--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing can bring you happiness but…" description: "\"Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially how you choose to think about your situation.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png" --- # Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially… ![“Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially how you choose to think about your situation.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png) > “Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially how you choose to think about your situation.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness originates from within, shaped by one's mindset about circumstances. **In simple terms:** Happiness comes from your thoughts. Key Takeaway Cultivate a positive mindset. Themes self‑growth mindset happiness Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational psychological When to use this quote - personal development - stress management - goal setting - mental health Key Concepts internal locus cognitive reframing Questions to Reflect On - What thoughts limit your joy? - How can you reframe challenges positively? 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You get to have whatever you choose to think!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/you-are-the-power-in-your-world-you-get-to-have-whatever-you-choose/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [The thoughts you choose to think and believe right now are creating your future. These thoughts form your experiences, tomorrow, next week, and next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-thoughts-you-choose-to-think-and-believe-right-now-are-creating/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [So many people equate money and success with happiness, especially in the music industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-jazzy-jeff/so-many-people-equate-money-and-success-with-happiness-especially-in/) [DJ Jazzy Jeff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-jazzy-jeff/) > [I dont know the meaning of the words love and happiness, especially when youre not around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-know-the-meaning-of-the-words-love-and-happiness-especially/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Some men would take happiness where they found it. Especially when they have absolutely no promise of it anywhere else. \[Rydstrom\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/some-men-would-take-happiness-where-they-found-it-especially-when/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“Happiness that comes at someone else's expense isn't happiness - especially if that someone else is precious to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoki-higashida/happiness-that-comes-at-someone-else-s-expense-isn-t-happiness/) [Naoki Higashida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoki-higashida/) > [Sometimes you just have to give up your happiness especially when it was never really yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-just-have-to-give-up-your-happiness-especially-when-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tobacco and opium have broad backs, and will cheerfully carry the load of armies, if you choose to make them pay high for such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/tobacco-and-opium-have-broad-backs-and-will-cheerfully-carry-the-load/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Don't choose someone if they have to think twice about choosing you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalsie-snyder/don-t-choose-someone-if-they-have-to-think-twice-about-choosing-you/) [Kalsie Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalsie-snyder/) > [“I suppose we're built with complete free will, and as much as we're capable of depravity, to the same degree we are wired for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/i-suppose-we-re-built-with-complete-free-will-and-as-much-as-we-re/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [“There are those wonderful moments of clarity in life when one is reminded how irreparably flawed we humans are. 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Choose to focus on hope and healing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/you-have-the-power-to-feel-good-or-not-just-by-being-conscious-of/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [“What you choose to think about yourself and about your life becomes true for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/what-you-choose-to-think-about-yourself-and-about-your-life-becomes/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [“When you finally get down to making a choice from your narrowed-down list of alternatives, and you’ve cognitively evaluated the issues, and emotionally and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burnett/when-you-finally-get-down-to-making-a-choice-from-your-narrowed-down/) [Bill Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burnett/) > [Nothing has power over you unless you allow it. No matter what happens, you can choose what and how to think, act, and speak!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-power-over-you-unless-you-allow-it-no-matter-what-happens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. 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Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More Gratitude quotes > [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/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [“A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-treacherous-president-stood-in-the-way-and-it-can-be-easily-seen/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [I listen to heavy metal thanks to my son. When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [“Thanks for teaching us to talk. Thanks for teaching us to be of the world and in the world and to make our way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/thanks-for-teaching-us-to-talk-thanks-for-teaching-us-to-be-of-the/) [Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I want to thank each and every one of you for having extinguished yourselves this session.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gib-lewis/i-want-to-thank-each-and-every-one-of-you-for-having-extinguished/) [Gib Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gib-lewis/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Browse all 9,111 Gratitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially how you choose to think about your situation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-yourself-especially-how-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gratitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-yourself-especially-how-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_gratitude_nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-your_164651.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself especially how you choose to think about your situation.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing can bring you happiness but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-yourself-especially-how-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nothing-can-bring-you-happiness-but-yourself-especially-how-you/#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 } } ] } ```