Henry Van Dyke Quotes

Happiness is the longing for repetition.

Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness.

I think people who sit around and are always yearning for the next thing are not always the happiest people.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.

When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes - I already have everything that I really need.'

It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.

We are never further from what we wish than when we believe that we have what we wished for.

There is no end of craving. Hence contentment alone is the best way to happiness. Therefore, acquire contentment.

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

If I had known what it would be like to have it all - I might have been willing to settle for less.

True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander.

Only he who desires is amiable and not he who is satiated.

Man never thinks himself happy, but when he enjoys those things which others want or desire.

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.

Stuff can't make you happy.

The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness.

You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy.

Most of us have considerable prosperity in our lives. Often, we are so busy pursuing our unmet desires that we are unable to enjoy all that we already have. Allowing ourselves to really appreciate the prosperity we have created is a big step toward opening to even greater fulfillment.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Joy is not the result of getting what you want; it is the way to get what you want. In the deepest sense, joy is what you want.

It seems like a lot of people seek their peace in things. And most of us are not even satisfied with the things we have... we always want more.

Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy they are, who already possess it.

It's wonderful to see someone you love get what they wanted.

Be happy with what you have. Be excited about what you want.

Well, I am happy, and I won't fret, but it does seem as if the more one gets the more one wants.