Thoughts on happiness

As it always seems to be, things appear right when needed. Amid my soul searching, I came upon 2 interesting blog posts from Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happniess Project”.

The first is is an except from Gretchen’s interview with Brett Blumenthal:
Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
When I start to do things that aren’t true to who I am or what I believe, my happiness takes a nose dive. The more I can stay true to myself and what is important to me and my values, the more I am in a happy place.

Is there a happiness quotation that has struck you as particularly insightful?
There are so many quotes that are great about happiness, but one of my favorites is “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” by Aristotle. It is so simplistic, yet sums up so much. In the end, we are masters of our own destiny, and so, our own happiness. If we are unhappy, only we have the power to change that. When we can stop looking externally to find happiness, whether it be through materialistic things, other people to make us happy or anything else, and instead, look inwards and rely on ourselves, we can finally find happiness.

The second is a quote from Robert Musil’s, “The Perfecting of a Love”:
“…all she felt was that she did not want to do anything or prevent anything, and her thoughts slowly wandered into the snow outside, without a backward glance, further and further, as when one is too tired to turn back and walks on and on.”