--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To me, the most important thing is…" description: "\"To me, the most important thing is happiness.\" — Sheryl Swoopes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg" --- # To me, the most important thing is happiness. ![“To me, the most important thing is happiness.” quote by Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg) > “To me, the most important thing is happiness.” [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizes personal happiness above all else. **In simple terms:** Happiness is the top priority. Key Takeaway Seek joy in personal and professional life. Themes happiness priorities wellbeing life balance success Mood optimistic reflective motivational Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - relationship decisions - daily habits - goal setting Key Concepts positivity self-care fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What actions increase lasting happiness? - How to balance happiness with responsibility? A Different Perspective Happiness can be fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-thing/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-happiness-472295/) ## Related quotes > [I think we were raised in a nice Texas Jewish family where education was the most important thing, and close behind that was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/i-think-we-were-raised-in-a-nice-texas-jewish-family-where-education/) [Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/) > [The most important thing for a director is being able to communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/the-most-important-thing-for-a-director-is-being-able-to-communicate/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [How simple and frugal a thing is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/how-simple-and-frugal-a-thing-is-happiness/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [The thing about happiness is that it doesnt help you to grow; only unhappiness does that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-turner/the-thing-about-happiness-is-that-it-doesnt-help-you-to-grow-only/) [Lana Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-turner/) > [“Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/every-little-thing-is-sent-for-something-and-in-that-thing-there/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [As women, we're nurturers by nature. We want to make sure everyone is happy. That's a good thing, but we also have to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-osteen/as-women-we-re-nurturers-by-nature-we-want-to-make-sure-everyone-is/) [Victoria Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-osteen/) > [A human being is responsible for one thing only: His own happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-premodaya/a-human-being-is-responsible-for-one-thing-only-his-own-happiness/) [Swami Premodaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-premodaya/) > [There's such a thing as too much happiness and sadness. What I'm after is contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-charles/there-s-such-a-thing-as-too-much-happiness-and-sadness-what-i-m-after/) [Ray Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-charles/) > [It was that impossible thing: happiness that does not wilt to reveal the thin shoots of some new desire rising from within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/it-was-that-impossible-thing-happiness-that-does-not-wilt-to-reveal/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Joy is a noble thing, but happiness though fleeting can be found every day and in every small little way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/joy-is-a-noble-thing-but-happiness-though-fleeting-can-be-found-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Everyone wants the same thing—happiness—but we all go about it with varying levels of skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/everyone-wants-the-same-thing-happiness-but-we-all-go-about-it-with/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [No matter when, at whatever moment, if she were asked what she was thinking about she could reply quite correctly - one thing, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/no-matter-when-at-whatever-moment-if-she-were-asked-what-she-was/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I believe that being happy is the only important thing. Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or torturous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-believe-that-being-happy-is-the-only-important-thing-happiness/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“Happy, Muriel? No, not happy. Your aim is wrong. There is no such thing as happiness. Life bends joy and pain, beauty and ugliness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-toomer/happy-muriel-no-not-happy-your-aim-is-wrong-there-is-no-such-thing-as/) [Jean Toomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-toomer/) > [“And if all could with one voice be asked whether they wished to be happy, there is no doubt they would all answer that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/and-if-all-could-with-one-voice-be-asked-whether-they-wished-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More by Sheryl Swoopes > [Women play just as hard as guys do. We're just as competitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/women-play-just-as-hard-as-guys-do-we-re-just-as-competitive/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [I'm tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/i-m-tired-of-having-to-hide-my-feelings-about-the-person-i-care-about/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/no-matter-how-far-life-pushes-you-down-no-matter-how-much-you-hurt/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [It's frustrating - not that I expect to be the same person I was 10 years ago, but I do expect to do certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/it-s-frustrating-not-that-i-expect-to-be-the-same-person-i-was-10/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Everybody wants to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/everybody-wants-to-win/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Players don't really ask for much or want much. But the things that they do need are important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/players-don-t-really-ask-for-much-or-want-much-but-the-things-that/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [There is nothing I've been through in my life that I regret, or that I would go back and change. I feel like everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/there-is-nothing-i-ve-been-through-in-my-life-that-i-regret-or-that-i/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Being gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals or the three MVPs or the four championships I've won. I'm still the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/being-gay-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-three-gold-medals-or-the-three/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [I don't want to have to hide from the world anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/i-don-t-want-to-have-to-hide-from-the-world-anymore/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [It didn't matter how good I was. It was always, 'You're a girl. You can't play with the guys.' It's always been motivation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/it-didn-t-matter-how-good-i-was-it-was-always-you-re-a-girl-you-can-t/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Some people might say my coming out after just winning the MVP award is heroic, and I understand that,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/some-people-might-say-my-coming-out-after-just-winning-the-mvp-award/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [My reason for coming out isn't to be some sort of hero,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/my-reason-for-coming-out-isn-t-to-be-some-sort-of-hero/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Every level that I have ever competed on, I have risen to the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/every-level-that-i-have-ever-competed-on-i-have-risen-to-the-top/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [I can't help who I fall in love with. No one can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/i-can-t-help-who-i-fall-in-love-with-no-one-can/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) > [Dream big work hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/dream-big-work-hard/) [Sheryl Swoopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) [Explore all 40 Sheryl Swoopes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/) ## More Happiness quotes > [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/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [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've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To me, the most important thing is happiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheryl Swoopes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happiness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happiness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c4/sheryl-swoopes-16087_happiness_to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happin_2660822.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To me, the most important thing is happiness.” — Sheryl Swoopes", "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": "Sheryl Swoopes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-swoopes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To me, the most important thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happiness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-swoopes/to-me-the-most-important-thing-is-happiness/#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 } } ] } ```