149+ Inspirational Quotes That Are [Undeniably] Read-Worthy

Inspirational quotes are incredibly helpful.

I mean, there are so many reasons to use them…

• You might be facing a really stressful financial decision.
• You’re going through a big (and challenging) change in your life and it feels like no one gets it.
• You’re letting go of some toxic relationships and it’s not as easy as you thought it would be.
• You’re finally going after that dream you’ve put off for years.

And while there are so many tools to help you get out of a season you feel stuck in (like affirmations or SMART goals), inspirational quotes are probably at the top of the list.

You don’t need to figure things out alone and wonder how you’re gonna get out of this. You just need a bit of help and encouragement, and these quotes are a great way to do just that.

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Related: 240+ Positive Quotes to Help DESTROY Your Bad Days

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149+ Inspirational Quotes on Life

While these inspirational quotes are here to help encourage you, they’re also a great way to encourage someone close to you!

But if you’re the only one who’s going through difficult times right now, then gather as many of these encouraging and inspiring quotes as possible.

It’s so good to do whatever you can to take care of your mental health, and especially during your harder times!

1. “There is nothing impossible to they who will try.” — Alexander the Great

2. “Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.” — George Washington

3. “Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” — Rosa Parks

4. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” — William Shakespeare

5. “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie

6. “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” — William Shakespeare

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7. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” — Mahatma Gandhi

8. “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” — Joshua J. Marine

9. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” — Sylvia Plath

10. “If you want it, you have to do it yourself. Be your own hero. Don’t wait for someone to do it for you… because they won’t.” — Anonymous

11. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” — Audrey Hepburn

12. “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

13. “We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.” — Jane Austen

14. “I love the name of honor, more than I fear death.” — Julius Caesar

15. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” — Abraham Lincoln

16. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

17. “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.” — Frida Kahlo

18. “I don’t care where you came from or how you started out, you have the ability to make a change in your life, right here, right now.” — Anonymous

19. “I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.” — Audrey Hepburn

20. “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” — William Butler Yeats

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21. “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” — Aristotle

22. “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.” — George Washington

23. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” — Unknown

24. “You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.” — Marie Curie

25. “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” — Rosa Parks

26. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” — William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, in Act II, Scene 2

27. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

28. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” — Mahatma Gandhi

29. “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” — Aristotle

30. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”  — Eleanor Roosevelt

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Related: 200 Life Quotes to Inspire You to Live a Life You Love

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31. “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” — Jane Austen

32. “I would rather live a short life of glory than a long one of obscurity.” — Alexander the Great

33. “Take one small action to get to the life you want today. If you wait… it might never happen.” — Anonymous

34. “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

35. “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” — Audrey Hepburn

36. “Don’t be the side character in your own life. Take control.” — Anonymous

37. “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln

38. “I came, I saw, I conquered.” — Julius Caesar

39. “Live the life you want and forget about what other people think. They’re not the ones living it.” — Anonymous

40. “I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.” — Rosa Parks

41. “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” — Mahatma Gandhi

42. “I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.”  — Marie Curie

43. “Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.” — Amelia Earhart

44. “Through every generation of the human race, there has been a constant war, a war with fear.” — Alexander the Great

45. “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.”  — Marie Curie

46. “Be who you wish the adults in your life growing up would have been.”  — Anonymous

47. “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

48. “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” — Julius Caesar

49. “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” — Jane Austen

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50. “Stop looking at what you can’t do, and start looking at what’s already in your power to do.” — Anonymous

51. “Experience is the teacher of all things.” — Julius Caesar

52. “Stand for something or you will fall for anything.” — Rosa Parks

53. “A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” — Mahatma Gandhi

54. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

55. “I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.”  — Marie Curie

56. “Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.” — Alexander the Great

57. “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”  — Marie Curie

58. “The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.” — Amelia Earhart

59. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau

60. “The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

61. “Love your future self. Do something today that will make them proud of you.” — Anonymous 

62. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi

63. “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” — Frida Kahlo

64. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” — Aristotle

65. “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” — Amelia Earhart

66. “So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

67. “Don’t underestimate what you can do, otherwise your whole life will be an underestimation and you will never reach the stars.” — Anonymous

68. “Don’t keep living your life for others. They’re not even thinking of you.” — Anonymous

69. “If you want to live a worthwhile life, stop overlooking what you really want. It’s not helping anyone and especially yourself.”  — Anonymous

70. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart

71. “Figuring out who you wanna be is more important than finding yourself.” — Anonymous

72. “I exist as I am, that is enough.” — Walt Whitman

73. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

74. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” — Aristotle

75. “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” —  Charles Swindoll

76. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — Unknown

77. “Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.” — Amelia Earhart

78. “Be curious, not judgmental.” — Unkown

79. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln

80. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman

81. “You are not on this Earth to be forgotten, so do difficult things you will be remembered for. You’re worthy of that.” — Anonymous

82. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu

83. “You can disagree without being disagreeable.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

84. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

85. “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser

86. “If you want to have a better future, you have to go out and work for it.” — Anonymous

87. “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” — Charles Darwin

88. “Resist much, obey little.” — Walt Whitman

89. “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.” — Isaac Newton

90. “Live your life in such a way that you have the least amount of forgettable meaningless days.” — Anonymous

91. “Memories of our lives, of our works, and our deeds will continue in others.” — Rosa Parks

92. “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” — Abraham Lincoln

93. “Don’t wait another day to take action. Love yourself enough to start now.” — Anonymous

94. “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” — Frida Kahlo

95. “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” — Isaac Newton

96. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

97. “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” — Audrey Hepburn

98. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein

99. “Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” — Isaac Newton

100. “Where do you wanna be in five years from now? Keep asking yourself that.” — Anonymous

101. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

102. “Keep moving, keep pushing, and don’t listen to anyone who discourages you. They’re just a waste of time.” — Anonymous

103. “If you want true freedom, create a life you want to exist in.” — Anonymous

104. “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” — Isaac Newton

105. “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs

106. “If you want things to look different, you have to start acting different.” — Anonymous

 107. “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” — William Shakespeare

108. “Repeat the pattern and the pattern will be unbroken. You must step out of the pattern in order to see a better one.” — Anonymous

109. “If you want different, be different.” — Anonymous

110. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” — Abraham Lincoln

111. “Let us pick up our books and our pens; they are the most powerful weapons.” — Malala Yousafzai

112. “All that glitters is not gold.” — William Shakespeare

113. “Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.” — Jim Rohn

114. “Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I’ve taken for granted.” — Sylvia Plath

115. “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin

116. “It is advisable that you don’t let each day pass you by. Otherwise you will live a life that is passed by.” — Anonymous

117. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle

118. “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” — Christian D. Larson

119. “Build something beautiful. Don’t live each day like it doesn’t matter. Otherwise you will have a whole life built on those days.” — Anonymous

120. “Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” — Roy T. Bennett

121. “You are not worthy of the hate you give yourself. So pour love into your heart and watch yourself grow.” — Anonymous

122. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali

123. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” — Mahatma Gandhi

124. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt

125. “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” — Amelia Earhart

126. “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” — Rosa Parks

127. “Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

128. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

129. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” — Martin Luther King Jr. 

130. “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” — George Washington

131. “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” — George Washington

132. “Your future is worth fighting for. So keep fighting for a better one each day.” — Anonymous

133. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

134. “Look at what you want to go towards, not what you’re afraid of, and you will hit it.” — Anonymous

135. “The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.” — George Washington

136. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.'” — Steve Jobs

137. “You are not weak, you just need to learn how to become strong in your own life.” — Anonymous

138. “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” — Malala Yousafzai

139. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi

140. “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” — Rosa Parks

141. “Your suffering is not for nothing. You can use it to become so much stronger. You don’t need to fold; you’re not worthy of that.” — Anonymous

142. “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” — Mahatma Gandhi

143. “Nothing is more important than empathy for another human being’s suffering. Nothing. Not a career, not wealth, not intelligence, certainly not status. We have to feel for one another if we’re going to survive with dignity.” — Audrey Hepburn

144. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Possibly Robert G. Ingersoll

145. “Keep learning and build the life you want to see. Stop learning and you will build a prison.” — Anonymous

146. “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” — Aristotle

147. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” — Amelia Earhart

148. “Figure out who you want to be, what values you want to have, and learn how to be that person.” — Anonymous

149. “The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.” — Audrey Hepburn

150. “Make your younger self proud and become the person they always needed.”  — Anonymous

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So, Does Positive Thinking from Inspiring Quotes Actually Help?

Well, research has supported the benefits positive thinking can have on you.

Individuals who maintain a positive outlook during challenges will experience enhanced well-being.

Also, the positive power of words has been shown to affect patients who suffer from chronic ailments. 

So leveling up your overall health by shaping your perspective (with tools like these quotes) and creating a more positive mindset is going to be incredibly good for you.

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How to Make Inspirational Quotes Work for You

1. Understand the Power of Inspiring Quotes

Inspirational quotes can have a huge effect on your life. 

When using powerful tools like inspirational quotes in your daily routine, you are moving your thoughts in a better direction. Instead of giving into negativity, you’re choosing empowerment. 

Inspirational quotes allow you to take control of your thoughts and grow in emotional resilience. 

And when I talk about emotional resilience, I’m talking about…

• Overcoming obstacles and frustrations. 
• Reframing setbacks as just an opportunity for growth.
• Having the ability to move forward despite the challenges.

By keeping inspirational quotes at the front of your mind, you can grow a more positive viewpoint that helps you to get through difficult times.

And beyond this, positivity has a ripple effect that extends to relationships. 

When you’re clearly giving off positivity, others are gonna be inspired and drawn in by your attitude and mindset.

Also, by focusing on the positives, you develop a much more balanced perspective, which helps you understand how to move forward during the harder times and stay motivated.

2. The Blueprint for Using the Power of Inspirational Quotes

If you are intentional with your inspirational quotes, they’ll help transform you.

Here are a few ways you can take on the power of inspirational quotes: 

• Reflect on Your Day: Carve out time each day to reflect and put your focus on a specific inspirational quote. Write it down, focus on its significance, and allow it to guide your daily actions and decisions. 
• Create a Positive Environment: Look for communities, books, or people whose words align with your positive values. Studying the work of a like-minded author or speaker can help give you more insight, wisdom, and motivation no matter where you are on your journey.
• Transform Limiting Beliefs: Confront any self-limiting beliefs or negative thoughts you have with these inspirational quotes. Having a collection of quotes readily accessible can serve as a great guide during moments of doubt. They help remind you of what’s really important and rebuild your confidence. 
• Guard Your Mental Wellness: Filter out negativity in your life like discouraging news or draining social media content. You need to prioritize people who are uplifting and supportive friends who will always encourage you.
• Nurture Inner Kindness: Don’t forget to give compassion and love to yourself. Take on a mindset of treating yourself with the same patience you’d give to your friends when they’re facing challenges. And you can do this by using inspirational quotes that are gonna encourage self-compassion. 

3. Refer to Great People Who Have Seen Positivity in Everything

Start looking up the people from the quotes above and study their lives.

Many of the quotes above were from people who faced horrible challenges in their lives and still chose to see the positive in each situation.

How did they do it? And how can you remain optimistic in your own challenges?

4. Create a Daily Ritual of Reflecting on One Inspirational Quote

I compiled this list of inspirational quotes because I wanted to help you take charge of your life and actually go after your dreams.

And I know you are capable of leveling up your life, so try creating a daily ritual of meditating on at least one inspirational quote.

Keep it at the forefront of your mind, write it down where you’ll see it, and start applying it to the different situations that come up in the day.

Then take note of how you react differently because of this quote. Think about how it’s positively affecting and helping you.

This is honestly such a great way to stay encouraged and be proactive in actually using these quotes.

Quotes on Inspiration FAQ’s

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Use Inspirational Quotes to Help Change Your Life

Whether you need motivation for something big or small in your life, I just want you to know that you can do this!

And with the right tools like these quotes on inspiration, and surrounding yourself with people who are going to push you forward, there really isn’t much stopping you!