Looking at the positive things life offers us is crucial for our mental well-being, which is why we have gathered all the best joyful quotes for you to share. And if you’re looking for short joyful sayings, we also have you covered.
Now go ahead and browse through to find your favorite.

Short Joyful Quotes and Sayings
Our site includes affiliate links to products we recommend. If you use one to make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
“The good vibes are contagious.” — Alan Cohen
“He who laughs, lasts!” – Mary Pettibone Poole
“Joy lies in the fight, in the attempt, in the suffering involved, not in the victory itself.” —Mahatma Gandhi
“A smile is the universal welcome.” – Max Eastman
“After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.” —Walt Disney

“Joy comes to us in moments—ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.” —Brené Brown
Surrounded by love, bathed in laughter—my heart’s forever captured in this instant, this slice of pure happiness.
“A good laugh is a mighty good thing, a rather too scarce a good thing.” – Herman Melville
“You’re only as happy as you decide to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
“One small positive thought can change your whole day.” — Zig Ziglar

“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” — Roy T. Bennett
“Nothing shakes the smiling heart.” – Santosh Kalwar
“The soul’s joy lies in doing.” —Percy Bysshe Shelley
“The only joy in the world is to begin.” —Cesare Pavese
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” —Abraham Lincoln
“One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” – Deep Roy
Find joy in the ordinary.
Leadership Lab offer
“Be simple enough to feel the true joy of life.” —Debasish Mridha
“When you’re positive, good things happen.” – Deep Roy
“We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” —Maya Angelou
“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“Happiness is not a goal… it’s a byproduct of a life well lived.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
“To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it.” —John Templeton

Living my story, one joyful moment at a time
“Sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find joy in the story you are actually living.” —Rachel Marie Martin
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge
“Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you.” —Eckhart Tolle
“Of all the medicines in the inner life, a smile is by far the best medicine.” – Sri Chinmoy
“A joy shared is a joy doubled.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“I think if you just look at life in a positive way, positive things will happen.” – Jake Owen
The world’s rhythm dances to the beat of happy hearts.
“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” —Mother Teresa
“True joy results when we become aware of our connectedness to everything.” —Paul Pearsall
“Joy is the faith that things may not be perfect yet, but you have the faith to be joyful anyway because, what follows a joyful moment, will always be good.” —Sarah Rajkotwala
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou
“A flower blossoms for its own joy.” —Oscar Wilde
“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.” – Emily Dickinson
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Joy is increased by spreading it to others.” —Robert Murray McCheyne
“Remember this: very little is needed to make a happy life.” – Marcus Aurelius
“We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we are happy because we laugh.” – William James

Laughter echoed, memories made; today’s happiness, forever saved.
“A smile is the beauty of the soul.¨- Lailah Gifty Akita
“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” —Greg Anderson
“Happiness is not a goal… it’s a byproduct of a life well lived.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
“Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.” —Norman Vincent Peale
“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” —Chris McCandless
“True joy results when we become aware of our connectedness to everything.” —Paul Pearsall
“Good things happen when you go for it.” — Alan Webb
“When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.” — Anonymous
Journeying through joy, one step, one smile at a time.
“Just for today, smile a little more.” — James A. Murphy
“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.” —Eckhart Tolle
“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” — Oprah Winfrey
Feasting on joy, one laugh at a time.
“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Happiness is not a thing—it is a feeling; a way of joyful living and being. It comes from inner fulfillment and appreciating the world you live in.” —Rasheed Ogunlaru
“Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow.” —Helen Keller
“Pain is short, and joy is eternal.” —Friedrich Schiller

“A good laugh is sunshine in the house.” – William Thackeray
“When I wake up in the morning, I feel like a billionaire without paying taxes.” – Ernie Banks
“Finding joy is probably tantamount to finding yourself and being comfortable in your own skin.” —Morgan Freeman
“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.¨- Phyllis Diller
“The secret to life is finding joy in ordinary things. I’m interested in happiness.” —Ruth Reichl
“The joy that isn’t shared dies young.” —Anne Sexton
“Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men but from doing something worthwhile.” —Wilfred Grenfell
“Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.” —Robert Louis Stevenson
“What you focus on in your life expands, so focusing on what you’re grateful for increases positive vibrations and feelings of joy.” —Oprah Winfrey
“Smile at the obstacle, for it is a bridge.” – Medusa
“A flower blossoms for its own joy.” —Oscar Wilde
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” —Nhat Hanh
“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.” —Albert Einstein
“Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one’s identity as a being of worth and dignity.” —Rollo May
“The more the heart is sated with joy, the more it becomes insatiable.” —Gabrielle Roy
“People have to remain positive and believe in those dreams. It’s really important.” – Kirsty Coventry
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” —Henri Nouwen

“Joy is the happiness of love—love aware of its own inner happiness. Pleasure comes from without, and joy comes from within, and it is, therefore, within reach of everyone in the world.” —Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” — Winston Churchill
Beneath these skies of blue, I found a happiness so true. It’s the simple things that paint our grey days with colors anew.
“Deep joy is both the ground of love and the surest source of strength to persevere in the course of compassion—even when trials abound, as they often will.” —Robert Ellwood
Dancing through life with joy in my heart.
“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” Louisa May Alcott
“We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.” —Maya Angelou
“Spread love everywhere you go.” — Mother Teresa
“Positive energy knows no boundaries.” – Lu Wei
Sipping on serenity, dancing through the daisies. Life’s too short for anything but blissful days and dreamy nights.
“Keep walking and keep smiling.” — Tiny Tim
“Happiness is not out there; it’s in you.” — Anonymous
“When we are centered in joy, we attain our wisdom.” —Marianne Williamson
Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.
“Let your joy be in your journey—not in some distant goal.” —Tim Cook
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt Disney
“If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles.” – Widad Akrawi
“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” – Roy T. Bennett

With every sunset, there’s a promise of new joy.
“Happiness is not by chance but by choice.” — Jim Rohn
“Choose to be optimistic; it feels better.” — Dalai Lama
“The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions—the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“A positive attitude awakens inner strength, energy, motivation, and initiative.” – Remez Sasson
Happiness blooms from within.
“The best way to find joy is to give it to others.” —Robert G. Ingersoll
Joy is portable, bring it with you everywhere.
“There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” —Khalil Gibran
“Say something positive, and you’ll see something positive.” —Jim Thompson
“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” —Joseph Campbell
“See the world through the eyes of your inner child. The eyes that sparkle in awe and amazement as they see love, magic and mystery in the most ordinary things.” —Henna Sohail
“Where our work is, there let our joy be.” —Tertullian
“Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not.” —Oswald Chambers
“If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” —Carlos Santana
“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” —Richard Wagner
Grateful for the little things, big things, and everything in between.
Wrapped in sunlight and smiles, I found my happy place. No filters needed when joy does all the shining.

“There is not one little blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make men rejoice.” —John Calvin
“In order to carry a positive action, we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama
“Some days you just have to create your own sunshine.” — Sam Sundquist
“Life is to be enjoyed, not simply endured. Pleasure and goodness and joy support the pursuit of survival.” —Willard Gaylin
“Just follow your joy. Always. I think that if you do that, life will take you on the course that it’s meant to take you.” —Jonathan Groff
Finding joy is probably tantamount to finding yourself and being comfortable in your own skin.” —Morgan Freeman
“Joy bursts in our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.” —C.S. Lewis
“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” —Chuck Palahniuk
Spread joy as thick as you would Nutella.
“Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.” —John Wooden
“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” —Russell M. Nelson
“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” —Karl Barth
“Be positive with every idea surrounding your dreams.” – Israelmore Ayivor
“Every morning, I wake up saying, ‘I’m still alive, a miracle.’ And so I keep on pushing.” — Jim Carrey
“Do good, live in the most positive and joyful way possible every day.” – Roy T. Bennett
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”—Roald Dahl

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” —Mark Twain
“A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.” – Madeleine L’Engle
Pure joy is my chosen currency, and I’m spending it without limits.
“Start every day off with a smile and get it over with.” – W.C. Fields
So that is it for our list of Joyful Quotes and Sayings. We hope you found the perfect one for you!
If you like these, you might also like our other lists of Funny Spring Letter Board Quotes, Positive Quotes of the Day, Wedding Wishes and Short Powerful Quotes.
Pin it for later!

About the Author
Laynni Locke

Laynni has been sharing her travel adventures and day-to-day life on Routinely Nomadic social media for over 15 years and appreciates the importance of finding the perfect quote or caption to showcase those experiences. Putting her extensive writing and education background to good use, Laynni has become passionate about researching and curating comprehensive lists of all the best quotes and captions for every occasion.