Sonja Lyubomirsky Quotes

• Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it's not out there is that it's inside us.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Reason

  31 Copy quote

• If you're not happy today, then you won't be happy tomorrow unless you take things into your own hands and take action.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Hands, Today

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.43, Penguin

  41 Copy quote

• In a nutshell, the fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set every day of your life.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Thinking, Goal

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.65, Penguin

  28 Copy quote

• It turns out that the process of working toward a goal, participating in a valued and challenging activity, is as important to well-being as its attainment.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Goal, Challenges, Vision

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.172, Penguin

  54 Copy quote

• If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue new understandings, seek new achievements, and control their thoughts and feelings. In sum, our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find themselves. If an unhappy person wants to experience interest, enthusiasm, contentment, peace, and joy, he or she can make it happen by learning the habits of a happy person.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Powerful, Unhappy Person

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.62, Penguin

  35 Copy quote

• Thus the key to happiness lies not in changing our genetic makeup (which is impossible) and not in changing our circumstances (i.e., seeking wealth or attractiveness or better colleagues, which is usually impractical), but in our daily intentional activities.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Lying, Makeup

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.29, Penguin

  36 Copy quote

• ...The more a person is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is to be depressed, anxious, lonely, envious, or neurotic.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Lonely, Gratitude, Envious

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.81, Penguin

  30 Copy quote

• Find a happy person, and you will find a project.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Meaningful, Projects, Happy Person

  "One Guaranteed Way To Boost Your Happiness", www.huffingtonpost.com. July 27, 2013.

  26 Copy quote

• Exercise may very well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Exercise, May, Wells

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.204, Penguin

  22 Copy quote

• If we can accept as true that life circumstances are not the keys to happiness, we'll be greatly empowered to pursue happiness for ourselves.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Keys, Accepting

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.29, Penguin

  14 Copy quote

• The practice of gratitude is incompatible with negative emotions and may actually diminish or deter such feelings as anger, bitterness, and greed.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Gratitude, Practice, Greed

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.85, Penguin

  24 Copy quote

• I use the term happiness to refer to the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Meaningful, Life Is Good, Joy

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.37, Penguin

  14 Copy quote

• All that is required to become an optimist is to have the goal and to practice it. The more you rehearse optimistic thoughts, the more 'natural' and 'ingrained' they will become. With time they will be part of you, and you will have made yourself into an altogether different person.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Optimistic, Practice, Goal

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.97, Penguin

  30 Copy quote

• The combination of rumination and negative mood is toxic. Research shows that people who ruminate while sad or distraught are likely to feel besieged, powerless, self-critical, pessimistic, and generally negatively biased.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Self, People, Pessimistic

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.99, Penguin

  24 Copy quote

• No one in our society needs to be told that exercise is good for us. Whether you are overweight or have a chronic illness or are a slim couch potato, you've probably heard or read this dictum countless times throughout your life. But has anyone told you-indeed, guaranteed you-that regular physical activity will make you happier? I swear by it.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Exercise, Our Society, Slim

  22 Copy quote

• Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances as you or I, but their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Stress, Emotional

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.30, Penguin

  17 Copy quote

• I prefer to think of the creation or construction of happiness, because research shows that it's in our power to fashion it for ourselves.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Happiness, Fashion, Thinking

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.24, Penguin

  21 Copy quote

• Write down your barrier thoughts, and then consider ways to reinterpret the situation. In the process, ask yourself questions like... What else could this situation or experience mean? Can anything good come from it? Does it present any opportunities for me? What lessons can I learn and apply to the future? Did I develop any strengths as a result?

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Mean, Writing, Opportunity

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.96, Penguin

  12 Copy quote

• Women’s magazines will often ask me things like, 'All right, I need six five-minute happiness strategies.' And I say, well, there aren’t any five-minute happiness strategies. This is something you have to do kind of every day for the rest of your life. Just like if you want to raise moral children or if you want to advance in your career. It’s a goal you pursue your whole life.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Children, Careers, Goal

  18 Copy quote

• Every day you have to renew your commitment. Some of the strategies should become habitual over time and not a huge effort.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Commitment, Effort, Strategy

  15 Copy quote

• When we are fully mindful of the transience of things - an impending return home from an overseas adventure, a graduation, our child boarding the school bus for the first day of kindergarten, a close colleague changing jobs, a move to a new city - we are more likely to appreciate [be grateful for] and savor the remaining time that we do have. Although bittersweet experiences also make us sad, it is this sadness that prompts us, instead of taking it for granted, to come to appreciate the positive aspects of our vacation, colleague, or hometown; it's 'now or never.'

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Gratitude, Jobs, Children

  14 Copy quote

• It is equally important to investigate wellness as it is to study misery.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Important, Wellness, Misery

  12 Copy quote

• Forgiving people are less likely to be hateful, depressed, hostile, anxious, angry, and neurotic.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  People, Forgiving, Hateful

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.145, Penguin

  15 Copy quote

• People prone to joyful anticipation, skilled at obtaining pleasure from looking forward and imagining future happy events, are especially likely to be optimistic and to experience intense emotions.

  Sonja Lyubomirsky

  Optimistic, People, Events

  Sonja Lyubomirsky (2007). “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want”, p.161, Penguin

  14 Copy quote

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