Discover the Keys to Happiness in These Quotes from Inspiring People (2024)

"Know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world." On the final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011, Oprah shared her wisdom on making sure happiness starts on the inside.

"We just need to be kinder to ourselves. If we treated ourselves the way we treated our best friend, can you imagine how much better off we would be?" Before she was the duch*ess of Sussex, Markle said this in a 2015 interview while speaking about International Day of the Girl.

"Anger and aggression weaken you, because they take so much energy to hold in place. But kindness is a strength [that] makes you more serene." The TV personality offered these words of wisdom during a 2017 Good Housekeeping interview.

Roberts told InStyle one of the keys to maintaining her signature smile in a 2015 interview. "One of the first steps to happiness is deciding that you want to be happy and knowing what that means. I have had many full-on conversations about what that looks like for me. To be happy is a choice you make every day, every hour. And refining and renewing that state is a constant pursuit."

"Accentuate the positive, not the negative. It sounds so trite, but a lot of people will pick out something to complain about, rather than say, ‘Hey, that was great!’ It’s not hard to find great stuff if you look," the late Hollywood icon told Parade in January 2018.

"There are many shades on every journey. Nothing is black or white. I’ve been through hell and back, and I’m grateful for every scar," Beyoncé shared in a rare, candid 2018 interview with Vogue.

"I know that all I can do is be the best me that I can. And live life with some gusto," former First Lady Michelle Obama told Oprah what she knew for sure in their 2009 O, The Oprah Magazine cover story.

"You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." Angelou wrote these comforting words in her 2008 book Letter to My Daughter.

"If you got it, flaunt it. If you don’t got it, flaunt it." The writer and A Wrinkle in Time actress tweeted this succinct gem in 2014.

"All those things that you're worried about are not important. You're going to be OK. Better than OK. You're going to be great. Spend less time tearing yourself apart, worrying if you're good enough. You are good enough. And you're going to meet amazing people in your life who will help you and love you." Reese shared this advice with Wild author Cheryl Strayed in a 2015 Glamour interview.

“I think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness.” Taking top honors in People's "Most Beautiful" list in 2007, the actress shared her own thoughts on beauty with the magazine.

“I don’t really want to become normal, average, standard. I want merely to gain in strength, in the courage to live out my live more fully, enjoy more, experience more.” The French American writer's singular thoughts on life and love are collected in The Quotable Anaïs Nin.

"It's like we women consciously decide we’re going to be mean to ourselves. But you’re your own hero, not some image you can’t live up to." The Jane the Virgin star reflected on self-forgiveness in a 2016 Women's Health profile.

"You're never too old to chase your dreams." Diana Nyad shared this message with a crowd of onlookers and press the day she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage at age 64.

"Stay in your own lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy." Brené Brown wrote this in her 2015 bestseller Rising Strong.

"Gratitude is a celebration we are all invited to." Poet Cleo Wade on living gratefully, from her 2018 book Heart Talk.

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." Quindlen wrote this when warning against the "perfection trap" in her 2005 book Being Perfect.

"…If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” Caribbean American writer, poet, and activist Audre Lorde took a deep dive into Black identity in her 1982 speech "Learning from the '60s."

"I've come to believe that seeking happiness is not a frivolous pursuit. It's honorable and necessary. And most people forget even to think about it." Hawn revealed how she cultivates her own happiness in O, The Oprah Magazine.