A Little Bit of Happiness
Here are 34 feel-good one-liners to brighten up your day
Winnie-the-Pooh once said: “Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
And I couldn't agree more. So, the next 5 minutes aim to do just that. After all, there can never be too much happiness so here’s a little more.
Here is a compilation of the very best quotes squeezed into bite-sized, joy-shaped chunks.
1. Hold true to love but let go of expectation
“Peace begins when expectations end” — Buddha
2. If you crave intimacy, practice vulnerability
Vulnerability is the quickest way to grow any form of relationship.
It’s the scarier route as there are no guarantees of safety but it’s so worth it in the end and the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
3. “Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.” — Yousuf Karsh
It’s often done behind closed doors and in the hearts and minds of those brave enough to commit too.
4. “Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe” — Mark Twain
Worrying belongs to the future or something that has happened in the past. So, when it comes (which inevitably it will), take a deep breath in, connect to the sensations in the body, and come into the present moment. There’s nothing to worry about in the present moment and the breath awareness allows us to stay there longer.
“Worry is a down payment on a problem you may never have” — Joyce Meyer
5. “The heart doesn’t know how to quit, because it doesn’t know how to lie” — Greggory David Roberts
So, trust the guidance of the heart. Underneath the layers of protection, it’s got our best interests at (well) heart.
“The head thinks. The heart knows” — Rasheed Ogunlaru
6. Courage is the freedom to choose vulnerability over fear
Love is vulnerability expressing itself in a courageous way. Fear is its opposite and can manifest as anger, sadness, jealously, or any of the other lower vibrational energies.
So, choose love, it’s more fun.
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” — Brene Brown
7. “I win or I learn, but I never lose” — Marie Forleo
This mindset shift can relinquish the fear of failing as it can encourage us to go after opportunities that we might otherwise turn down.
If an opportunity helps us to succeed or learn, how could ever be considered a failure?
8. “When you don’t know what to do, do nothing.” - Oprah
Oprah Winfrey then went on to add:
“Get quiet so you can hear the still, small voice — your inner GPS guiding you to true north”
You can always trust your intuition. Along with your heart, it’s always got your back.
9. “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, then you don’t understand it yourself.” — Albert Einstein
Six-year-olds don’t hang around when things get overly complicated. They want simple, quick, and easy language. Anything that’s too convoluted, they’ll happily move on.
I think about this a lot when I’m writing.
10. “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” — Leonard Cohen
Rumi put it another:
“The wound is the place where the light enters you”
So, don’t be afraid of your imperfections, they often hold tremendous wisdom.
11. “What you resist, persists” — Carl Jung
I hate to admit it, but it’s true.
“Whatever is rejected from the self appears in the world as an event” — Carl Jung
12. “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten” — Tony Robbins
If you’re stuck in old patterns or can’t get ahead, switch things up a little bit and move things around. Change — either physical or mental — is the quickest way to create something new and unknown. And the unknown is where the magic happens.
13. “Your wound is not your fault but your healing is your responsibility” — Denice Frohman
There are two options when it comes to healing - 1. Take full ownership of everything that’s been and gone or 2. Don’t.
Taking ownership means that we are in control of our happiness and being in control creates a sense of self-empowerment. This empowerment has a healing quality all by itself.
14. Pain that is not transformed will often be transferred
I call this The Saddest Relay Race In the World because our pain can almost always be traced back to an ancestor who used to have it. No one intentionally passes on trauma but it happens nonetheless.
The joy of taking full ownership of our lives, however, is that the buck stops with us. We can prevent trauma from going any further if we alchemise into wisdom. That’s the opportunity we have in this lifetime.
15. “A little foolishness, enough to enjoy life, and a little wisdom to avoid the errors, that will do” — Osho
Mark Twain added:
“Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.”
16. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are”
So:
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” - Joseph Campbell
17. “If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s”
The unknown is a scary place to be but it’s also exciting.
So dare to walk your own path whilst knowing that many other wise souls have gone before us.
“The heroic life is living the individual adventure. There is no security in following the call to adventure. Nothing is exciting if you know what the outcome is going to be.” — Joseph Campbell
18. “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” — Mark Twain
“The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain
19. “The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master” — Robin Sharma
The mind is a beautiful thing. It creates, dreams, imagines, sees, witnesses, records, argues, computes, digests, solves, and fantasises all kinds of weird and wonderful things. It can do all of this at the same time too. It’s a magnificent organism. However, it can get unruly if it’s left to its own devices so keep a close eye on it. Otherwise, it will try and rule the house.
20. You need nothing to be happy, you need something to be sad” — Mooji
The Dalai Lama put it another way — “Pain is a part of life, suffering is optional.”
Love is our essential nature. Fear is something we learn.
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” — Nelson Mandela
21. When you can bear your own silence, you are free
And when you are free, you can help others free themselves. This, for me, is the greatest gift we have as humanity.
“Quiet the mind and the soul we speak” — Buddha
22. “Love, and do as you wish” — Saint Augustine
What more is there to say, really?
23. “Love risks everything and asks for nothing” — Rumi
But always remember:
“Love is the absence of judgment.” — Dalai Lama
24. Love tells me I’m everything. Wisdom teaches me I’m nothing
I try and spend my life dancing between these two realities.
25. “What you think, you become” — Buddha
Hafiz put it another way:
“What we speak becomes the house we live in”
So think carefully as our thoughts become our words. Speak wisely for our words become our actions. And act kindly, for our actions shape the world.
26. “Only you can control your future.” — Dr. Seuss
Here’s how:
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” Lao Tzu
It all starts as a thought. That’s how we control the future.
27. “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” — Genesis 3:19
We’re stardust, baby! And the stars are where we shall return.
“You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them...In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You - only you - will have stars that can laugh.”
―Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
28. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” — Dr. Seuss
29. “A memory without emotional charge is called wisdom.” — Dr. Joe Dispenza
“We don’t receive wisdom, we must discover it ourselves after a journey no one can take for us” — Marcel Proust
This is how knowledge turns into wisdom.
30. “The only real valuable thing is intuition.” — Albert Einstein
He then went on to add:
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
Cultivate the gift, it’s a beautiful companion that only grows stronger with time.
31. “A hug is always the right size” — Winnie-the-Pooh
Hugging has also been proven to release dopamine and oxytocin — our pleasure and love hormones. So, hug someone. Preferably a person who wants to hug you back. It’s a win-win from all angles!
32. “It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine” — Winnie the Pooh
I couldn’t agree more, Winnie.
Jim Carrey agrees too:
“Consider the flowers, they don’t try to look right. They just open their petals and turn to the light”
33. “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!” — Maya Angelou
She then went on to add: “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.”
So, dance! After all:
“You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” — Rumi
34. “Life doesn’t happen to you. It happens for you” — Jim Carrey
So, what world would you like to create?
To Close
Before I leave you for another couple of weeks, I’d like to share one more quote from someone I deeply admire.
If it resonates, use it to create a better today - for yourself and others.
“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.
The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.” - Ram Dass