Marcus Aurelius Quotes

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

What would you be like if you were the only person in the world? If you want to be truly happy you must be that person.

I don't believe happiness comes out of material gain, for sure.

Eventually, we reach the point where we start to realize that we are not going to find peace, contentment, happiness, strength, fearlessness - all of the things that in our heart of hearts we wish we had - outside of us.

I've gotten to a point, where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside.

There is no external means, whether it's my career, or money or house or a wife or anything, that is going to set me right.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

The word contentment comes from the word content, which is what we hold inside - love, value, a feeling of a life that has meaning or purpose, a cause greater than yourself that you're a part of. These are the things that bring true happiness. As a culture, I think we need to redefine what it means to be happy.

I've spent most of my life trying to think my way to happiness, and my failure to achieve that goal only proves, in my mind, that I am not a good enough thinker. It never occurred to me that the source of my unhappiness is not flawed thinking but thinking itself.

Happiness is not on my list of priorities. I just deal with day-to-day things. If I'm happy, I'm happy – and if I'm not, I don't know the difference... Knowing that you are the person you were put on this earth to be – that's much more important than just being happy.

Be Yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be.

It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.

A sense of calm came over me. More and more often I found myself thinking, "This is where I belong. This is what I came into this world to do.

Be yourself, you’ll be a lot happier.

Helped are those who are content to be themselves; they will never lack mystery in their lives and the joys of self-discovery will be constant.

You are without needs. There is nothing that you need in order to be perfectly happy. You only think that there is. Your deepest, most perfect happiness will be found within, and once you find it, nothing exterior to your Self can match it, nor can anything destroy it.

What every man seeks is satisfaction. He deceives himself so long as he imagines it to lie in self-indulgence.

I don't think of myself as making art. I do what I do because I want to, because painting is the best way I've found to get along with myself.

I think the things we want most in life, the things we think will set us free, are not the thing we need.

I remember thinking I just want more. This isn't it. Fame is not the goal. Money is not the goal. To be able to know how to get peace of mind, how to be happy, is something you don't just stumble across. You've got to search for it.

First and foremost, you've got to make yourself happy. Essentially being who you are is the most important thing. When you're after truth, happiness always comes.

He who has no wish to be happier is the happiest of men.

You find happiness where you find it.

We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.

I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions based on someone else's idea of our happiness - what will make you a good citizen or a good wife or daughter or actress. Nobody says, 'Just be happy - go be a cobbler or go live with goats.'