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A happiness jar is a lovely way to bring some positivity and light into your otherwise mundane day. This post outlines 50 inspirational happiness jar quotes so that you can make your own DIY happiness jar to use every day of the year!
What is a Happiness Jar
If you’re unfamiliar, a happiness jar is basically a jar filled with cut-up pieces of paper that have inspirational, happy quotes written on them.
The point of a happy jar is to be able to pull a little bit of inspiration any time you might need an instant pick-me-up.

Is a Happiness Jar a Good Idea for Your Mental Health?
A happiness jar is a great idea if you are struggling with your mental health or if you just want a little boost of positive thoughts throughout the day!
I’d say a happiness jar is a wonderful tool for mental health support. Inside the jar, you’ll find little bits of motivation to help you see the day in a happier light which can directly correlate with your mood.
A motivational quote jar can be a great tool for hard times when you aren’t able to see things clearly. For example, on a hard day, you might pull one of the happy messages for a bit of a mood boost.
They can also serve as a great way to support daily mental health! Incorporate the happiness jar into your daily routine for a little boost of positivity every morning before you get going with your day.
How to Use a Happiness Jar of Quotes
My favorite way to utilize a happiness jar of quotes is to incorporate it into my daily routine. I have a jar of happy quotes near my coffee maker and have a routine where I pull a quote while my morning coffee is brewing.
Another way to use a kindness jar is to use it during difficult times. Keep the happiness quote jar somewhere easily accessible. Then on hard days, pull one or as many as you need to start to feel a bit better.
After pulling the happy quotes, I suggest sticking them back into the jar to pull a different day.

How to Make a DIY Happiness Jar
All you need to make a happiness jar are some scraps of paper, a pen, and a large glass jar with a lid.
To make the jar you’ll need to cut the paper into small pieces that are big enough to write on.
Then you will go through the list of happiness jar quotes listed below in this post and add your favorites to the pieces of paper.
Finally, fold up the pieces of paper and toss them into your jar!
It is super easy to make your own personalized DIY happiness jar of quotes.
If you need some ideas for what to make your happiness jar with, check out the slider below and shop some of my recommended items for making a DIY happy jar!
Shop for Your Happiness Jar of Quotes
Happiness Jar Gift Ideas
Not only is a happiness jar a great idea for personal use, but it also makes an amazing DIY gift idea for your best friend or a family member. Give them the gift of motivating positive vibes!
The inspirational quotes included in the uplifting gift make for a wonderful, unique, and personable gift idea.
A DIY happiness quote jar is a great gift for:
- Birthday gifts
- Christmas gifts
- Graduation gifts
- Wedding gifts
- Mother’s Day gifts
And more!
Now that we’ve covered all the bases, let’s get to the happiness jar quotes!

Motivational Happiness Jar Quotes
Below are some of the best quotes for your DIY happiness jar. I have organized them into different groups:
- Daily life quotes
- Unique motivational quotes
- Maya Angelou quotes
- Elizabeth Gilbert quotes
- & my favorite quotes for happy jars!
Daily Life Positivity Jar Quotes
“If you see someone without a smile today, give ’em yours.” – Dolly Parton
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” – Aristotle
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
“There is one thought that I feel can be helpful to grown-ups and children alike: Sadness isn’t forever. I’m not suggesting that we remind ourselves of this in order to lessen our grief. On the contrary. The knowledge that time does bring relief from sadness and that sooner or later there will be days when we are happy again may allow us to grieve more fully and deeply when we need to.” – Alan Cohen
“Be happy with what you have. Be excited about what you want.” – Fred Rogers
“If someone bases his/her happiness on major events like a great job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn’t going to be happy much of the time. If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness.” – Andy Rooney
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust

“Happiness is like a kiss, you must share it to enjoy it.” – Bernard Meltzer
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Living our life deeply and with happiness, having time to care for our loved ones — this is another kind of success, another kind of power, and it is much more important.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” – John Green
“The most simple things can bring the most happiness.” – Izabella Scorupco
“We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to.” – Brené Brown
“Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you.” – Beyoncé
“The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are.” – Goldie Hawn
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” – Abraham Lincoln
“The good news is that every morning we have the choice; not to be controlled by circumstances nor our past but by purposely designing our day, hence our lives better. Not to react to life but to respond with love.” – Bernard Kelvin Clive
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude” – Denis Waitley
“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach
Unique Motivational Quotes for Motivational Jar
“If it doesn’t make the world better, don’t do it.” – Brad Montague
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Happiness is a choice that requires effort sometimes.” – Aeschylus
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” – H.G. Wells
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston
Maya Angelou Happiness Jar Quotes
“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.”
“If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”
“The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise and most possible.”
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
“No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.”
“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.”
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

Elizabeth Gilbert Happy Jar Quotes
“In my experience, this is the hardest lesson of them all. After a certain age, we are all walking around this world in bodies made of secrets and shame and sorrow and old, unhealed injuries. Our hearts grow sore and misshapen around all this pain – yet somehow, still, we carry on.”
“Embrace the glorious mess that you are.”
“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”
“Sometimes it’s just true that other people have better ideas for your life than you do.”
“It all goes away. Eventually, everything goes away.”
“At some point in a woman’s life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.”
“When you’re lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you’ve just wandered off the path, that you’ll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it’s time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don’t even know from which direction the sun rises anymore.”
“You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight.”
Favorite Quotes for Your Happiness Jar
“There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman
“If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” – Anne Frank
“Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.” – William James
“Happiness can only exist in acceptance.” -George Orwell
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston
“Life hurts and it’s hard. Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because it hurts for everybody. Don’t avoid the pain. You need it. It’s meant for you.” – Glennon Doyle
“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” – Helen Keller
“Happiness comes in waves. It will find you again.” – Unknown
“Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.” – Annette Funicello
I hope you’ve found some great quotes for your new happiness jar from this post! Remember, the most important thing to take away from this post about happiness jar quotes is that these serve as just one potential source of happiness. There are so many other things you can do throughout the day to feel happier and more content with your life. Check out this list of self care ideas for bad days for some ideas to get you into a happier mindset!
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