10 Wisdom Quotes That Teach You to Acquire True Happiness

Do you sometimes feel that happiness can be fleeting? These 10 quotes will teach you how to acquire inner happiness.

We all have bouts of sadness from time to time; don’t worry that’s normal. What we generally need is a pick-me-up. I like to refer to quotes when I need some uplifting, and I’ve been going on a quote rampage lately. I also really think that the key to happiness is understanding what happiness is. So, here, my dear friends, are 10 quotes about the meaning of happiness.

If you want to be happy, be. – Leo Tolstoy

leo tolstoy quote

It’s such a simple philosophy to have. If we want to be happy, then we have to let ourselves be happy.

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. – Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was also of the mind that we can choose to be happy. We shouldn’t let our own negative views come between us and happiness.

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

Washington expands on Tolstoy’s and Lincoln’s points. It doesn’t matter what our circumstances are, they still don’t define how we view those situations or how we feel about them. There is no inherent way to feel about certain events. We determine if scenarios or life events make us happy or miserable. The choice is ours!

I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it. – Groucho Marx

Marx elaborates even further. We should focus only on today; yesterday is gone and it’s never coming back and tomorrow has nothing to do with today. By doing so, we free our minds from anxiety and allow ourselves to be without burdens. This encourages personal happiness.

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

mahatma gandhi quotes

Let’s take it a little bit further. Once we’ve decide that we are masters of our own happiness, we can start to acquire a higher level of happiness, which is done when seeking harmony within ourselves. This means that our bodies and minds have to be harmonious. This is done when we talk the talk and walk the walk, rather than saying one thing and doing another.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. – Dalai Lama

When we’ve reached this harmonious balance within ourselves, we begin to draw happiness from our own actions. This is a deeper happiness than simply choosing whether we allow a situation to bother us or not.

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. – Agnes Repplier

Repplier reiterates this point. Because personal harmony is so essential to that second level of happiness, we can’t really get happiness from anywhere but ourselves.

You would assume then that this would mean that we shouldn’t try to find happiness outside ourselves in the real world. Here’s the kicker, the third level of happiness is dependent on us finding happiness outside ourselves.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. – Dalai Lama

dalai lama quote

Here’s what I mean by finding happiness outside ourselves. By making other people happy, we find happiness in ourselves. Don’t get me wrong: That doesn’t mean that we should let people walk all over us. We want to induce true happiness in other people by showing them that they are the masters of their own happiness.

We also want them to experience true happiness by displaying virtues such as kindness, forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. By doing these things, we experience a higher level of happiness as our happiness is made purer by instilling happiness in other people.

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

This is a really good quote because it’s so realistic. There will be dark moments. When these dark moments appear, we shouldn’t let these moments dismay us. Instead, we should let the contrast between happiness and darkness remind us that happiness is found within ourselves. Let’s let these dark moments teach us to appreciate our inner happiness and to strengthen our resolve in that we are the masters of our own happiness.

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. – Oscar Wilde

I leave you on a light note. A reminder that we have to remember that sometimes people let their happiness rely on the actions of other people. Until we realize that we are the cause of our own happiness, let’s not get in the way of the happiness we do have.

Are you feeling happy yet? Let me know; I’d love to hear from you.

About the author

G

I love to read and follow up on social justice issues. In my spare time I like to sew and make jewelry while watching crime shows. I would have to say at heart I'm a free spirit with a sense of adventure.

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