“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”

— Helen Keller, "The Simplest Way to Be Happy" (1933)

About Helen Keller

1880 – 1968

American author and activist, deaf and blind from infancy, author of "The Story of My Life".

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

“Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”

“Show me someone who is ill and yet happy, in danger and yet happy, dying and yet happy, exiled and yet happy.”

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”