Inspirational Quotes on Happiness

“It is impossible to grant someone happiness. The best you can do, as the Declaration of Independence put it, is to give him the freedom to pursue happiness. Happiness is not a tangible thing, it's byproduct of achievement.”

“Be comforted; it is not from yourself that you must expect it, but on the contrary you must expect it by expecting nothing from yourself. (Page 55)”

“Imagination decides everything: it creates beauty, justice and happiness, which is the world's supreme good.”

“We are so unhappy that we can only enjoy something which we should be annoyed to see go wrong, and that can and does constantly happen to thousands of things. Anyone who found the secret of rejoicing when things go well without being annoyed when they go badly would have found the point. It is perpetual motion.”

“The most important lesson we can draw from this, of course, is that it's best, if at all possible, not to become romantically involved with philosophers.”

“Hence to be happy is nothing but not to be in need, that is, to be wise. But if you seek what wisdom is, reason has already explained and declared this as far as presently possible. For wisdom is nothing but the measure of the soul, that is, that by which the mind is liberated so that it neither runs over into too much nor falls short of fullness. For there is a running over into luxuries, tyrannies, acts of pride, and other such things whereby the souls of unrestrained and unhappy men think they get for themselves pleasure and power. But there is a falling short of fullness through baseness, fear, sorrow, passion, and other things, of whatever kind, whereby unhappy men even admit that they are unhappy.”

“This, therefore, is the complete satisfaction of souls, that is, the happy life: to know precisely and perfectly Him through whom you are led into the truth, the nature of the truth you enjoy, and the bond that connects you with the Supreme Measure! These three show to those who understand the one God, the one Substance, excluding the variety of all vain and superstitious images.”

“And in that tenderness I even asked myself why I should save her from the Brute, or warn her against the Brute, or meddle with the matter at all. ‘She is happy,’ said my heart. ‘Whether it’s madness or a god or a monster, or whatever it is, she is happy. You have seen that yourself. She is ten times happier, there in the Mountain, than you could ever make her. Leave her alone. Don’t spoil it. Don’t mar what you’ve learnt you can’t make.”

“Oh, what do my grief and my misfortune matter if I have the strength to be happy?”

“Bah! you, too, have ideals," he muttered, looking at her almost with hatred, and smiling sarcastically. "I ought to have considered that . . . . Well, that's praiseworthy, and it's better for you . . . and if you reach a line you won't overstep, you will be unhappy . . . and if you overstep it, maybe you will be still unhappier . . . .”

“Je voulais vous faire part d'un désir. Je veux que quelqu'un me fasse souffrir, qu'il m'éprouve, puis me torture, me trompe et s'en aille. Je ne veux pas être heureuse.”

“(La felicità) Un giorno o l’altro è possibile incontrarla [...] un giorno, all’improvviso, quando oramai non si sperava più. Allora si intravedono orizzonti, è come se una voce gridasse: ‘Eccola!’ E tu senti il bisogno di confidare a una persona tutti i segreti della tua vita, di darle tutto, di sacrificarle tutto! Non è necessario spiegarsi, ci si intuisce. E come se ci fossimo già visti nei nostri sogni. [...] E finalmente eccolo là, il tesoro che hai cercato tanto a lungo, eccolo là, davanti a te; brilla, scintilla. Tuttavia si continua a dubitare, non si osa ancora crederci; si resta abbagliati come chi esce dalle tenebre alla luce.”

“It seemed to her that certain places on the earth must yield happiness, like a plant peculiar to that soil and growing poorly anywhere else.”

“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged. It's how I arrange my mind." Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

“Happiness can get boring, because it is the satisfaction of our desires, and we know what we desire. (Can you desire what you do not know?) Joy never gets boring because it transcends our desires and surprises them with gifts.”

“...they're here for a moment and then gone. At best they have "liftoff" power, or, to use a different analogy, they are like periodic flashes of lightning on a dark road, with no guiding power.”

“It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”

“Wir sollen es mit den Kindern machen wie Gott mit uns, der uns am glücklichsten macht, wenn er uns in freundlichem Wahne so hintaumeln läßt.”

“İnsana üzərində xoşbəxt yaşamaq üçün bir qədər torpaq lazımdır, həmişəlik rahat olmaq üçün isə daha az torpaq gərək olur.”

“Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion”