50 Choose Joy Quotes For Passion Seekers

By Clifton Sankofa

School Leader, Language Arts Expert & Master Quote Curator

Published January 26, 2023

Take a moment to read our choose joy quotes while you embark on your pursuit of happiness.

What is the difference between joy and happiness?

To have a deeper understanding of what it means to choose joy, we must first be able to define joy.

Happiness and joy are similar, but they are also very different.

Happiness depends on external factors.

We feel happiness from doing things we love.

Happiness manifests differently for everyone; some enjoy hiking, gardening, socializing, shopping, exercising, or playing cards.

These opportunities allow us to feel happiness by providing us with activities we find to be fun.

Joy is different because joy is an emotion; joy is an internal state of being.

Joy is an attitude or lens that we look through.

People who choose joy:

Add years to their lifespan.
Remain fulfilled despite external conditions.
Open themselves up to new opportunities for success.

What does it mean to choose joy?

Telling someone to choose joy can be a vague statement.

How does a person choose joy for themselves?

We know what sad, angry, hungry, or frustrated feels like, but how do we actively choose joy in the face of those other emotions?

It is essential to validate our feelings, not hide them or shun them.

However, there is a difference between experiencing an emotion and allowing that emotion to become our identity.

Honor and acknowledge your feelings

Anger, shame, grief, and sadness are different states of being we can experience.

A person can feel anger and joy in their life the same way they can have joy and still experience sadness.

Emotions come and go: we feel them fully, come to terms with them, and let them go.

Remaining fixated on a particular emotion can keep us in a repetitive cycle and eventually become toxic.

For more inspirational content, check out our choose joy quotes below.

Short choose joy quotes

Choosing joy can be easy if we allow it to be.

1. “Find joy in the ordinary.” — Max Lucado

2. “The root of joy is gratefulness.” — David Steindl-Rast

3. “A flower blooms for its own joy.” — Oscar Wilde

4. “Beauty is whatever gives joy.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay

5. “Where there is love, there is joy.” — Mother Teresa

6. “Joy is not in things; it is in us.” — Richard Wagner

7. “Comparison is the thief of joy.” — Theodore Roosevelt

8. “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” — Karl Barth

9. “The healthiest response to life is joy.” — Mark Twain

10. “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” — C. S. Lewis

Choose joy quotes that will make your day

We cannot control everything in life, but we can control how we respond to things.

11. “Joy is best sown in broken ground.” — Jack Wellman

12. “You will find a joy in overcoming obstacles.” — Helen Keller

13. “Figure out what fuels your joy, then do lots of that.” — Bob Goff

14. “He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy.” — Kahlil Gibran

15. “Let your joy be in your journey – not in some distant goal.” — Tim Cook

16. “It is a fine seasoning for joy to think of those we love.” — Moliere

17. “All who joy would win must share it. Happiness was born a twin.” — Lord Byron

18. “Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.” — Emily Dickinson

19. “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” — Carlos Santana

20. ”The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” — Leonardo da Vinci

Always choose joy quotes

Sometimes your only option is to choose joy.

21. “Joy and positive thinking are powerful tools for living well.” — Cyndie Spiegel

22. “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” — Khalil Gibran

23. “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow; it only saps today of its joy.” — Leo Buscaglia

24. “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” — Richard Bach

25. “Loving a moment doesn’t remove the pain, but it does make room for joy.” — Kay Warren

26. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

27. “We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” — Joseph Campbell

28. “The more the heart is sated with joy, the more it becomes insatiable.” — Gabrielle Roy

29. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.” — John Keats

30. “Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” — Mother Teresa

Choose joy quotes to inspire you

Even when things seem at their worst, it is always empowering to choose joy.

31. “To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with” — Mark Twain

32. “True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

33. “Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” — Joseph Campbell

34. “Carrying yourself with poise and joy and peace within – that’s sexy.” — Leah LaBelle

35. “A joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together.” — Brene Brown

36. “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. — Henri Nouwen

37. “A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love.” — Mother Teresa

38. “Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.” — Wess Stafford

39. “The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” — Jim Rohn

40. “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” — Albert Einstein

Choose joy quotes about life

When we remind ourselves that happiness and joy are choices, we can take steps toward choosing them for ourselves.

41. “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

42. “It’s more blessed to give than to receive is not some moral nostrum … but a prescription for authentic joy.” — Marc Ian Barasch

43. “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” — Russel M. Nelson

44. “Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home. It’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” — Chuck Palahniuk

45. “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” — Greg Anderson

46. “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” — Henri Nouwen

47. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

48. “When we are unhappy, prayer can lift our hearts and fill it with unspeakable joy.” — Julia Bristol

49. “There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.” — Frederick William Faber

50. “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” — Buddha

Choose joy, live well

Choosing joy is a habit that takes mindfulness.

The first relationship that any of us are in is our relationship with ourselves.

Many couples in love choose to see past their partner’s imperfections.

They choose to love and honor their partner despite a shortcoming.

They can extend grace to one another by seeing past the present circumstances.

Choosing to love ourselves thoroughly enough to see past imperfections takes work, but it is possible.

When we look beyond our immediate circumstances, we can see ourselves in a new light and learn to value who we are and what we have to offer.

Making anything a habit takes effort; this applies to good and bad habits.

If we wish to choose joy, we can shift our attention away from what we think is missing from our lives and focus on what is present.

Considering how our actions impact others is also a powerful way to feel more joy.

When we connect with others, we naturally increase the potential for joy to enter our lives.