--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think for me, happiness is crucial, but…" description: "\"I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think that happiness comes from amassing goods and getting things and being loved and being succes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg" --- # I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think… ![“I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think that happiness comes from amassing goods and getting things and being loved and being successful, when in fact my experience of happiness comes when you give everything away, when you serve people, when you’re watching something you do…” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg) > “I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think that happiness comes from amassing goods and getting things and being loved and being successful, when in fact my experience of happiness comes when you give everything away, when you serve people, when you’re watching something you do make somebody happy - that’s when happiness happens.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True happiness arises from selfless giving and serving others, not from material accumulation or status. **In simple terms:** Happiness comes from giving, not getting. Key Takeaway Serve others to find joy. Themes happiness service selflessness materialism purpose Mood inspirational empathetic uplifting Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - volunteering - caregiving - teaching - community work Key Concepts altruism fulfillment meaningful living Questions to Reflect On - What can you give today that would help someone? - How does serving others change your sense of self? A Different Perspective Self‑interest can dominate cultural narratives about success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-loved/) [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I have lived large parts of my life in wonderful circumstances that I utterly failed to appreciate. Reasons to be happy were everywhere, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-lived-large-parts-of-my-life-in-wonderful-circumstances-that-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...actual happiness only happens by accident”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/actual-happiness-only-happens-by-accident/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Happiness happens when you fit with your life, when you fit so harmoniously that whatsoever you are doing is your joy. Then suddenly you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/happiness-happens-when-you-fit-with-your-life-when-you-fit-so/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Happiness is what happens to us when we try to make someone else happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/happiness-is-what-happens-to-us-when-we-try-to-make-someone-else-happy/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Happiness is not something that happens,it is not something that is the result of good luck or random occurrences, nor is it a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/happiness-is-not-something-that-happens-it-is-not-something-that-is/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“And then one student said that happiness is what happens when you go to bed on the hottest night of the summer, a night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schmidtberger/and-then-one-student-said-that-happiness-is-what-happens-when-you-go/) Paul Schmidtberger > [Happiness is not about what happens to you, but how you choose to respond to what happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-salmansohn/happiness-is-not-about-what-happens-to-you-but-how-you-choose-to/) [Karen Salmansohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-salmansohn/) > [“We look for happiness in every other thing and being around us. We live in an “if and then” model of happiness. If that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-sethi/we-look-for-happiness-in-every-other-thing-and-being-around-us-we/) Rakesh Sethi > [Happiness only happens when someone is there to make you happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mehmood/happiness-only-happens-when-someone-is-there-to-make-you-happy/) [Sarah Mehmood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mehmood/) > [I do not think we have a "right" to happiness. If happiness happens, say thanks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/i-do-not-think-we-have-a-right-to-happiness-if-happiness-happens-say/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [I do not think that we have a “right” to happiness. If happiness happens, say thanks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/i-do-not-think-that-we-have-a-right-to-happiness-if-happiness-happens/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and is a transitory stage. Imagine how happy I felt when I got relief from bladder pressure. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-achieve-happiness-happiness-happens-and-is-a-transitory/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“All I’m saying is that I want you to be happy. I don’t care how it happens, or what it takes to facilitate it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnostic-zetetic/all-i-m-saying-is-that-i-want-you-to-be-happy-i-don-t-care-how-it/) Agnostic Zetetic > [Love and happiness happens only when trust and loyalty get together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hao-ming/love-and-happiness-happens-only-when-trust-and-loyalty-get-together/) [Hao Ming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hao-ming/) > [You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and is a transitory stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-salomon-perls/you-cannot-achieve-happiness-happiness-happens-and-is-a-transitory-2/) [Frederick Salomon Perls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-salomon-perls/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cherish-your-solitude-take-trains-by-yourself-to-places-you-have/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they're waiting for someone to say, 'You're good, you're pretty, I give you permission'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/why-are-women-immobile-because-so-many-feel-like-they-re-waiting-for/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [What neo-capitalism does so brilliantly is that it's always subdividing and dividing, so that people are never able to be joined in their numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/what-neo-capitalism-does-so-brilliantly-is-that-it-s-always/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“De acordo com os congressistas, ouvir as experiências reais de mulheres vítimas de violência era diferente de ler as estatísticas de violência contra mulheres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/de-acordo-com-os-congressistas-ouvir-as-experi-ncias-reais-de/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. And if V-Day has taught me anything, it's that if you go out with artistic, outrageous irony and humor, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-believe-in-irony-and-if-v-day-has-taught-me-anything-it-s-that-if/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. Initially, the cancer cell looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cancer-essentially-lives-in-us-and-becomes-activated-at-some-point/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Today the United States has the highest prison population in the world, over 2.1 million people. ... We lock people up at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/today-the-united-states-has-the-highest-prison-population-in-the/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) [Explore all 241 Eve Ensler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More Being loved quotes > [I want everyone to meet you. 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Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Love is a strong emotion. We are willing to throw our lives away even if it means only being loved a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-strong-emotion-we-are-willing-to-throw-our-lives-away-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There cannot be a sense of abundance or the experience of prosperity without appreciation. You cannot find beauty unless you appreciate beauty. You cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-miller/there-cannot-be-a-sense-of-abundance-or-the-experience-of-prosperity/) [William R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-miller/) > [Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it-better-than-being-loved/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I used to think being loved was the greatest thing to think about, but now I know love is never satisfied just thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-being-loved-was-the-greatest-thing-to-think-about-but/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [You can never love a girl who isn't being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-never-love-a-girl-who-isn-t-being-loved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/love-is-willing-self-sacrifice-for-the-good-of-another-that-does-not/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/but-to-be-fully-known-and-truly-loved-is-well-a-lot-like-being-loved/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [You cannot experience the fullness of your authentic self or life when you live to avoid hurt. You will never know the joy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-cannot-experience-the-fullness-of-your-authentic-self-or-life/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [I'm tired of living unable to love anyone. I don't have a single friend - not one. And, worst of all, I can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-tired-of-living-unable-to-love-anyone-i-don-t-have-a-single/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Browse all 209 Being loved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-loved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think that happiness comes from amassing goods and getting things and being loved and being successful, when in fact my experience of happiness comes when you give everything away, when you serve people, when you’re watching something you do make somebody happy - that’s when happiness happens.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eve Ensler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but-i-think-we-think-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being loved" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but-i-think-we-think-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eve-ensler-1402_being-loved_i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but_2324415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think for me, happiness is crucial, but I think we think that happiness comes from amassing goods and…” — Eve Ensler", "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": "Eve Ensler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think for me, happiness is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but-i-think-we-think-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-think-for-me-happiness-is-crucial-but-i-think-we-think-that/#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 } } ] } ```