John Fowles Quotes

Because gratitude is the key to happiness, anything that undermines gratitude must undermine happiness. And nothing undermines gratitude as much as expectations. There is an inverse relationship between expectations and gratitude: The more expectations you have, the less gratitude you will have.

It's so much easier to be happy. It's so much easier to choose to love the things that you have, instead of always yearning for what you're missing, or what it is that you're imagining you're missing. It is so much more peaceful.

Joy is always a function of gratitude - and gratitude is always a function of perspective.

Gratitude changes your perspective about life. You see the future, experience the present, and remember the past in a dramatically different way.

Every once in a while we remember that life is short, and to appreciate the time with your friends and family, and to be open to have beautiful exciting moments in your days and stop worrying about what's pulling you down.

Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose.

The jealous man is so preoccupied with what he hasn't got that he fails to appreciate the value of what he has got. He loses the ability to feel glad because the sun is shining. He doesn't see the wonder and the newness of the beginning of spring.

The secret to happiness, at Thanksgiving or any time, is to reframe obligation as opportunity. You don't have to spend Thanksgiving with your family. You get to.

My worst days are still pretty good days. That's something I might lose in the moment sometimes, but I have a pretty good grasp of it.

Only one thing has to change for us to know happiness in our lives: where we focus our attention.

One appreciates that daily life is really good when one wakes from a horrible dream, or when one takes the first outing after a sickness. Why not realize it now?

Choosing to be grateful earns you happiness

Being joyful isn't what makes you grateful. Being grateful is what makes you joyful.

Gratitude is what we are without a story.

It is an important thing, in our never-ending pursuit of happiness, to stop and just be happy for a while.

Try to have a good day today, wherever you are, whatever you do, whoever is near, if no one is near. Try to be happy, because you may not see tomorrow. There is someone this morning, who didn't wake up, who will never see this day. Try to feel lucky that this is not you.

Happiness is a present attitude and not a future condition.

[I] never talk about gratitude and joy separately, for this reason. In 12 years, I've never interviewed a single person who would describe their lives as joyful, who would describe themselves as joyous, who was not actively practicing gratitude.

Do not be sad about what you do not have. Instead, be happy about what you do have. If you will be sad about what you don't have, you will not be happy about what you do have.

What I have come to believe is that joy is the twin sister of gratitude. I am most joyful when I am most grateful.

It’s impossible to give thanks and simultaneously feel fear

Gratitude, not understanding, is the secret to joy and equanimity.

Gratitude not only encourages our hearts, it produces peace. And we could all use a little more peace these days.

I take nothing for granted. I now have only good days, or great days.

You'll never meet a happy ungrateful person, or an unhappy grateful person because gratitude and happiness go together. Sometimes happiness precedes gratitude but often gratitude precedes happiness. The latter is achieved by realising things could be worse but aren't and so feeling relieved, grateful and happy.