“Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918) French poet
Commonly attributed, but source unknown. note: Uncertain
Quotes about happiness page 17
“But, like all happiness, it did not last long…”
Louisa May Alcott book Little Women
Source: Little Women
“Do not speak of your happiness to one less fortunate than yourself.”
Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher
Source: The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives
“The happy man in this life needs friends.”
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catholic Church
“When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.”
Vincent Starrett (1886–1974) American writer
Attributed to Starrett in Michael Dirda, On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art of Storytelling (2012), page 112.
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
Possibly said by Hugh Allen, printed in Reader's Digest (Jan. 1967)
Misattributed
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist
Source: The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
John Keats (1795–1821) English Romantic poet
Source: Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne
“There can be no peace for us, only misery, and the greatest happiness.”
Leo Tolstoy book Anna Karenina
Source: Anna Karenina
“What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.”
Leo Buscaglia (1924–1998) Motivational speaker, writer
“Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants.”
Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged
Source: Atlas Shrugged
“There were happy days, with watermelon, and sad days of whiskey.”
Lewis Nordan (1939–2012) American writer
“Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided.”
Paulo Coelho book By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
Source: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
“Happy birthday. And next time? Eat the stupid cupcake.”
Rachel Caine (1962) American writer
Source: Let Them Eat Cake
“Happy people are rarely interesting.”
Janette Rallison (1966) American writer
Source: My Fair Godmother
Sharon Salzberg (1952) American writer
Source: Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness
“Why do people spend their time being sad when they could be happy?”
Andy Warhol (1928–1987) American artist
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) American children's writer, diarist, and journalist
Letter to children (February 1947) http://www.liwfrontiergirl.com/letter.html <br class="br">Context: The Little House books are stories of long ago. The way we live and your schools are much different now, so many changes have made living and learning easier. But the real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong.
John Boyne book The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket
Source: The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket
William Barclay (1907–1978) Church of Scotland minister and academic
Source: The Gospel of Luke
Tyler Perry (1966) American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter
“It is said that all people who are happy have God within them.”
Paulo Coelho book The Alchemist
Source: The Alchemist
“Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940) American writer
Source: P.S. I Love You
Richard Carlson (1961–2006) Author, psychotherapist and motivational speaker
“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
No known source in Emerson's works; first found as a piece of anonymous folk-wisdom in a 1936 newspaper column:<br>: Every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.<br>:* Junius, "Office Cat" https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/85995624/, The Daily Freeman [Kingston, NY] (30 December 1936), p. 6 <br class="br">Misattributed
Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader
Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here for?
“A happy life consists in tranquility of mind.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero (-106–-43 BC) Roman philosopher and statesman
Herman Melville (1818–1891) American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet
Bartleby, the Scrivener (1853)
Source: Bartleby the Scrivener
Steven Pressfield (1943) United States Marine
Source: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo
Source: Magic Rises
“You don't have to be part of a couple to be happy, you know.”
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1933) American children's writer
Source: Alice Alone
“Happiness is the best revenge, you know? Just be happy. It's a choice.”
Emily Giffin (1972) American writer
Source: Heart of the Matter
“But you don't let true happiness slip out of your grasp without one helluva fight.”
Johanna Lindsey (1952–2019) American writer
Source: That Perfect Someone
“Happiness is a mysterious thing, to be found somewhere between too little and too much.”
Ruskin Bond (1934) British Indian writer
Source: A Book of Simple Living
Curtis Sittenfeld (1975) Novelist, short story writer
Source: The Man of My Dreams
“Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.”
George Santayana (1863–1952) 20th-century Spanish-American philosopher associated with Pragmatism
“Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability.”
Gabriel García Márquez book Love in the Time of Cholera
Source: Love in the Time of Cholera