This post has been written to bring you that much needed inspiration with 45 awesome quotes on how to be happy in life. Whether you are going through tough times or just seeking some words of encouragement to brighten up your day.
Firstly, we should appreciate that measuring happiness is subjective. I know from my perspective that I am not happy 100% of the day, yet I live a happy life.
In fact I have weeks go by where I feel down and unhappy yet at the end of the year if you asked me, “Are you happy?” then it would be a resounding yes.
What Is Happiness?
I am sure more qualified people than me could tell you exactly what happiness is, but in my opinion, it is a state of mind. A general feeling that we can self reflect on.
It covers many aspects and happiness overall doesn’t mean you are in a satisfactory state in every particular area.
Happiness could be influenced by Love, Faith, Success, Family, Wealth, Health, Business and all other aspects of our lives.
For me, happiness is a cumulative imaginary score that we give ourselves for each of these functions and then total them up, and determine whether we have a happy life.
How To Be Happy In Life – Is There a Magic Formula?
Happiness varies from person to person, one person’s idea of an ultimate happy life may vary drastically from the next persons.
It is influenced by how satisfied we are with our lives and how good we generally feel. According to this site the actual science suggests that happiness is controlled by the following:
▫️ 10% is determined by your circumstances.
▫️ 50% is biologically determined (That one fascinates me!)
So with that in mind, it is important to find ways to be happier. Meet the goals we set for all aspects of our lives and generally feel satisfied with what we have.
One of the ways I use to improve my levels of happiness and manifest any improvements in my life is by affirmations. Not just affirmations though, I draw inspiration from quotes and wise words that lift my mental energy.
That is why I wanted to create this post and look at some of the most amazing quotes on how to be happy in life – to aid with that self reflection.
Best Quotes On How To Be Happy In Life
1. “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” – Anne Frank
2. “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” – Albert Einstein
3. “There should be no boundaries to human endeavour. We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” – Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything
4. “If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” – Roy T. Bennett
5. “If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.” – Lao Tzu
6. “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
7. “The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage.” – Carrie Jones
8. “Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something, not even me. Alright? You dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” – Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happiness
9. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr Seuss
10. “I have only two kinds of days: happy and hysterically happy.” – Allen J. Lefferdink
11. “Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness.” – Buddha
12. “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” – Confucius
13. “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.” – Carl Jung
14. “Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.” – William Feather
15. “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” – Tom Bodett
16. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
17. “If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion.” – The Dalai Lama
18. “Happiness is the best makeup.” – Drew Barrymore
19. “You do not find the happy life. You make it.” – Camilla E. Kimball
20. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
21. “Whoever is happy will make others happy.” – Anne Frank
23. “Happiness is a constant work-in-progress, because solving problems is a constant work-in-progress – the solutions to today’s problems will lay the foundation for tomorrow’s problems, and so on. True happiness occurs only when you find the problems you enjoy having and enjoy solving.” – Mark Manson
24. “Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.” – Sri Chinmoy
25. “The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy. It’s all that matters.” – Audrey Hepburn
26. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself and you will be happy.” – Stephen Fry
27. “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
28. “For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
29. “Being happy never goes out of style.” – Lilly Pulitzer
30. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr Seuss
31. “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” – Marcel Pagnol
32. “It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” – Dale Carnegie
33. “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.” – John Lennon
34. “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
35. “The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself.” – Ellen DeGeneres
36. “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” – James M. Barrie
37. “The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
38. “Happiness is a state of mind. It’s just according to the way you look at things.” – Walt Disney
40. “Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.” – Maxim Gorky
41. “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
42. “Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” – Marcus Aurelius
43. “Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well-lived.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
44. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
45. “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” – Andy Rooney
Final Thoughts On How To Be Happy In Life
Did any of those quotes give you the lift you needed? Some of my absolute favorites are among them.
It’s interesting to see how such prolific people who have endured and achieved so much all offer their own reflections on happiness.
Personally I try and achieve happiness in my own life with a mixture of self reflection, goals, and living a life that is true to myself.
Thank you for reading – if you have any quotes of your own please add them to the comments.
