--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The happy think a lifetime short, but to…" description: "\"The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg" --- # The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one… ![“The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg) > “The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happy people perceive time as fleeting, while the unhappy feel each night stretches endlessly. **In simple terms:** Perspective on time varies with mood. Key Takeaway Cultivate happiness to feel time flow positively. Themes time perception happiness suffering psychology Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily life - mental health - philosophical reflection Key Concepts subjective experience mindset Questions to Reflect On - What makes time feel slow for you? - How does joy affect your sense of time? A Different Perspective Unhappiness can also inspire deep reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [“If one had to fill in, little by little, the gap between day and night, it would take an eternity to do it. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-one-had-to-fill-in-little-by-little-the-gap-between-day-and-night/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [When we wake up in the morning and we make decisions, these decisions come from the night, the night of eternity, our other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-we-wake-up-in-the-morning-and-we-make-decisions-these-decisions/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring-out-the-full-flavour-to/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Our lifetime is short and limited, but the ideas, actions and thoughts we produce can easily remain unlimited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/our-lifetime-is-short-and-limited-but-the-ideas-actions-and-thoughts/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, now that one had acquired the power, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-whole-lifetime-was-too-short-to-bring-out-now-that-one-had-acquired/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Unhappy parents teach you a lesson that lasts a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unhappy-parents-teach-you-a-lesson-that-lasts-a-lifetime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am in awe,” he said. “Where do all these ideas come from?” “I think from a lifetime of only being able to observe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/i-am-in-awe-he-said-where-do-all-these-ideas-come-from-i-think-from-a/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [I kept on trying to use so many media and ideas in my work because our horizon is so vast and Indian culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-husain/i-kept-on-trying-to-use-so-many-media-and-ideas-in-my-work-because/) [M. F. Husain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-husain/) > [Teach a man to reason and he will think for a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/teach-a-man-to-reason-and-he-will-think-for-a-lifetime/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [Folks think a lifetime is a thing stretched out over years. It ain't. It can happen quick as a match in a dark room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esi-edugyan/folks-think-a-lifetime-is-a-thing-stretched-out-over-years-it-ain-t/) [Esi Edugyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esi-edugyan/) > [Think beyond your lifetime, if you want to do something truly great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/think-beyond-your-lifetime-if-you-want-to-do-something-truly-great/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Think beyond your lifetime if you want to accomplish something truly worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/think-beyond-your-lifetime-if-you-want-to-accomplish-something-truly/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Work is a sovereign remedy for all ills, and a man who loves to work will never be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/work-is-a-sovereign-remedy-for-all-ills-and-a-man-who-loves-to-work/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That moment when you burst out crying alone in your room. And you realize that no one truly knows how unhappy you are. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-moment-when-you-burst-out-crying-alone-in-your-room-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One moment of gratification is not worth a lifetime of being unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-moment-of-gratification-is-not-worth-a-lifetime-of-being-unhappy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to-the-unhappy-one-night-can-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to-the-unhappy-one-night-can-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d34/anonymous-1_eternity_the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to_146383.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The happy think a lifetime short, but to the unhappy one night can be an eternity.” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The happy think a lifetime short,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to-the-unhappy-one-night-can-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happy-think-a-lifetime-short-but-to-the-unhappy-one-night-can-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```