Happiness is around us everywhere if we know what we’re looking for. One of the best ways to stay open to happiness is to use happiness quotes to keep ourselves inspired.

The wise words of the most brilliant minds in the most popular happiness quotes help us stay grounded and focused on what really matters: living our lives to the fullest.

The Best Happiness Quotes to Inspire You

Of all the happiness quotes in the world, the best happiness quotes remind us of the beauty in life and love and help us to see them in our daily lives. The following 101 happiness quotes will remind you to stay positive:

1. “Everyone else is taken; be yourself.” — Oscar Wilde

2. “Life is not about discovering who we are; it’s about creating ourselves” — George Bernard Shaw

3. “The word impossible tells us everything we need to know: “I’m Possible!” — Audrey Hepburn

4. “Criticism is unavoidable, so do what you feel is right.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

5. To be happy, understand the key to failure: trying to please everyone.” — Herbert Bayard Swope

6. “You only fail when you stop trying.” — Albert Einstein

7. “I dream things and I say ‘Why not?’” — George Bernard Shaw

8. “You’ll lose your happiness every moment you’re angry.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “We’re in love when another’s happiness is essential to ours.” — Robert A. Heinlein

10. “Folks are as happy as they choose to be” — Abraham Lincoln

11. “Happiness is rare in intelligent people.” — Ernest Hemingway

12. “Happiness is found in harmony between what you do, say, and think.” — Gandhi

13. “You’ll find happiness when you decide to truly live.” — Albert Camus

14. “Happiness comes from one’s own actions.” — Dalai Lama XIV

15. “Count your life through the smiles, not tears.” — John Lennon

16. “A person needs only something to hope for, something to do, and someone to love to be happy.” — Tom Bodett

17. “Happiness is found in meaningful work.” — Maxime Legacé

18. “To be happy, one must have a bad memory.” — Rita Mae Brown

19. “Cry and forgive. Let the tears water your seeds of future happiness.” — Steve Maraboli

20. “The one that is at harmony with himself will be in harmony with the rest of the universe.” — Marcus Aurelius

21. “If you hope to be happy, simply be.” — Leo Tolstoy

22. “Happiness starts with being grateful for everything you already have.” — Roy T. Bennett

23. “If you hope to have bliss, don’t chase it.” — Henepola Gunaratana

24. “We don’t laugh from happiness, we are happy because of our laughter.” — William James

25. “It’s good to have pauses on your pursuit to happiness.” — Guillaume Apollinaire

26. “Want to be happy? Find your peace.” — Naval Ravikant

27. “Freedom is doing what one likes, but happiness is liking what one does.” — Frank Tyger

28. “If one door to happiness closes, another will open, though we must stop looking at the closed door to see the other that has opened.” — Helen Keller

29. “True happiness comes from one’s enjoyment in themselves.” — Joseph Addison

30. “Happiness is not for any other place or any other hour than this one.” — Walt Whitman

31. “Anyone will always be as content as they decide they want to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

32. “Happiness is nothing but poor memory and good health.” — Albert Scheitzer

33. “The moments where I’ve found true happiness are the ones that I stopped to just be.” — Richard Branson

34. “I am happy because I’ve loved the world more than myself.” — Sri Chinmoy

35. “It’s my life mission to thrive and live with passion, humor, and style.” — Maya Angelou

36. “Happiness is the result of good health, conscience, freedom, and occupation in just pursuits.” — Thomas Jefferson

37. “It can be summer or winter and one won’t notice the difference in seasons if they’re truly happy.” — Anton Chekhov

38. “True happiness is wanting the life you get, not getting the life you want.” — Dale Carnegie

39. “Compassion helps others feel happy as it boosts your happiness as well.” — Dalai Lama

40. “Happiness is in what you think, what you do, and what you say.” — Gandhi

41. “The more adaptable we are, the more freedom and happiness we experience.” — Buddha

42. “Happiness will never decrease the more it is shared.” — Buddha

43. “Living the life you dream of is the biggest adventure of your life.” — Oprah Winfrey

44. “Being happy is all that matters.” — Audrey Hepburn

45. “Value yourself and fight for happiness.” — Ayn Rand

46. “To be happy, we must depend on ourselves.” — Aristotle

47. “Being happy means nothing is missing.” — Naval Ravikant

48. “Curiosity is constant happiness.” — Alice Munrro

49. “Happiness comes from being satisfied.” — Maxime Lagacé

50. “Do what you were created to do. This is the only way to truly be happy.” — Agnes Martin

51. “The thicker someone’s skin, the happier they will be.” — Life Money Math

52. “Happiness is created from work and courage.” — Honoré de Balzac

53. “It’s not what we have but how we enjoy the thing that gives us happiness.” — Charles Spurgeon

54. “The foolish seek happiness outside of themselves but the wise grow it under their feet.” — James Oppenheim

55. “There is one happiness in life and it’s to be loved and to love.” — George Sand

56. “Be happy in each moment–this is your life.” — Omar Khayyam

57. “Those that are happy will help to make others happy.” — Anne Frank

58. “One can find happiness in the joy felt in achievement.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

59. “Happiness looks like craziness.” — David Henry Hwang

60. “Happiness is the result of gratitude.” — David Steindl-Rast

61. “Happiness is the gift that one must not expect but take delight in it as it comes.” — Charles Dickens

62. “Craving for happiness is the spirit of the rebellious.” — Henrik Ibsen

63. “Finding true happiness risks being cut open completely.” — Chuck Palahniu

64. “The secret to being happy is letting every situation be as it is.” — Thibaut

65. “True passion is found in living the life that you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

66. “Live as though this life is all there is.” — Mary Anne Rodacher-Hershey

67. “You’ll find your greatest happiness when you realize you don’t require happiness.” — William Saroyan

68. “The happiest people are those that are happy without cause.” — William R. Inge

69. “Don’t miss your share of happiness by not stopping to enjoy it.” William Feather —

70. “There are two types of days: the happy days and the hysterically happy days.” — Allen J. Lefferdink

71. “Happiness is the greatest beauty secret.”– Lady Bessington

72. “Happiness and sanity are an impossible pairing.”– Mark Twain

73. “Happiness is completely free, so smile” — Unknown

74. “Being happy annoys the negative people in our lives.” — Ricky Gervais

75. “Don’t look for happiness out there, look in you.” — Unknown

76. “One can only be happy for a moment.” — Unknown

77. “The secret to being happy is to accept your life as it is every day.” — Unknown

78. “Happiness is a butterfly that will alight upon you if only you sit down quietly.” — Daily Crescent

79. “Do you, be you, for yourself.” — Unknown

80. “If you hope to be happy for a lifetime, choose to help someone else.” — Chinese Proverb

81. “Slow down and let happiness catch up to you.” — Richard Carlso

82. “Make the choice to learn happiness and be happy.” — Naval Ravikant

83. “One happiness will scatter sorrows.” — Chinese Proverb

84. “If you find your happiness, people may envy you, but be happy anyway.” — Mother Teresa

85. “To be happy, one can improve their reality or lower their expectations.” — Jodi Picoult

86. “Joy is the lesson that all must learn.” — Alan Cohen

87. “Happiness is found in virtuous activities.” — Aristotle

88. “Security and happiness occur when everything is already settled.” — Germaine Greer

89. “The things that we do must align with what we believe in if we are to truly be happy.” — Freya Stark

90. “Happy people are the ones that can enjoy their scenery even while their life takes a detour.” — Unknown

91. “If you ask if you’re happy you will stop being so.” — John Stuart Mill

92. “Happiness is the only way.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

93. “Happiness is in the world but often comes incidentally. ” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

94. “To be happy, we must let go of what we thought could bring us happiness.” — Robert Brault

95. “Happiness will come when we understand that everything is a gift.” — Robert Brault

96. “To be loved for who we are is our greatest happiness in life.” — Victor Hugo

97. “Happiness is our key to success.” — Albert Schweitzer

98. “Happiness depends on that which we are attached to.” — Baruch Spinoza

happiness quotes

99. “True happiness occurs when one has compassion for all” — Dalai Lama

100. “Happiness happens when we give everything away.” — Eve Ensler

101. “Happiness isn’t real until it is shared.” — Jon Kakauer

Final Thoughts on the Best Happiness Quotes

The best happiness quotes have a way of making anyone feel better about themselves and their lives. Choose to pursue this happiness every day by making a habit of reciting these happiness quotes to yourself. The beautiful thing about these happiness quotes is that they can apply to anyone, anywhere.

Wherever you find yourself in life, keep these 101 best happiness quotes in mind and let them inspire you to find happiness in everything.