Hubert Selby Jr. Quotes

I've spent most of my life trying to think my way to happiness, and my failure to achieve that goal only proves, in my mind, that I am not a good enough thinker. It never occurred to me that the source of my unhappiness is not flawed thinking but thinking itself.

I realized that the reason why my head was so cluttered and why I was so unstable and not taking care of myself, all of these things, was that I was unhappy. If I wanted to get to a happier place and find some kind of peace, I was going to have to address problems with myself, things from my life up until that point that I hadn't dealt with: insecurities, fears, and those kinds of things.

All it takes is a simple choice, a simple decision: no matter what happens, I will create no more pain for myself. I will create no more problems.

Happiness is your own treasure because it lies within you.

Happiness comes from the full understanding of your own being.

Lately though I've been in love with myself and I've become my own best friend.

In high school, I tried very hard to make everybody like me, which resulted in me being extremely unhappy and in a lot of pain. Therefore, the lesson I got from that was that I can't make everybody happy.

You have to accept who you are in order to make someone happy and be happy.

Now, I'm not 100% there, but every day I wake up, I'm happy being me, and I just feel fulfilled.

You just need to be happy, and once you're happy with yourself then you can do more things.

Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Be happy with who you are and know that being you is the best thing you can do for yourself. You've got a long time to figure everything out and there's no rush. Enjoy the now.

It's so important to embrace what you have because if you don't, that can be the root of very self-destructive habits, which I think people waste a lot of energy on.

I just think everything is a learning experience and every moment that you have that actually feels good inside of your heart is an absolute blessing and a gift.

To fall in love with yourself is the first secret of happiness. Then if you're not a good mixer you can always fall back on your own company.

Be kind to yourself so you can be happy enough to be kind to the world.

It's when I let myself get little that I tumble head over heels into joy.

Loving myself and thinking joyful, happy thoughts is the quickest way to create a wonderful life.

Happiness is not on my list of priorities. I just deal with day-to-day things. If I'm happy, I'm happy – and if I'm not, I don't know the difference... Knowing that you are the person you were put on this earth to be – that's much more important than just being happy.

I've spent a lot of time in my life dedicating myself to love or the pursuit of love or the understanding of love... I’ve stopped believing in happy endings. I’ve started believing in good days.

If you’re not happy single, your not gonna be happy married.

Finding happiness is like finding yourself. You don't find happiness, you make happiness. You choose happiness. Self-actualization is a process of discovering who you are, who you want to be and paving the way to happiness by doing what brings you the most meaning and contentment to your life over the long run.

Gradually as you become curator of your own contentment, you will learn to embrace the gentle yearnings of your heart.

I remember when I came out of an exam thinking I had done well and then I had a clue that maybe one answer was wrong, I remembered that I rather stop knowing, stop thinking about it, appreciating life instead. So first, it was just a memory. But then I realized that in life, it's a much more general sentiment - that instead of waiting for other people's judgment, I'd rather focus on my own feelings, that everything is fine. To go on with my life rather than anticipating other people's judgements that might be negative.

Do not cherish suffering. Don't act like a fool. Don't think that your suffering is going to accelerate your spiritual progress.