Quotes About HappinessReviewing quotes about happiness reminds us that there are many ways to be happy. For example, Genghis Khan took pleasure in conquering, while George Bernard Shaw enjoyed needling Winston Churchill. Some would say that both of those activities are negative behaviors, and that you probably shouldn't engage in either one.Fair enough, but regardless, happiness, it seems, is in the mind of the beholder. One person's fantastic skydiving adventure is another person's overwhelming fear. Therefore, to some degree, you make your own happiness. If, for example, you allow your happiness to be determined by forces outside of your control, you're going to have a more difficult time staying happy. As members of the self-help movement might say, the altitude of your attitude is what counts. In my opinion, attitude only gets you so far. But, there are several things you can do to improve both your attitude and your happiness, including setting your expectations appropriately. Many people often have unrealistic expectations, setting the stage for a let down when reality isn't as good as the thought.  And how does inspiration fit in? Are people happy (or happier) when they're inspired? Or, does inspiration create or bring with it a sense of happiness? Is there a formula for happiness? Can you prepare for, or plan to be happy? Or does happiness come from carrying out your plans? Or does happiness require randomness and surprise? "Why not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparations." What about you? Are you happier when everything is planned out, or are you a "fly by the seat of your pants" type person? Proverbs, Sayings, and Phrases"Blessing brighten as they take their flight." This is similar to "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" and "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Or is it absinthe? "Call no man happy till he dies." "Happiness is what you make of it." "It is a poor heart that never rejoices." Quotes and Quotations"The person who is searching for his own happiness should pull out the dart that he has stuck in himself, the arrow-head of grieving, of desiring, of despair." Nil admirari prope res est una, Numici,Solaque quae possit facere et servare beatum. "To marvel at nothing is just about the one and only thing, Numicius, that can make a man happy and keep him that way."-Horace 65-68 BCE: Epistles; "Not to admire, is all the art I know,To make men happy, and to keep them so." "Happiness lies in conquering one's enemies, in driving them in front of oneself, in taking their property, in savoring their despair, in outraging their wives and daughters." "Certainly there is no happiness within this circle of flesh, nor is it in the optics of these eyes to behold felicity; the first day our Jubilee is death." "But headlong joy is ever on the wing." "One is never as unhappy as one thinks, nor as happy as one hopes." "For all the happiness mankind can gain "Mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment; cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity." "It cannot reasonably be doubted, but a little miss, dressed in a new gown for a dancing-school ball, receives as complete enjoyment as the greatest orator, who triumphs in the splendour of his eloquence, while he governs the passions and resolutions of a numerous assembly." "That all who are happy, are equally happy, is not true. A peasant and a philosopher may be equally satisfied, but not equally happy. Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness." "If you will allow me, at my age, a reflection that is scarcely ever made at yours, I must say that if one only knew where one's true happiness lay one would never look for it outside the limits prescribed by the law and by religion." "Joy, beautiful radiance of the gods, daughter of Elysium." "Happiness is not an ideal of reason but of imagination." "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. It certainly may secure all the myrtle and turkey part of it." "Happiness is no laughing matter." "Cheerfulness gives elasticity to the spirit. Spectres fly before it." "Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so." "But a lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth." "For if unhappiness develops the forces of the mind, happiness alone is salutary to the body." "Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length." "Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either egotism, selfishness, evil-or else an absolute ignorance." "Happiness is a warm gun." "Happiness is a warm puppy." "Happiness is a sad song." "Happiness is a warm blanket." "Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly often attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults." "Happiness writes white." "I always say I don't think everyone has the right to happiness or to be loved. Even the Americans have written into their constitution that you have the right to the 'pursuit of happiness.' You have the right to try, but that is all." 5 Ways to Improve Your Happiness Quotient"It's good to be just plain happy; it's a little better to know that you're happy; but to understand that you're happy and to know why and how... and still be happy, be happy in the being and the knowing, well that is beyond happiness, that is bliss." 1. Know what makes you happy, and add to your happiness account every day. Do 1 or 2 things every day that make you happy. Build up a surplus if you can. 2. Doing good deeds is therapeutic. Copy the Boy Scouts and do a good deed every day. 3. Reward yourself for achievements both small and large. 4. Give something of value away to someone in need. What you give doesn't have to be a material thing, although it can be. You can offer your time (possibly the most valuable thing you have!), your knowledge, or your kindness. 5. Determine what your favorite spot is within a reasonable distance from your house. This can be a bench in the park, a tree in the woods, or your favorite chair in your house. The important thing is that it makes you feel good to be there and it's relatively close by so you can visit often. Take 15-20 minutes in that spot, sit or stand comfortably, close your eyes, and review all of the things that you're grateful for. Think about all of the things that have gone right. Think about what you can do next. Make it a point to do this several times a week if you can. So... what does happiness mean to you? Do you have some favorite quotes about happiness to share? 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