Joy vs Happiness
While we were looking for joy quotes, we found that many of the quotes tend to interchange the words joy and happiness. Much like how with social media, we tend to use “Love” in the same way we would use “Like.”
Merriam-Webster defines the word Joy as: “…the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” Dictionary.com also has an almost identical definition. Yet when you search the psychological definition of joy vs happiness they are distinctly different.
To help us hone in on joy vs happy, this intro and many joy quotes should help.
ETERNITY
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.
~William Blake, British artist, poet 1757-1827
Table of Contents
Happy or Joyful?
So, what is the difference between joy and happiness?
Happiness is an emotion which comes and goes. It can be caused by a mix of internal and external sources. If we’re experiencing loss, sadness, anger, or any other negative emotion, we don’t feel happy.
Joy, is a lasting state of being.
Much like gratitude, when we’re in a state of joy, we have a sense of peace regardless of what may be happening around us.
Sure, we still experience all emotions, positive and negative. It’s just that underlying it all, when crises subside, our natural reset is back to center…to a permeating state of joy.
The home of my heart has weathered the storm where joy is alive and well.
“Joy is a lens through which we can view life as positive even when we experience negatives.“
~Devani Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
Joy vs Happiness Examples
Sure… this might just be a matter of semantics. However, language is comprised of different words to help us discern different nuances and depths of similar but different experiences.
Examples of Joy
- Joy is a constant companion… a state of being, which is expanded in the presence of:
- Deep and abiding / long standing love
- Peaceful settings and scenes
- Deep friendships
- Spirituality – a sense of connection to something greater
Imagine a mother cuddling a sleeping child… that Mona Lisa smile on her face. Whether or not you’re a parent, hopefully you’ve experienced that welling up feeling that accompanies our love for another. Not the surges that can come and go, but the pervasively prevalent and abiding love experienced and expressed as joy.
Joy is a state of being, that creates more joy.
A deep inner peace, from which warmth wells, joy is like the depths of the ocean to the surface. No matter the weather at the surface of the sea, the depths remain constant. That’s joy.
Joy and Love are inseparable twins… wherever one is, the other will be found.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
Examples of Happy and Happiness
- Infatuation
- Favorite things such as
- food
- beverages
- Time with friends
- Favorite movies
- Weekends
- Vacations
- Holidays
- Favorite fragrances… from the smell of coffee to pumpkin spice in fall
- Getting the job you wanted
- Achieving your goals
“You can experience joy, no matter the external circumstance. Joy is as constant as the sunrise and as gentle as a starlit night.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
What’s the Difference Between Joy and Happiness?
“Joy wells up and moves you from within, as present as the air.
Happiness happens to you from external stimulus, it comes and goes like the weather.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
Joy Exploration Prompt
Before you delve into the quotes, you may benefit by this “joy prompt” as a way to expand joy in your life and implement the principles you glean here.
This will be your answer to having a more joy filled life. Spend more time in joy and that’s what you’ll have more of.
Should you choose to accept this assignment… ?
Joy Prompt
- Make a list with two columns.
- List when you feel the most joy, vs feeling happy.
- Keep the list visible and keep adding to it as you think of new things.
- Spend more time with the things in the Joy column, and you’ll have more of both!
- JOYFUL ~ HAPPY
Joy Quotes
Choice and Joy Quotes
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy, and keep choosing it.”
~Henri Nouwen, priest, professor, writer and theologian, 1932-1996
“You can experience joy, no matter the external circumstance. Joy is as constant as the sunrise and as gentle as a starlit night.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
Creativity and Joy Quotes
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
~Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32 US President, 1882-1945
“Consumption is a fleeting happiness. Creation feeds the eternal flame of joy.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
“The world needs more joy. We all do. So bring it, create it, engage it purposefully, consciously, daily, and you’ll have more joy in your life and more love in your heart. It is the Law.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
“The world of the artist and the world of the entrepreneur are not so far apart. The successful artist is she who can find the joy in creating both.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
My happy place is in the mind of creativity. I laugh out loud in joy.
~Donna Sheerin Gillis, artist, custom quilter, SeamsUndone
Dream and Joy Quotes
“Everyone has a divine right to joy, love, shining bright, dreaming big, achieving your hearts desires, and continuous rebirth living life to your fullest potential. If I can, you can.”
~Lia Valencia Key, entrepreneur founder Valencia Key Jewelry
Focus – What You Focus on, Grows
“Joy is a state of being, that creates more joy.”
~LeAura Alderson, iCreateDaily.com®
“You are free to think thoughts of worry or joy, and whatever you choose you will attract the same kind back. Worry attracts worry. Joy attracts joy.”
~Rhonda Byrne, Australian television writer & author
“If there are negative people affecting you, you can forgive them for you know they are not in joy.”
~Lia Valencia Key, entrepreneur founder Valencia Key Jewelry
Garden and Nature Quotes Around Joy
Nothing can beat the smell of dew and flowers and the odor that comes out of the earth when the sun goes down.
~Ethel Waters, singer, actress, 1896-1977
Gratitude and Joy Quotes
The root of joy is gratefulness.
~David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk & author, b.7/12/1926
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
~Tecumseh, Native American warrior & chief, 1768-1813
“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.”
~Ralph H. Blum, screenwriter & author-Book of Runes b.1932
“Gratefulness is the fuel that feeds our joy.”
~Greg Burson, voice actor, 1949-2008
“Joy in the present is different from momentary pleasure. Joy comes from purpose, awe, gratitude, and appreciation.”
~Benjamin Hardy, organizational psychologist, author, b.1989
My advice to the person suffering from lack of time and from apathy is this: Seek out each day as many as possible of the small joys.”
~Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss poet, novelist, painter, 1877-1962
Gratitude invokes soul. Soul imbues joy. Joy sustains.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, creator iCreateDaily.com®
Happiness and Joy Quotes
“Happiness is not a goal…it’s a byproduct of a life well lived.”
~Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, diplomat, author, 1884-1962
Happiness is the joy we feel striving towards our potential.
~Shawn Achor, researcher & author
What’s the Difference Between Joy and Happiness?
Joy wells up and moves you from within, as present as the air.
Happiness happens to you from external stimulus, it comes and goes like the weather.
~LeAura Alderson, writer, editor, creator iCreateDaily.com®
The Journey and Joy Quotes
“The joy is in the journey.”
~Valencia Key jewelry
Love and Joy Quotes
“Joy and Love are inseparable twins… wherever one is, the other will be found.”
~LeAura Alderson,