We have to recognize that we can help increase happiness of other people by reaching out, and building connections. People have done that for me in my life. There have been many times that my family and friends have reached out to help support me and contributed to my emotional wellbeing, and ultimately to my health.
Interpretation
Helping others and building connections can enhance both their happiness and our own.
This quote emphasizes the importance of social connections in promoting happiness and emotional wellbeing. The author reflects on personal experiences where support from family and friends significantly contributed to his health and happiness, suggesting that reaching out and fostering relationships can create a positive impact on ourselves and others.
In practice
This quote can be shared at a community gathering to inspire volunteers to support each other.
I think sometimes in the focus on deep friendships and on romantic relationships, we can lose sight of how important the small connections we make are with strangers and with people that we may encounter for just a few seconds or a few minutes, whether it's the barista at our coffee shop or the stranger next to us on the subway.
Without strong communities, we cannot pull together during times of hardship. Our diversity turns from a source of strength to a source of conflict.
One of the things that happens in our regular lives is that when we're in moments of pain or feeling alone, we may hesitate to reach out to others because we may think - they're not going through the same experiences I am.
There's a tremendous sense of shame that people who are lonely feel. I say that as someone who felt ashamed of being lonely as a child and even at points during adulthood.
Our health care workers are the heroes of the Covid-19 response.
What you quickly realize once you commit to getting more sleep is it can increase your productivity, it can improve your mood. And that doesn't just help you at work, but it helps you be the kind of person you want to be with your family and your friends and that's ultimately what matters most.
The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather in spite of ourselves.
It's horrible when people are only interested in buying labels, because it doesn't bring them the happiness they think it will.
People keep saying, 'Oh, you're getting all these great reviews, that must make you really happy.' I guess it does, but mostly it's just a relief.
This is true happiness: to have no ambition and to work like a horse as if you had every ambition. To live far from men, not to need them and yet to love them. To have the stars above, the land to your left and the sea to your right and to realize of a sudden that in your heart, life has accomplished its final miracle: it has become a fairy tale.
For now I'm happy the way I am – short and plump. I would not go in for Botox or anything like that. I'm content with the way I look. What's wrong with looking like Susan Boyle? What's the matter with that?
It doesn't all have to be about giving money. Sometimes it's a smile that changes the life of one little kid.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.