--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: opting for happiness and contentment is a…" description: "\"“opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be continually remade at every turn.”\" — Lama Surya Das" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg" --- # opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we… ![“opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be continually remade at every turn.” quote by Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg) > ““opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be continually remade at every turn.”” [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness and contentment are choices that require continual renewal, not a one‑time decision. **In simple terms:** Choose joy, keep renewing it. Key Takeaway Practice mindful choice daily. Themes mindfulness choice well‑being Mood calm reflective Type spiritual self‑help When to use this quote - daily meditation - stressful moments - relationship conflicts - career setbacks Key Concepts intentionality psychological flexibility Questions to Reflect On - What daily practice helps you reset contentment? - How do you handle setbacks without losing joy? A Different Perspective Maintaining happiness can be hard when external circumstances dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness And Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-and-contentment/) [Happiness Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-contentment/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have received and I want to give. This is the path to happiness and contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/i-have-received-and-i-want-to-give-this-is-the-path-to-happiness-and/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [“It is downright incredible that an extremely significant proportion of people make the wrong choice. But the good news is that we can course-correct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamees-alhassar/it-is-downright-incredible-that-an-extremely-significant-proportion/) Lamees Alhassar > [“The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-happiness-which-brings-enduring-worth-to-life-is-not-the/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“What is the difference between happiness and contentment?" “Well, happy is like when somebody gives you a big hunk of something wonderful and it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/what-is-the-difference-between-happiness-and-contentment-well-happy/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“We have moved to a level where we have made happiness and contentment largely impossible. We have created a pseudo-happiness, largely based in having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-moved-to-a-level-where-we-have-made-happiness-and-contentment/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Men who are driven are happy in their work and their vision but are not happy-go-lucky. Evelyn has a happiness and contentment most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oral-roberts/men-who-are-driven-are-happy-in-their-work-and-their-vision-but-are/) [Oral Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oral-roberts/) > [When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subside and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/when-the-turbulence-of-distracting-thoughts-subside-and-our-mind/) [Geshe Kelsang Gyatso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/) > [The best recipe for happiness and contentment I've seen is this: dig a big hole in the garden of your thoughts and put into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/the-best-recipe-for-happiness-and-contentment-i-ve-seen-is-this-dig-a/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [As we sometimes find one thing while we are looking for another, so, if truth escaped me, happiness and contentment fell in my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/as-we-sometimes-find-one-thing-while-we-are-looking-for-another-so-if/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [“Happiness and contentment, equability of mind and meaningfulness of life – these can be experienced only by the individual and not by a State,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/happiness-and-contentment-equability-of-mind-and-meaningfulness-of/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-happiness-which-brings-enduring-worth-to-life-is-not-the-2/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“I suggest this: When you get to be thirty, forty, fifty, or even seventy years old, you'll get more happiness and contentment out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shriver/i-suggest-this-when-you-get-to-be-thirty-forty-fifty-or-even-seventy/) [Mark Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shriver/) > [Certain individuals and events impact on our lives and leave their mark on us. Some a feeling of happiness and contentment, while others hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/certain-individuals-and-events-impact-on-our-lives-and-leave-their/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Happiness is in contentment, gratitude, and love. It is a lifestyle, not a location](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/happiness-is-in-contentment-gratitude-and-love-it-is-a-lifestyle-not/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [The top of the band would be happiness, contentment and peace of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-top-of-the-band-would-be-happiness-contentment-and-peace-of-mind/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Lama Surya Das > [“As long as we’re preoccupied with our former traumas and triumphs, or our fears and dreams about what might happen down the road, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/as-long-as-we-re-preoccupied-with-our-former-traumas-and-triumphs-or/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“It is not the outer objects that entangle us. It is the inner clinging that entangles us." - Tilopa”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/it-is-not-the-outer-objects-that-entangle-us-it-is-the-inner-clinging/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“I have been thinking that the crux of happiness matter for me is whether or not I am in the moment, in the flow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/i-have-been-thinking-that-the-crux-of-happiness-matter-for-me-is/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“All the happiness and virtue in this world come from selflessness and generosity, all the sorrow from egotism, selfishness, and greed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/all-the-happiness-and-virtue-in-this-world-come-from-selflessness-and/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“We need to learn how to live consciously and, trusting ourselves, purposefully on that inevitable balance point between form and emptiness, relative and absolute,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-need-to-learn-how-to-live-consciously-and-trusting-ourselves/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“All too easily, however, we can become distracted, scared, frustrated, gullible, cynical, or just plain inattentive. We suppress our natural questing spirit. We plow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/all-too-easily-however-we-can-become-distracted-scared-frustrated/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“Non-attachment is not complacency. It doesn't imply a lack of caring and commitment. The philosophy of non-attachment is based in the understanding that holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/non-attachment-is-not-complacency-it-doesn-t-imply-a-lack-of-caring/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“By meditating, we´re learning to disengage ourselves from habitual clinging and disperse the defilements and obscurations that hinder our capacity to serve others, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/by-meditating-we-re-learning-to-disengage-ourselves-from-habitual/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“We all have certain desires and undesired outcomes related to whatever possible course and attitude we take in life, whether it be at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-all-have-certain-desires-and-undesired-outcomes-related-to/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“Partings make us sad; they make us feel as though we are being beaten up by fate; sometimes they make us feel desperate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/partings-make-us-sad-they-make-us-feel-as-though-we-are-being-beaten/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives. We exhale and we let go of the old moment. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/with-every-breath-the-old-moment-is-lost-a-new-moment-arrives-we/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“So often we mistake movement for meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/so-often-we-mistake-movement-for-meaning/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“If you truly want to grow as a person and learn, you should realize that the universe has enrolled you in the graduate program…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/if-you-truly-want-to-grow-as-a-person-and-learn-you-should-realize-2/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“Expecting good things to last and unwanted things to stay away forever is simply unrealistic,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/expecting-good-things-to-last-and-unwanted-things-to-stay-away/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) > [“We must never confuse the teacher with the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/we-must-never-confuse-the-teacher-with-the-truth/) [Lama Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) [Explore all 40 Lama Surya Das quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) Jennie Rooney > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) Hemantsmarty > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be continually remade at every turn.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lama Surya Das" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is-a-decision-that-we-can-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contentment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is-a-decision-that-we-can-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/920/lama-surya-das-16324_decision-making_opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is_1451798.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“opting for happiness and contentment is a decision that we can make at any time and that needs to be…” — Lama Surya Das", "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": "Lama Surya Das", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lama-surya-das/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“opting for happiness and contentment is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is-a-decision-that-we-can-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lama-surya-das/opting-for-happiness-and-contentment-is-a-decision-that-we-can-make/#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 } } ] } ```