It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honorably.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
Money is human happiness in the abstract; and so the man who is no longer capable of enjoying such happiness in the concrete, sets his whole heart on money.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go.
—Martha Washington (1731–1802) American First Lady
Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
If … happiness is the absence of fever then I will never know happiness. For I am posessed by a fever for knowledge, experience and creation.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
If you would find happiness and joy, lose your life in some noble cause. A worthy purpose must be at the center of every worthy life.
—Jack H. Goaslind (1928–2011) American Mormon Leader
Be friends with everybody. When you have friends you will know there is somebody who will stand by you. You know the old saying, that if you have a single enemy you will find him everywhere. It doesn’t pay to make enemies. Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to every one about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will live.
—Charles M. Schwab (1862–1939) American Businessperson
No one is happier than he who believes in his happiness.
—German Proverb
Human felicity is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
I would like to explain the meaning of compassion, which is often misunderstood. Genuine compassion is based not on our own projections and expectations, but rather on the rights of the other: irrespective of whether another person is a close friend or an enemy, as long as that person wishes for peace and happiness and wishes to overcome suffering, then on that basis we develop genuine concern for his or her problem. This is genuine compassion. Usually when we are concerned about a close friend, we call this compassion. This is not compassion; it is attachment. Even in marriage, those marriages that last only a short time do so because of attachment—although it is generally present—but because there is also compassion. Marriages that last only a short time do so because of a lack of compassion; there is only emotional attachment based on projection and expectation. When the only bond between close friends is attachment, then even a minor issue may cause one’s projections to change. As soon as our projections change, the attachment disappears—because that attachment was based solely on projection and expectation. It is possible to have compassion without attachment—and similarly, to have anger without hatred. Therefore we need to clarify the distinctions between compassion and attachment, and between anger and hatred. Such clarity is useful in our daily life and in our efforts towards world peace. I consider these to be basic spiritual values for the happiness of all human beings, regardless of whether one is a believer or a nonbeliever.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
Where there is love, there is pain.
—Spanish Proverb
Happiness doesn’t depend on the actual number of blessings we manage to scratch from life, only our attitude towards them.
—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) Russian Dissident Novelist
Pleasure only starts once the worm has got into the fruit; to become delightful, happiness must be tainted with poison.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Essayist, Intellectual
Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe. No path is wholly rough.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Happiness and virtue rest upon each other; the best are not only the happiest, but the happiest are usually the best.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
The happiest people are those who are too busy to notice whether they are or not.
—William Feather (1889–1981) American Publisher, Author
It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Our happiness depends on wisdom all the way.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
Be a good human being, a warm-hearted affectionate person. That is my fundamental belief. Having a sense of caring, a feeling of compassion will bring happiness of peace of mind to oneself and automatically create a positive atmosphere.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
If you’re ever given the choice between happiness and intelligence choose happiness.
—Unknown
Usefulness is happiness, and… all other things are but incidental.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
—Viktor Frankl (1905–97) Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Hope is the last thing to abandon the unhappy.
—Unknown
Man must search for what is right, and let happiness come on its own.
—Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) Swiss Educator
So of cheerfulness, or a good temper – the more it is spent, the more of it remains.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Happiness is like the statue of Isis, whose veil no mortal ever raised.
—Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–38) English Poet, Novelist
Happiness is not being pained in body or troubled in mind.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American Author, Journalist, Short Story Writer
They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods.
—Edith Wharton (1862–1937) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life slowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic