Happiness is a universal pursuit, yet its meaning and the path to achieving it can vary for everyone. Throughout history, philosophers, writers, and thinkers have explored what it truly means to be happy. From simple joys in everyday life to the deeper fulfillment found in relationships and personal growth, these reflections offer wisdom on how to embrace happiness, even in the face of challenges.
This collection of 101 quotes about happiness serves as a reminder that joy is not just a destination but a journey—one that is shaped by our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. Let these quotes inspire you to discover happiness in your own life, no matter where you are on your journey.
1. Happiness is not about getting all you want – it’s about enjoying all you have.
2. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
3. “Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.” – John Harrigan
4. Man: “I want happiness”. Buddha: “First remove ‘I’, this is ego, then remove ‘want’, this is desire. All that remains is happiness”
This profound exchange attributed to Buddha conveys the idea that true happiness is found by letting go of ego and desire. It suggests that happiness is our natural state, obscured by personal attachments and cravings. By removing the focus on ‘I’ (ego) and ‘want’ (desire), we can return to a state of inner peace and contentment.
5. “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” – John Lennon
6. “The Journey is what brings us Happiness not the destination.” – Dan Millman
This insightful quote by Dan Millman emphasizes the importance of valuing the process of life’s journey over the final outcome or destination. It suggests that true happiness is found not in achieving a specific goal or reaching a particular milestone, but in the experiences, growth, and learning that occur along the way. By appreciating each step of the journey, with its ups and downs, we find fulfillment and joy in the present moment. The quote encourages us to live mindfully and embrace the ongoing adventure of life.
7. Happiness is like a kiss. You have to share it to enjoy it.
8. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
9. “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.”
This poignant quote highlights the human tendency to remember and dwell on painful experiences more vividly than moments of joy and peace. Pain often leaves deep emotional scars that are hard to forget, while happiness and peace are fleeting and can be easily overlooked or forgotten because they leave no visible mark. The quote suggests that while suffering can teach us important lessons, we often fail to fully appreciate or learn from the moments of sweetness and tranquility. It calls for greater mindfulness and awareness to value and remember the positive experiences in our lives just as deeply as we remember the painful ones.
10. Stop waiting for friday, for summer, for someone to fall in love with you, for life. Happiness is acheived when you stop waiting for it and make the most of the moment you are in now.
Don’t wait for special occasions or the right person to bring you happiness. Instead, find joy in the present moment and make the most of where you are right now. Happiness is about appreciating today, not waiting for tomorrow.
11. “The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.” —James Oppenheim
12. “Choose to be happy.” – Pamela Jett
Happiness is a decision, not just a feeling. This quote suggests that by making a conscious choice to be happy, you can influence your emotions and create a more positive life.
13. “If you think money can’t buy happiness, you’re not spending it right.” – Michael Norton
Money can contribute to happiness if used wisely, such as on meaningful experiences, helping others, or personal growth. The quote suggests that it’s not about money itself, but how you use it that can bring joy.
14. “Happier people make it a point to make other people happy.” – Adam Leipzig
Happiness grows by sharing it with others. This quote suggests that one of the secrets to being happy is actively trying to spread joy to the people around you, creating a positive cycle of happiness.
15. “A person who is not happy with himself cannot share happiness with anybody else.” – Rev. Ike
You must find happiness within yourself first. Inner peace allows you to spread joy to others.
16. “If happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there.” – Shawn Achor
If you think happiness only comes after achieving success, you may never feel happy. This quote suggests that happiness should not be delayed until after you reach certain goals; it should be part of the journey.
17. “If you want to be happier it has to be a choice.” – Connie Podesta
Happiness is something you decide to pursue rather than something that happens by chance. This quote suggests that you can choose to adopt a positive attitude and make choices that lead to a happier life.
18. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” ―Marcus Aurelius
19. “The greatest priority in life is the ability to enjoy it.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
More than anything else, your ability to find joy and contentment in life is what truly matters. No matter your achievements or possessions, life is best lived when you can appreciate and enjoy it. This quote emphasizes the importance of prioritizing happiness and well-being over all else.
20. “It takes courage to be happy.” – Loretta Laroche
Being happy often requires bravery because it means choosing joy even when life is challenging. This quote suggests that happiness is a choice that sometimes requires facing fears, letting go of negativity, and embracing positivity, no matter the circumstances.
21. “You have a responsibility to make yourself happy.” – Stuart Wilde
Your happiness is your responsibility, and you have the power to create it. This quote suggests that instead of relying on others or external factors, you should actively take steps to find joy and contentment in your life.
22. “Happiness is not a where or when, it is a here and a now.” – Zig Ziglar
Happiness isn’t found in a place or future time; it’s found in the present moment. This quote encourages finding joy in the present rather than always waiting for the next milestone or achievement to be happy.
23. “How do you find your bliss? You don’t. You have to let your bliss find you.” – Wayne Dyer
Happiness comes naturally. This quote suggests that rather than searching for happiness, you should focus on living authentically, and happiness will come to you.
24. “Happiness and confidence are the prettiest things you can wear” ―Taylor Swift
25. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Herman Cain
26. “The secret of happiness is having something meaningful to do.” — John Burroughs
27. “Happiness is a habit – cultivate it.” — Elbert Hubbard
28. “The way to happiness is finding what you already have and being grateful for it.” — John B. Bejo
29. “The first recipe for happiness is: Avoid too lengthy meditation on the past.” — Andre Maurois
30. “Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.” — Hafiz of Persia
31. “The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.” — Ashley Montagu.
32. “Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” — Francesca Reigler.
33. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” — Charles Spurgeon.
34. Happiness is free, but priceless.
35. When it rains, look for rainbows. When it’s dark, look for stars.
36. “Quit waiting until you’re a millionaire to celebrate; there’s joy in the journey.” – Steve Harvey
Enjoy every step of your journey, not just the destination. Celebrate small victories along the way.
37. “Happiness and money should not be in the same conversation.” – Grant Cardone
38. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
39. “Contentment is the philosopher’s stone that turns everything it touches into gold.” – Benjamin Franklin
40. “It is not easy to find happiness within yourself, but impossible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier
41. “All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.” – Samuel Butler
42. “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.” —Albert Schweitzer
43. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” —Helen Keller
44. “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ― Oprah Winfrey
45. “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” ―Andy Rooney
46. Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. – Abraham Lincoln
47. Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. – Mary Lou Retton
48. Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. – Helen Keller
49. You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to swim. – Jon Kabat Zinn
50. Life is the dancer and you are the dance. – Eckhart Tolle
51. Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears. – John Lennon
52. Embrace the glorious mess that you are. – Elizabeth Gilbert
53. Happiness is the best makeup. – Drew Barrymore
54. Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it. – David Lee Roth
55. Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open. – John Barrymore
56. The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. – Henry Ward Beecher
57. “Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness.” – Christian Dior
58. „Be happy, it’ll drive your enemies crazy!”
59. “When you focus on the good, the good gets better.” – Abraham Hicks
60. “If you ever have to decide between winning a fight or being happy, choose happiness. Being happy automatically makes you a winner.” – Karen Salmansohn
61. “Your life isn’t yours if you always care what others think of you.”
62. “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.
63. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” — Albert Einstein.
64. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss.
65. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” — Frederick Keonig.
66. “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” — Aristotle.
67. “Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.” — Eleanor Roosevelt.
68. “Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions; it is governed by our mental attitude.” — Dale Carnegie.
69. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama.
70. “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” — Jim Rohn.
71. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” — Dalai Lama.
72. “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” — Aeschylus.
73. “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.” — Buddha.
74. “True happiness…is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” — Helen Keller.
75. “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” — Dalai Lama.
76. “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” — Ben Sweetland.
77. “A sure way to lose happiness is to want it at the expense of everything else.” — Bette Davis.
78. “All we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.” — Charles Kingsley.
79. “What makes us discontented with our condition is the exaggerated idea we have of the happiness of others.” — French Proverb.
80. “Money has never made man happy, nor will it. The more of it one has, the more one wants.” — Benjamin Franklin.
81. “Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while adversity is often as the rain of spring.” — Chinese Proverb.
82. “In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy.” — Albert Clarke.
83. “Happiness consists in activity—it is a running stream, not a stagnant pool.” — John Mason.
84. “A person will be just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln.
85. “Sorrow comes to all…Perfect relief is not possible, except with time.” — Abraham Lincoln.
86. “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.” — H. Schachtel.
87. “He who desires happiness must strive after a perfectly contented disposition.” — Guru Nanak.
88. “Peace and happiness shall fill your mind deep within, if you act according to truth and self-discipline.” — Guru Gobind Singh.
89. “Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.” — Bryant H. McGill.
90. “Happiness is the harvest of a quiet eye.” — Austin O’Malley.
91. “True happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions to be happy in the moment.” — J. Donald Walters.
92. “Look to yourself to find happiness. No one is so powerful to do it for you, or to take it away from you.” — George Zaharis.
93. “True happiness is not about a big laugh or tears of joy, it’s about a simple smile whenever you remember someone who made your life simple but completely happy.” — Jeff Ervin Ramon.
94. “Enjoy life and smile. No one can take that away from you unless you allow them to.” — Dorian Thomas Von Klaus.
95. “For happiness is not what makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy.” — David Steindl-Rast.
96. “Happiness: If you know what will give you the true and happy life, then you must keep trying until the day you are dying to achieve your happiness.” — Abdus Salam.
97. “Be happy, be thankful, be YOU. Your happiness is priceless, so don’t ever lose it.” — Anonymous.
98. “You’re only down-and-out if you’re still lying on the floor. Get up.” — Dan Waldschmidt.
99. “What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?” — Adam Smith.
100. “Happiness is a virtue, not its reward.” — Baruch Spinoza.
101. “Happiness is realizing that nothing is too important.” — Antonio Gala.