Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Every day brings new chances to find joy in the small moments. From sunrise to sunset, each hour offers a chance to choose happiness.
Life’s ups and downs are part of the ride. But the choice to be happy belongs to us alone. Here are some of the best quotes that remind us happiness is within reach.
Defining Happiness Quotes
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Happiness is not the absence of problems; it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli
“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” – Albert Camus
“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon
“Happiness is a direction, not a place.” – Sydney J. Harris
“If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius
“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.” – George Burns
“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
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” – Charles M. Schulz
“Happiness is a state of activity.” – Aristotle
“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.” – William Saroyan
“Happiness is not out there, it’s in you.” – Anonymous
“Happiness is homemade.” – Unknown
“Choose to be happy right now. Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” – Afton Rorvik
Choosing Joy Quotes
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
“The only joy in the world is to begin.” – Cesare Pavese
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” – Karl Barth
“The most simple things can bring the most happiness.” – Izabella Scorupco
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – Dolly Parton
“Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” – Aeschylus
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” – Marianne Williamson
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
“You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla E. Kimball
“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama
“A heart full of joy is better than a hand full of gold.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.” – Ben Jonson
“Happiness is a direction, not a place.” – Sydney J. Harris
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” – Henri Nouwen
“If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.” – Unknown
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn
“Choose joy. Because everything else is just a story that can wait.” – Rupi Kaur
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot
“A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“Happiness is holding someone in your arms and knowing you hold the whole world.” – Orhan Pamuk
Overcoming Challenges Quotes
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts
“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” – Robert Tew
“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowling
“Every problem is a gift – without problems, we would not grow.” – Tony Robbins
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
“Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.” – Seneca
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.” – Gail Sheehy
“Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.” – Dalai Lama
“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” – Henry Kissinger
“Adversity introduces a man to himself.” – Albert Einstein
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill
“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” – Jean de La Bruyère
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” – Booker T. Washington
Inspirational Mindset Quotes
“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
“Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” – Alice Morse Earle
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
“You are the artist of your own life. Don’t hand the paintbrush to anyone else.” – Unknown
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn
“You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla E. Kimball
“The only joy in the world is to begin.” – Cesare Pavese
“Act the way you want to feel.” – Gretchen Rubin
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore
“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” – Louisa May Alcott
“It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” – Lucille Ball
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” – Mark Twain
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.” – Charles Kingsleigh
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam
“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
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn
“It’s the little things in life.” – Unknown
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” – Buddha
“Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
Daily Affirmations Quotes
“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” – Dalai Lama
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
“For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon
“Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.” – Walt Disney
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley
“Happiness is not having what you want. It is appreciating what you have.” – Unknown
“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” – William Morris
“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” – Aeschylus
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn
“Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” – Democritus
“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.” – Unknown
“Happiness is the highest good.” – Aristotle
“The only joy in the world is to begin.” – Cesare Pavese
“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting some on yourself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” – Jim Rohn
“Choose happiness by choosing to be your best self every day.” – Original
The Last Word
Choosing happiness is in your hands, and these quotes serve as a reminder of that power. They show that even when life gets tough, you can find joy by changing your outlook. By focusing on the positive, you can lift your spirits and improve your well-being.
Next time you face a challenge, think back to these quotes for a boost of inspiration. Use them as daily affirmations or share them with friends who need a little extra cheer. Happiness is a choice, and you have the ability to make it yours.
