Andre Maurois Quotes

Happiness in the present is only shattered by comparison with the past.

It is a simple but sometimes forgotten truth that the greatest enemy to present joy and high hopes is the cultivation of retrospective bitterness.

I would find myself getting deeply distressed if I lived in hindsight all the time.

Nothing is a bigger waste of time than regretting the past and worrying about the future.

My rule is, when you are unhappy, think about it. But when you're happy, don't. Why spoil it? You're probably happy for some ridiculous reason and you'd just spoil it to know it.

There's no sense in making life seem like it's a struggle, because that doesn't make anybody feel better.

It takes a lot of energy to be negative. You have to work at it. But smiling is painless. I'd rather spend my energy smiling.

Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

Happiness is the first principle of life. Happiness basically means well-being. It is always good and always a choice... We need to make the choice to be happy in a particular situation, just as it is, and at a given moment.

Look for joy in your life; it's not always easy to find.

I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true.

You have to like the present; if not your life becomes secondhand, if you think it was better before. Or that it will be better in the future.

Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.

'Thank you power' is writing down the moments that are good in your life so that you can go back and reflect on them - so you've got this sort of repository of good stuff in your past.

I don't know why 'happy' can't be a story.

The happiest people in this world are those who have the most interesting thoughts.

Sometimes we look back and 10 years from now we think, 'Boy, those were great old days.' Well, you know, we're living in the good old days.

Social scientists have found that the fastest way to feel happiness is to practice gratitude.

I've realized I can't waste any moment being unhappy.

What I've learned is there's a scientifically proven phenomenon that's attached to gratitude, and that if you consciously take note of what is good in your life, quantifiable benefits happen.

Happiness is an inside job.

I don't like to look too far back into the past.

I don't look back and regret anything.

If you are always talking about the past, then you don't really have much in the present.

All I can focus on is what I can control and that's being happy. My own happiness.