“There is little consolation in the fact that millions of people are unhappier than we are. Why should other people's misery make us happier or more content?”

“When we place more value on what other people think of us than on what we think of ourselves, it’s a formula for misery.”

“The fact that you got a little happier today doesn't change the fact that you also became a little sadder. Every day you become a little more of both, which means that right now, at this exact moment, you're the happiest and the saddest you've ever been in your whole life...Think about it it. Have you ever been happier than right now, lying here in the grass? And have you ever been sadder? It isn't like that for everyone. Some people just get happier and happier every day. And some people just get sadder and sadder. And some people, like you, get both.And what about you, are you the happiest and the saddest right now that you've ever been?Of course I am. Why?Because nothing makes me happier and nothing makes me sadder than you.”

“If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.”

“The happier people can be, the unhappier they are.”

“If only we wanted to be happy, it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is difficult, since we think them happier than they are.”