Happiness isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you got.

The line contrasts two models of happiness: acquisition versus appreciation. Instead of treating well-being as the result of finally obtaining some desired object or status, it reframes happiness as a stance toward what one already possesses—an attitude of contentment, gratitude, and acceptance. The aphorism echoes long-standing moral and philosophical traditions (from Stoic self-sufficiency to modern positive psychology) that warn how desire can endlessly regenerate, making satisfaction perpetually deferred. Its appeal lies in its plain, conversational paradox: the same “wanting” that often causes dissatisfaction can, when redirected toward one’s present life, become the engine of happiness.