A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.
—Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469–1536) Dutch Humanist, Scholar
To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
—M. Scott Peck (1936–2005) American Psychiatrist, Author
The primary cause of unhappiness in the world today is… lack of faith.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
All mankind’s unhappiness derives from one thing: his inability to know how to remain in repose in one room.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
It seems to me a barren thing this conservatism – an unhappy cross breed, the mule of politics that engenders nothing.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Is anyone in all the world safe from unhappiness?
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
There’s always some aftermath, good and bad, makes-me-happy or makes-me-unhappy, for anything we choose to do.
—Richard Bach (b.1936) American Writer, Aviator
Fate often puts all the material for happiness and prosperity into a man’s hands just to see how miserable he can make himself with them.
—Don Marquis (1878–1937) American Humorist, Journalist, Author
Most successes are unhappy. That’s why they are successes – they have to reassure themselves about themselves by achieving something that the world will notice.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
—Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian Novelist
If we cannot live so as to be happy, let us at least live so as to deserve it.
—Immanuel Hermann Fichte (1796–1879) German Philosopher
Man’s unhappiness, as I construe, comes of his greatness; it is because there is an Infinite in him, which with all his cunning he cannot quite bury under the Finite.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth is unhappy, though he is master of the world.
—Epicurus (c.341–270 BCE) Greek Philosopher
Those who are unhappy have no need for anything in this world but people capable of giving them their attention.
—Simone Weil (1909–1943) French Philosopher, Political Activist
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.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
The inner speech, your thoughts, can cause you to be rich or poor, loved or unloved, happy or unhappy, attractive or unattractive, powerful or weak.
—Ralph Charell
I remember one day sitting at the pool and suddenly the tears were streaming down my cheeks. Why was I so unhappy?. I had success. I had security. But it wasn’t enough. I was exploding inside.
—Ingrid Bergman (1915–82) Swedish Film and Stage Actress
Unhappiness lies in that gap between our talents and our expectations.
—Sebastian Horsley (1962–2010) English Painter, Author
Let no one who loves be called unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.
—J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist
We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
I am a person who looks long-term, and I recognize the path we need to take. There will be moments when people are unhappy and disgruntled with some decision-making. Nonetheless, what matters most is to reach the destination. And my job as President is to see clearly where I want to go and be steadfast in my resolve to realize that vision.
—George W. Bush (b.1946) American Head of State, Businessperson
I think writing about unhappiness is probably the source of my popularity, if I have any—after all, most people are unhappy, don’t you think?
—Philip Larkin (1922–85) English Poet, Librarian, Novelist
What has changed is that nothing has changed… . That’s what has made me more unhappy than everything else.
—Willie Nelson (b.1933) American Country Singer, Songwriter
All of our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
It isn’t necessary to have relatives in Kansas City in order to be unhappy.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
A man of action forced into a state of thought is unhappy until he can get out of it.
—John Galsworthy (1867–1933) English Novelist, Playwright
It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
The more refined one is, the more unhappy.
—Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) Russian Short-Story Writer
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