--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never understood the point of being sad…" description: "\"I never understood the point of being sad when I could choose to be happy\" — Megan McCafferty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png" --- # I never understood the point of being sad when I could… ![“I never understood the point of being sad when I could choose to be happy” quote by Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png) > “I never understood the point of being sad when I could choose to be happy” [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness is a choice; sadness is not inevitable if we shift perspective. **In simple terms:** We can choose happiness over sadness. Key Takeaway Practice gratitude and mindset shifts. Themes mental health choice emotion Mood reflective encouraging Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - daily routine - stressful events - personal setbacks Key Concepts cognitive reframing positive psychology Questions to Reflect On - What habits support your happiness? - When is sadness a useful signal? A Different Perspective Changing mood isn’t always simple; external factors matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-sad/) [Choose to be happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-to-be-happy/) [Positivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positivity/) ## Related quotes > [You can be happy or sad I choose to be happy cuz it is fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-garrison/you-can-be-happy-or-sad-i-choose-to-be-happy-cuz-it-is-fun/) [Maeve Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-garrison/) > [“Instead to be sad,I choose to be happy .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/makis-philosofukciss/instead-to-be-sad-i-choose-to-be-happy/) Makis Philosofukciss > [What's the point of being sad?" he says. "We're here now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/what-s-the-point-of-being-sad-he-says-we-re-here-now/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Life is filled with choices...we either choose to be happy or be content. Believe me there's a big difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-filled-with-choices-we-either-choose-to-be-happy-or-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whether your life is happy or not is your own choice. Many people think I can't live a normal life because I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-vujicic/whether-your-life-is-happy-or-not-is-your-own-choice-many-people/) [Nick Vujicic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-vujicic/) > [At any given moment the choice to be happy is present we just have to choose to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/at-any-given-moment-the-choice-to-be-happy-is-present-we-just-have-to/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“I have no control over some of the things that happen in my life, but with the help of God I can now choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-have-no-control-over-some-of-the-things-that-happen-in-my-life-but/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [“When nothing is certain - and nothing ever is - choose to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-gawdat/when-nothing-is-certain-and-nothing-ever-is-choose-to-be-happy/) [Mo Gawdat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-gawdat/) > [“None of us live happily forever after. But we can choose to be happy today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-c-hines/none-of-us-live-happily-forever-after-but-we-can-choose-to-be-happy/) [Jim C. Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-c-hines/) > [No matter what's happening, choose to be happy. Don't focus on what's wrong. Find something positive in your life. Thank God for the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/no-matter-what-s-happening-choose-to-be-happy-don-t-focus-on-what-s/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“IT’S MY CHOICE I get a gift every morning, the gift of a new day, It’s up to me whether I make it bright,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddy-malhotra/it-s-my-choice-i-get-a-gift-every-morning-the-gift-of-a-new-day-it-s/) [Maddy Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddy-malhotra/) > [“I’m not the only person in the world who’s suffered. I do think happiness is a choice. I don’t mean for people who suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sariah-wilson/i-m-not-the-only-person-in-the-world-who-s-suffered-i-do-think/) [Sariah Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sariah-wilson/) > [Don't ever rob a bank. Enjoy life. Have fun. Choose to be happy now; don't wait until you're 'successful,' because honestly, I was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farrelly/don-t-ever-rob-a-bank-enjoy-life-have-fun-choose-to-be-happy-now-don/) [Peter Farrelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farrelly/) > [It's not that life has been perfect or easy or exactly how I expected it to be. It's just that I choose to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/it-s-not-that-life-has-been-perfect-or-easy-or-exactly-how-i-expected/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The only reason you are happy is because you choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice, and so is suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/the-only-reason-you-are-happy-is-because-you-choose-to-be-happy/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) ## More by Megan McCafferty > [As much as I don't care about those things, I think it's human nature to not want to feel totally insignificant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/as-much-as-i-don-t-care-about-those-things-i-think-it-s-human-nature/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“I almost can’t believe I’m going to make myself vulnerable to him again. But what is love but the most”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-almost-can-t-believe-i-m-going-to-make-myself-vulnerable-to-him/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [I believe that what we get out of life is what we've set ourselves up to get, so there's no such thing as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-believe-that-what-we-get-out-of-life-is-what-we-ve-set-ourselves-up/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [It's just Jessica and Marcus, oxymoronically alone together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/it-s-just-jessica-and-marcus-oxymoronically-alone-together/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [When you say too much about anything important, it always ends up sounding more trivial than it is. Words trash it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/when-you-say-too-much-about-anything-important-it-always-ends-up/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“Don't talk to strangers. Don't do drugs. Don't smoke. Don't drink and drive. Don't have sex. Wear a condom. Wear sunblock. Wear a seat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/don-t-talk-to-strangers-don-t-do-drugs-don-t-smoke-don-t-drink-and/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“We help others only as much as they let us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/we-help-others-only-as-much-as-they-let-us/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [Gone for a while Hoping, always, to return If you will let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/gone-for-a-while-hoping-always-to-return-if-you-will-let-me/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [You, yes, you, linger inside my heart The same you who stopped us before we could start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/you-yes-you-linger-inside-my-heart-the-same-you-who-stopped-us-before/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [I used to think that I wouldn't change anything from my past, because doing so would inevitably affect who I am now. But considering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-used-to-think-that-i-wouldn-t-change-anything-from-my-past-because/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [The higher my GPA gets the more I realize high school is useless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/the-higher-my-gpa-gets-the-more-i-realize-high-school-is-useless/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [I know it makes sense for me and him to just break up now and just live our seperate lives and not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-know-it-makes-sense-for-me-and-him-to-just-break-up-now-and-just/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“Because I've learned that you can't control what other people are going to think about you. The best you can do in life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/because-i-ve-learned-that-you-can-t-control-what-other-people-are/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [furious flutter awakened hummingbird heart hello hello love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/furious-flutter-awakened-hummingbird-heart-hello-hello-love/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [And yet I know I am too young, that we're too young, for me to live my life only as it relates to you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/and-yet-i-know-i-am-too-young-that-we-re-too-young-for-me-to-live-my/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) [Explore all 193 Megan McCafferty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) ## More Being sad quotes > [Being part of the natural world reminds me that innocence isn't ever lost completely; we just need to maintain our goodness to regain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/being-part-of-the-natural-world-reminds-me-that-innocence-isn-t-ever/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [Unfortunately, I think I'm going to be typecast in Hollywood as the kid who can cry. I don't like putting audiences through those emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-hill/unfortunately-i-think-i-m-going-to-be-typecast-in-hollywood-as-the/) [Dana Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-hill/) > [The length of this document defends it well against the risk of its being read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-length-of-this-document-defends-it-well-against-the-risk-of-its/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It's, like, you know, if you're sad, it's a way of connecting with other people. And we - a lot of times we sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-docter/it-s-like-you-know-if-you-re-sad-it-s-a-way-of-connecting-with-other/) [Pete Docter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-docter/) > [because wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/because-wherever-i-sat-on-the-deck-of-a-ship-or-at-a-street-caf-in/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Being sad is a big waste of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-sad-is-a-big-waste-of-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Essentially, if our secrets are secrets because we are told to be ashamed, then we must share them. There is no shame in being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/essentially-if-our-secrets-are-secrets-because-we-are-told-to-be/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [Having emotional connections to things that don't really exist, like looking at a green ball and really loving that green ball, and being sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/having-emotional-connections-to-things-that-don-t-really-exist-like/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [When your happy you enjoy music but when your sad, you understand the lyrics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levita-charin/when-your-happy-you-enjoy-music-but-when-your-sad-you-understand-the/) [Levita Charin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levita-charin/) > [For a moment, I thought of the word happy and it was a word that just, well, it felt like it was visiting me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/for-a-moment-i-thought-of-the-word-happy-and-it-was-a-word-that-just/) [Benjamin Alire Saenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [ I first foreswore motherhood when I was about eight years old. ... \[Children\] were annoying. We were loud and sneaky and broke things. As… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-first-foreswore-motherhood-when-i-was-about-eight-years-old/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [She smiled at the stars like they knew all her secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-smiled-at-the-stars-like-they-knew-all-her-secrets/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/that-is-all-i-want-in-life-for-this-pain-to-seem-purposeful/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [You need to try to master the ability to feel sad without actually being sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/you-need-to-try-to-master-the-ability-to-feel-sad-without-actually/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [Being sad is a total waste of time. It doesn't change anything and all it does is to mess up your mind and steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-sad-is-a-total-waste-of-time-it-doesn-t-change-anything-and-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 114 Being sad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-sad/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never understood the point of being sad when I could choose to be happy", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Megan McCafferty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sad-when-i-could-choose-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being sad" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sad-when-i-could-choose-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/megan-mccafferty-1994_being-sad_i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sa_2195391.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never understood the point of being sad when I could choose to be happy” — Megan McCafferty", "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": "Megan McCafferty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never understood the point of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sad-when-i-could-choose-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-never-understood-the-point-of-being-sad-when-i-could-choose-to-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 } } ] } ```