Whether it’s the key to success, to wealth or health, or even a way to exact revenge on others, laughter is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It deflates tyrant and lifts up the downtrodden, it unites people and relieves stress.
At The Best You we thought we’d celebrate the power of laughter with 38 ticklingly fun quotes on the power of laughter from some of the smartest people who ever lived.
1. In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. – Khalil Gibran
2. I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death. – Robert Fulghum
3. A day without laughter is a day wasted. – Charlie Chaplin
4. If we’re destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there’s got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that. – Ellen DeGeneres
5. The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. – E. E. Cummings
6. Laughter is an instant vacation. – Milton Berle
7. Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life. – Joan Lunden
8. To jealousy, nothing is more frightful than laughter. – Francoise Sagan
9. The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. – Mark Twain
10. It is impossible for you to be angry and laugh at the same time. Anger and laughter are mutually exclusive and you have the power to choose either. – Wayne Dyer
11. Laughter heals all wounds, and that’s one thing that everybody shares. No matter what you’re going through, it makes you forget about your problems. I think the world should keep laughing. – Kevin Hart
12. For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home – pride in our accomplishments, laughter and fun, relationships that aren’t complex – we sometimes experience most often in the office. Bosses applaud us when we do a good job. Co-workers become a kind of family we feel we fit into. – Arlie Russell Hochschild
13. Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors. – Norman Cousins
14. Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain. – Charlie Chaplin
15. If Heaven exists, to know that there’s laughter, that would be a great thing. – Robin Williams
16. The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed. – Bennett Cerf
17. Laughter is important, not only because it makes us happy, it also has actual health benefits. And that’s because laughter completely engages the body and releases the mind. It connects us to others, and that in itself has a healing effect. – Marlo Thomas
18. Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one. – Oscar Wilde
19. A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. – Hugh Sidey
20. Feelings aroused by the touch of someone’s hand, the sound of music, the smell of a flower, a beautiful sunset, a work of art, love, laughter, hope and faith – all work on both the unconscious and the conscious aspects of the self, and they have physiological consequences as well. – Bernie Siegel
21. I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get your emotions going. – Jim Valvano
22. Close friends contribute to our personal growth. They also contribute to our personal pleasure, making the music sound sweeter, the wine taste richer, the laughter ring louder because they are there. – Judith Viorst
23. I love life in spite of all that mars it. I love friendship, jokes and laughter. – Tahar Ben Jelloun
24. There is little success where there is little laughter. – Andrew Carnegie
25. Joy’s smile is much closer to tears than laughter. – Victor Hugo
26. A ‘naughty pickle’ is how I’d best describe myself. I think fun and laughter is the whole point of life. – Celia Imrie
27. Laughter is God’s blessing. – Joseph Prince
28. From quiet homes and first beginning, out to the undiscovered ends, there’s nothing worth the wear of winning, but laughter and the love of friends. – Hilaire Belloc
29. Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand. – Mark Twain
30. There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. – Erma Bombeck
31. Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything. – Kurt Vonnegut
32. I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. – Woody Allen
33. From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. – Helen Hayes
34. My parents both had a great sense of humor, and always laughed a lot. One night, when they were watching ‘Candid Camera,’ I finally understood what comedy was all about. I heard the laughter on television, I turned around and saw my parents laughing, and that’s when I thought: ‘This is great. This is what I can do. I’m gonna prank somebody.’ – Howie Mandel
35. Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. – Red Skelton
36. You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants. – Stephen King
37. The two things in the world we all share in this world are laughter and pain. We’ve all got problems. The levels of those problems vary, but we’ve all got problems. When you can take things that are painful and make them funny, that’s a gift – to you and your audience. – Kevin Hart
38. Our revenge will be the laughter of our children. – Bobby Sands
