Thoughts on { Happiness | Richard Carlson, 1961-2006

Gaston Maréchaux, Y is for you you, A B C 1935-36
“We take simple preferences and turn them
into conditions for our own happiness.”
“Happiness is a state of mind, not a set of circumstances.” *
“You never need to be frightened by your own thoughts.” *
“What interferes with this peaceful feeling is our expectation of reciprocity.”
“As you begin to eliminate your need for perfection in all areas of your life, you’ll begin to discover the perfection in life itself”
“We need to break the habit of overreacting because
of our speedy assumption and judgments”
“If we would just slow down, happiness would catch up to us.”
“Mistakes are really not that big of a deal. In fact, as most of us acknowledge
we need to make mistakes in order to learn and grow.”
“We tend to focus on the annoying expectation.”
“Many people spend their entire lifetimes wishing that other people would acknowledge them. They feel this especially about their parents, spouses, children, and friends.” ^
“The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other.” ^
“True happiness comes not when we get rid of all of our problems, but when we change our relationship to them.” ^
“People who learn to not sweat the small stuff with family and around the home have an enormous edge in life. They expend far less energy being irritated and frustrated and have more left over for having fun and being productive and loving.” ^
“Your thoughts always create your emotions.” #
“Circumstances don’t make a person, they reveal him or her.”
“It doesn’t seem to make any difference how much we have;
we just keep expanding our list of desires.” (
“There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.” (
Richard Carlson, 1961-2006
* Richard Carlson, You Can Be Happy No Matter What, 1992 / ( Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, 1997 / # Richard Carlson, Stop Thinking, Start Living, 1997 / ^ Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Family, 1997