33 Quotes About Life, Happiness and Acceptance

So many of the worlds greatest minds have, at one time or another, spoken about happiness. These quotes are so inspiring you’ll be on a whole new level of happy when you’re done reading them. Enjoy!

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss

“My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.”  – Michael J. Fox

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” ― Dalai Lama

“Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” – Margaret Lee Runbeck

“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” ― Albert Camus

“Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness.” ― Harold Kushner

“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

“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln

“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.” ― Chuck Palahniuk

“The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring.” – Carl Sandburg

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” ― Ernest Hemingway

“Rules for Happiness: Something to do, Someone to love, Something to hope for.” ― Immanuel Kant

“I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.” ― Martha Washington

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” ― Helen Keller

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.” ― Ashley Montagu

“You can’t be happy unless you’re unhappy sometimes.” ― Lauren Oliver

“Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.” – Jose Marti

“Don’t underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” ― Winnie the Pooh

“True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” – Helen Keller

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

“Happy people plan actions, they don’t plan results.” ― Dennis Waitley

“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up.” ― Mark Twain

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”- Frederick Keonig

“True happiness is… to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.” ― Lady Blessington

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” – Marcus Aurelius

”I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.”- Martha Washington

“A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour.” ― Author Unknown

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” – Epictetus

“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. – Thomas Jefferson

“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. ‘ – Antoine de Saint-Exupery