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The happiness which we receive from ourselves is greater than that which we obtain from our surroundings. . . . The world in which a person lives shapes itself chiefly by the way in which he or she looks at it.
Arthur Schopenhauer
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Interpretation

What this quote means

True happiness comes from within rather than from external circumstances.

In this quote, Schopenhauer emphasizes that the internal perspective and self-acceptance of an individual ultimately dictate their happiness. While external factors can provide temporary joy, lasting happiness is cultivated through one's attitude and viewpoint towards life.

Themes

HappinessPerspectiveSelfInternalAttitude

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about self-acceptance.

More from Arthur Schopenhauer

We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
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To be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
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Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
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