Lao Tzu Happiness Quotes

Fame or integrity: which is more important? Money or happiness: which is more valuable? Success or failure: which is more destructive? If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

Lao Tzu wrote: “Know the personal, yet keep to the impersonal: Accept the world as it is. Then the Tao will be luminous inside you, and you will return to the Uncarved Block.” There is so much philosophy packed into this verse that it summarizes central teachings about happiness from three great ancient traditions: those not only from Taoism, but also from Buddhism and Stoicism

Misery and fortune share a trust. Happiness hides in misery.

Whoever knows what is enough Will be happy with his fate.

Misery!—happiness is to be found by its side!

A man can achieve his own happiness only by pursuing the happiness of others, because it is only by forgetting about his own happiness that he can become happy.

Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness.

Remind yourself daily that there is no way to happiness; rather, happiness is the way. You may have a long list of goals that you believe will provide you with contentment when they’re achieved, yet if you examine your state of happiness in this moment, you’ll notice that the fulfillment of some previous ambitions didn’t create an enduring sense of joy. Desires can produce anxiety, stress, and competitiveness, and you need to recognize those that do. Bring happiness to every encounter in life, instead of expecting external events to produce joy. By staying in harmony on the path of the Tao, all the contentment you could ever dream of will begin to flow into your life—the right people, the means to finance where you’re headed, and the necessary factors will come together. “Stop pushing yourself,” Lao-tzu would say, “and feel gratitude and awe for what is. Your life is controlled by something far bigger and more significant than the petty details of your lofty aspirations.

Misery!—happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness! —misery lurks beneath it! Who knows what either will come to in the end? 祸兮福所倚，福兮祸所伏

As we learn to love ourselves, we stop allowing ourselves to settle for sickness, misery or unhealthy compromise, and this unfolding dynamic always entails letting go of the beliefs, habits, cold comforts and situations that no longer reflect our true self or life purpose. Just like the tree that is destined simply to be itself and to grow into a full expression of who it truly is, we too are destined to respect ourselves enough to live our lives as a full expression of who we truly are. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. Lao Tzu

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner. —LAO TZU

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” ― Lao Tzu

Let there be a little country without many people. Let them have tools that do the work of ten or a hundred, and never use them. Let them be mindful of death and disinclined to long journeys. They’d have ships and carriages, but no place to go. They’d have armor and weapons, but no parades. Instead of writing, they might go back to using knotted cords. They’d enjoy eating, take pleasure in clothes, be happy with their houses, devoted to their customs.

A starting point in conversations about sufficiency might be to decouple it from the idea of “austerity” and instead reframe it as “simplicity.” Let’s take a leaf out of nature’s book and slow things down. As Lao Tzu reminds us, “Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished.” When we slow down, we relax and become more present. Calmer nervous systems allow us to enjoy the simple things in life, which means we are less likely to search for happiness outside of ourselves by accumulating more “stuff.” When we feel peaceful in the moment, we can find joy in smallest of things like the warm sun on our face, the scent of a flower, or the sound of a child laughing. A litmus test of personal growth is our ability to enjoy these little things because simplicity can lead to an abiding sense of contentment that has nothing to do with material wealth and everything to do with a sense of inner abundance. When we have an abundance mindset, our benchmark of success is no longer confined to our income bracket or the size of our house. Instead it is about intangible things like vibrant health, psychological well-being, loving relationships, community spirit, and our connectedness with nature and the cosmos.

To be empty is to be full. —LAO TZU

A good traveller has no fixed plans,’ says the Chinese sage Lao Tzu, ‘and is not intent upon arriving.’ There could be no better way to make the journey.

THEY DON’T WORRY ABOUT PLEASING EVERYONE Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner. —LAO TZU

To live well, it is important to cultivate a happy relationship with your thoughts. The following five ideas are a wonderful recipe for sanity and joy: 1. Your thoughts are not real. Your thinking is not reality; it is an interpretation of reality. No thought has any more authority than what you give it. 2. All thoughts are passing thoughts. Thoughts are transient. They are like leaves in the wind. The only thoughts that stay are the ones you hold on to. 3. You choose your thoughts. No one else does! You can elect to change any thought. You can also choose whether or not to act on any thought. 4. Thoughts have no power. Thoughts are literally electrical mental toys that are powered by you. They have no power of their own. 5. You do not have to take any of your thoughts seriously. The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" Lao-tzu

The Buddha, Lao-Tzu, Moses, Milton, Emerson, and many more have spoken highly of the benefits of solitude.

Love is the greatest adventure of all, a journey that takes us to the highest peaks and the deepest valleys, but ultimately leads us to a place of profound happiness and fulfillment.

the world is more complex than we understand, and we do not really know what a situation means for us. When we are unsure, the best strategy is to accept the situation and go with the flow. Lao Tzu said, “Misfortune is the root of good fortune; good fortune gives birth to misfortune.” When an unfavorable situation arises, we must first Wu Wei: accept and understand its possible potential, and gracefully turn the tables. If it works, we are happy. If it does not work, we at least have avoided doubling our misfortune by going in a wrong direction.

Happiness in life is the result of accepting everything just the way it is. Serenity is achieved when one no longer wishes for “something else.

That philosopher and poet of ancient China, Lao Tzu was right when he said, “If you are depressed, you live in the past. If you are anxious, you live in the future… If you are happy … You live in the present.

Captain, be content with what you have and who you are, and no one can despoil you. Then you shall forever be safe and secure.

The desire for wealth can not bring happiness. Instead, anxiety results from the desire to keep it. Wealth creates dissatisfaction, and the loss of it is like death. Those who seek wealth only increase their desires.

Those whose happiness is within, whose peace is within, whose light is within—that person becomes free.

The things that are essential are acquired with little bother; it is the luxuries that call for toil and effort.” The author is Seneca, born in Spain 2,000 years ago. ​China’s Lao-Tzu, born nearly six centuries earlier than Seneca, had this to say: “To know you have enough is to be rich.” ​This next quotation is my favorite. It is by actor Jim Carrey, who is both rich and famous: ​“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” ​However, if being rich and famous will not make you happy, what will?

On happy occasions precedence is given to the left, On sad occasions to the right.