--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does 'happy' mean? Happiness is not…" description: "\"What does 'happy' mean? Happiness is not a state like Vermont.\" — Abraham Maslow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/abraham-maslow-2146_doe_what-does-happy-mean-happiness-is-not-a_527203.png" --- # What does 'happy' mean? Happiness is not a state like… ![“What does 'happy' mean? Happiness is not a state like Vermont.” quote by Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/abraham-maslow-2146_doe_what-does-happy-mean-happiness-is-not-a_527203.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/abraham-maslow-2146_doe_what-does-happy-mean-happiness-is-not-a_527203.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/380/abraham-maslow-2146_doe_what-does-happy-mean-happiness-is-not-a_527203.png) > “What does 'happy' mean? Happiness is not a state like Vermont.” [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness isn’t a static place like a state; it’s dynamic. **In simple terms:** Happiness is not a fixed location. Key Takeaway Pursue happiness as an evolving process. Themes psychology well‑being philosophy Mood reflective optimistic Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - career - personal development - mental health Key Concepts subjective experience dynamic fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure your own happiness? - What activities make you feel most alive? A Different Perspective Defining happiness varies across cultures, complicating a universal view. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Does Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-happy-1789325/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-state/) [Happy Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-mean-1234382/) [Like Vermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-vermont-4437267/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-happiness-1203492/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Vermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vermont/) ## Related quotes > [If your happiness depends on what somebody else does, than you will never be happy really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-your-happiness-depends-on-what-somebody-else-does-than-you-will/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [As any human does, I have my happy times and sad times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-liu/as-any-human-does-i-have-my-happy-times-and-sad-times/) [Amber Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-liu/) > [“Whatever one does, someone is always happy...then again, someone else is not pleased”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arleabelle/whatever-one-does-someone-is-always-happy-then-again-someone-else-is/) [ArLeaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arleabelle/) > [Does Being Happy simply Create More Time, in the way that Being Sad, as we all know, slows time and thickens it, like cornstarch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/does-being-happy-simply-create-more-time-in-the-way-that-being-sad-as/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What does such advice mean?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/no-mockery-in-this-world-ever-sounds-to-me-so-hollow-as-that-of-being/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Everyone lives the way she knows best. What I mean by 'their happiness' is living a life untouched as much as possible by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/everyone-lives-the-way-she-knows-best-what-i-mean-by-their-happiness/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [I mean, happiness is a slippery thing. What makes you happy one day can make you miserable the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-burke/i-mean-happiness-is-a-slippery-thing-what-makes-you-happy-one-day-can/) [Tom Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-burke/) > [Success doesn't necessarily mean happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stiller/success-doesn-t-necessarily-mean-happiness/) [Ben Stiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stiller/) > [“Tis no mean happiness to be seated in the mean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-no-mean-happiness-to-be-seated-in-the-mean/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Everybody wants to receive a certain amount of satisfaction from whatever employment they're involved in. That doesn't mean happiness, though. And then, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebbie-jackson/everybody-wants-to-receive-a-certain-amount-of-satisfaction-from/) [Rebbie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebbie-jackson/) > [We have to suffer if it would mean happiness for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/we-have-to-suffer-if-it-would-mean-happiness-for-others/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [No mockery in this world ever sounds to me so hollow as that of being told to cultivate happiness. What does such advice mean?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/no-mockery-in-this-world-ever-sounds-to-me-so-hollow-as-that-of-being-3/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ “If someone left, mean not your happiness gone surely, Happiness dependant not on others but yourself but be. \[223\] - 4 (Thoughts)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munindra-munnan-misra/if-someone-left-mean-not-your-happiness-gone-surely-happiness/) [Munindra (Munnan) Misra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munindra-munnan-misra/) > [“It is no mean happiness...to be seated in the mean”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-is-no-mean-happiness-to-be-seated-in-the-mean/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Success does not mean happiness. Check out any celebrity magazine to look for examples to disabuse you of thinking that being beautiful, successful or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-achor/success-does-not-mean-happiness-check-out-any-celebrity-magazine-to/) [Shawn Achor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-achor/) ## More by Abraham Maslow > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Laugh at what you hold sacred, and still hold it sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/laugh-at-what-you-hold-sacred-and-still-hold-it-sacred/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/good-psychology-should-include-all-the-methodological-techniques/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Well why not a technology of joy, of happiness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/well-why-not-a-technology-of-joy-of-happiness/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you love the truth, you'll trust it - that is, you will expect it to be good, beautiful, perfect, orderly, etc., in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-love-the-truth-you-ll-trust-it-that-is-you-will-expect-it-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [My feeling is that the concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/my-feeling-is-that-the-concept-of-creativeness-and-the-concept-of-the/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We fear our highest possibility. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibility-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [...the great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-great-lesson-is-that-the-sacred-is-in-the-ordinary-that-it-is-to/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/dispassionate-objectivity-is-itself-a-passion-for-the-real-and-for/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/the-ability-to-be-in-the-present-moment-is-a-major-component-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [Plateau experiencing can be achieved, learned, earned by long hard work… A transient glimpse is certainly possible in the peak experiences which may, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/plateau-experiencing-can-be-achieved-learned-earned-by-long-hard-work/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [You must want to be first-class ...meaning the best, the very best you are capable of becoming. If you deliberately plan to be less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/you-must-want-to-be-first-class-meaning-the-best-the-very-best-you/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [If you treat your children at home in the same way you treat your animals in the lab, your wife will scratch your eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/if-you-treat-your-children-at-home-in-the-same-way-you-treat-your/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [It is vital that people "count their blessings:" to appreciate what they possess without having to undergo its actual loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-vital-that-people-count-their-blessings-to-appreciate-what-they/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) [Explore all 182 Abraham Maslow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) ## More Doe quotes > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) [Browse all 25,574 Doe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What does 'happy' mean? 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