Happiness is often defined as being content with one’s life, being in a good mood, experiencing positive feelings, enjoying oneself, and so on.
But, when you evaluate the evidence, do you ever wonder how these quotes hold up? There’s nothing wrong with using a quote to lift your spirits, no matter how “true” it is.
You don’t have to go far to uncover some of the many, many happy quotations available.
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go”
Oscar Wilde
Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life”
Omar Khayyam
Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open”
John Barrymore
Mahatma Gandhi
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be”
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”
Dalai Lama
“Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.”
Alice Walker
“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”
Benjamin Disraeli
“Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.”
Dale Carnegie
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds done well, the zest of creating new things.”
Antoine de Saint Exupery
“True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Helen Keller
“Research has shown that the best way to be happy is to make each day happy.”
Deepak Chopra
“For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair.”
Anne Morrow Lindebergh
“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values.”
Ayn Rand
“The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson
“It is not God’s will merely that we should be happy, but that we should make ourselves happy.”
Immanuel Kant
“Happiness is the highest form of health”
Dalai Lama
“Happiness is not trying or finding, it’s deciding”
You’ve probably already heard this one. It’s a go-to strategy for disgruntled teachers and parents, and it’s tremendously popular among psychologists.
Happiness, according to both of these lines, is not just something that merely drops into our laps or is reserved for the fortunate few; rather, we want to be joyful, and we remain happy for as much as we really want to be happy.
“Happiness is only real when shared”
Pierie Cornielle
Happiness is only true happiness when it is shared with others, as per this phrase, and that staying happy by ourselves is a paradox. Experiencing great experiences has been shown to boost positive influence, pleasure, and satisfaction with life further than what one may get from witnessing them alone.
“Happiness is a state of mind.”
Ayn Rand
Happiness, as per this quote, is basically a state of mind in which we can put on or take off like a hat, implying that we can regulate our degrees of joy by consciously embracing the happy state of mind.
Although there is some validity to the idea that happiness is a state of mind, the implication that many people draw from this quote—that we may simply move into this state of mind to create happiness—is not totally accurate.
We may undoubtedly take steps to achieve a happy state of mind, so we can make an attempt to be happier, however, happiness is not fully within our control.
“Happiness is reality minus expectations.”
This quote implies that our happiness is a direct outcome of our expectations and reality: if our hopes are great and our fact falls short, we would be sad; on the other hand, if our expectations are modest yet our reality exceeds them, we will be content. It basically suggests that happiness is relative rather than absolute.
Although the gap between our expectations and reality affects our enjoyment, it’s evident that the link isn’t as simple as it appears.
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