole world is against you, attempt to ignite your own happiness with some of these famous quotes that are well-known across the world.
35. “The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain.
36. “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy.
37. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
38. “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
39. “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama.
Beautiful
It’s important to try and bring happiness into your life even if the odds are stacked against you. These beautiful happiness quotes are perfect for helping you see things in a different light, inspiring you to approach life differently.
40. “When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.” – Unknown
41. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon.
42. “Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.” – Hellen Keller.
43. “Health, learning, and virtue will ensure your happiness; they will give you a quiet conscience, private esteem, and public honor.” – Thomas Jefferson.
Funny
Give yourself a good chuckle by reading these funny happiness quotes on those bad days when you’re in need of a pick-me-up.
44. “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.” – Oscar Wilde.
45. “Happiness is nothing more than good health and bad memory.” – Albert Schweitzer.
46. “A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” – Jane Austen.
47. “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you’re being miserable.” – Clare Booth Luce.
Happiness Proverbs and Sayings
Strive to be a better person and live by the words of wise people that have come and gone before you with some of these well-known proverbs and sayings.
48. “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 somebody.” – Chinese Proverb.
49. “Happiness does not come from happiness itself, but from the journey towards achieving it.” – Finnish Proverb.
50. “Happiness is something to do, something to love, something to hope for.” – Chinese Proverb.
51. “Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach.” – Japanese Proverb.
52. “When ambition ends, happiness begins.” – Hungarian Proverb.
For Family & Friends
Our partners, family, and friends are integral to living a happy life. Learn to appreciate these people and spend quality time with them, and use these wonderful quotes to help inspire you when you’re feeling isolated or haven’t spent enough time with those your love.
53. “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust.
54. “Happiness is being married to your best friend.” – Anonymous.
55. “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha.
56. “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” – Victor Hugo.
57. “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” – Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (George Sand).
For Work
Help yourself find happiness in your job or day-to-day work by allowing these quotes to give you plenty of food for thought. Our work is a huge part of our lives, so the most important thing is to prioritize finding happiness in it, no matter what it takes.
58. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer.
59. “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Happiness can be found, nurtured, and embrace in all aspects of our life. However, it starts with the right frame of mind and assuring we look for the right things to be happy about, no matter what life brings.
These happiness quotes are an amazing place to start. When you need a pick-me-up, have a read-through, soak up the wisdom, and use them to help you put a smile on your face.
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Keep these happiness quotes for safekeeping by saving this list to one of your self-improvement Pinterest boards.
