Motivational quotes are one of the best tools for getting out of your comfort zone and to stop procrastinating.
Because whether you’re…
- Going after a big (or small) goal in your life.
- Finding yourself stuck and not sure how to move forward after a setback.
- Wanting to get rid of bad self-beliefs and boost your self-esteem.
They can only ever help when you wanna take action.
Now I love finding tools that are gonna get you out of a negative spot in life, change your perspective, and start on personal growth.
So we’re gonna use things like quotes on motivation to help you get there just a bit faster.
It might be frustrating or difficult to get yourself on the path to success, or even find the willpower to change, but I really do believe in you!
I love helping you to stay motivated and inspired to take on your life and goals. So use these motivational life quotes to stay inspired everyday no matter your circumstances!
Motivating Quotes to Help Inspire You
Best Motivational Quotes to Start the Day
- “You define your own life. Don’t let other people write your script.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “Today is your day. Don’t let another one escape you and take you further from your dreams.” — Anonymous
- “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had.” — Angela Bassett
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — Les Brown
- “This is the start of a new life. A new journey. Get excited.” — Anonymous
- “You are worthy of a new beginning.” — Anonymous
- “I pity those who can only dream the dreams of others. I envy those whose dreams have never been dreamed before.” — Anonymous
Short Motivational Quotes
- “Don’t try to lessen yourself for the world; let the world catch up to you.” — Beyoncé
- “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein
- “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” — Confucius
- “Action is the antidote to despair.” — Joan Baez
- “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” — Carl Sagan
- “A year from now you will wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb
- “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu
- “Every exit is an entry somewhere else.” — Tom Stoppard
- “Everyone has dreams. The goal is to never, ever wake up” — Unknown
Motivating Quotes About Change
- “Take the risk or lose the chance.” — Marko Halilovic
- “There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” — Aristotle
- “Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it.” — Lindsey Vonn
- “The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need tomorrow.” — Robert Tew
- “Great things never came from comfort zones.” — Neil Strauss
- “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — Socrates
- “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” — William Faulkner
Deep Motivational Quotes
- “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” — Shonda Rhimes
- “Don’t wait for someone else to be your hero. Take control of your life and mold it into one you want to be in.” — Anonymous
- “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates
- “Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful.” — Inayat Khan
- “When someone says you can’t do it, do it twice and take pictures.” — Tami Xiang
- “Choose not to be harmed, and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed, and you haven’t been.” — Marcus Aurelius
Famous Motivated Quotes
- “The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” — C.S. Lewis
- “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” — Japanese Proverb
- “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!'” — Audrey Hepburn
- “Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” — Deep Roy
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” — John F. Kennedy
- “You become what you believe.” — Oprah Winfrey
Motivational Quotes About Success
- “Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.” — Mark Twain
- “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” — Helen Keller
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” — Herman Melville
- “No one can accomplish everything. Every one can accomplish something.” — Anonymous
- “Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” — Dale Carnegie
- “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” — Stephen King
- “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estée Lauder
- “Why focus on success, without first achieving failure?” — Unknown
- “Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.”― Dale Carnegie
- “On my own I will just create and if it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, I’ll just create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “Faith is taking the first step. Even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” — Marie Curie
- “A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.” — Nelson Mandela
- “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” — Harper Lee
- “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” — Herman Melville
- “Aim high in your career but stay humble in your heart.” — Korean Proverb
Inspiring Motivation Quotes
- “Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.” — Jim Henson
- “It just takes one step at a time, one day at a time, and suddenly… you’ll find yourself there.” — Anonymous
- “We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” — Albert Einstein
- “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one!” — Dolly Parton
- “We have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We’ve gotta listen more and talk less. We’ve gotta know that this is everybody’s responsibility.” — Megan Rapinoe
- “For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If we’re brave enough to be it.” — Amanda Gorman
- “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” — Helen Keller
- “Even a small star shines in the darkness.” — Finnish Proverb
- “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Quotes About Life
- “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” — Nora Ephron
- “Life becomes wonderful when we decide to see it as such.” — Anonymous
- “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” — Bruce Lee
- “Talk to yourself like someone you love.” — Brené Brown
- “You can make a difference in your own life, don’t wait for someone else to do it.” — Anonymous
- “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “You have to pick the places you don’t walk away from.” — Joan Didion
- “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you” — Aldous Huxley
- “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but thrive.” — Maya Angelou
Positive Motivational Quotes
- “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to happiness that you can give out.” — Elenor Roosevelt
- “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” — (Mister) Fred Rogers
- “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!” — Anne Frank
- “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill
- “Stop being afraid of what can go wrong and start being positive about what can go right.” — Unknown
- “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to the happiness that you can give out.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.” — Norman Vincent Peale
- “Your mind is powerful. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your whole world will change.” — Unknown
- “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson
- “Be like the sun and the meadow, which are not in the least concerned about the coming winter.” — George Bernard Shaw
- “Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne
- “Don’t waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window—or break down a door.” — Brooke Shields
- “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde
Motivational Quotes for Work
- “Trust yourself that you can do it and get it.” — Baz Luhrmann
- “Make today the day you learn something new.” — Unknown
- “Don’t save your best for when you think the material calls for it. Always bring your full potential to every take, and be on top of your job, or they will replace you.” — Gabrielle Union
- “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” — Stephen King
- “I hate that word: ‘lucky.’ It cheapens a lot of hard work.” — Peter Dinklage
- “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” — Jack Welch
- “You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen
- “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” — Chinese Proverb
- “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” — Confucius
- “When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.” — Howard Schulz
Motivational Monday Quotes
- “Only do what your heart tells you.” — Princess Diana
- “There’s a point when you go with what you’ve got. Or you don’t go.” — Joan Didion
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” — Frederick Douglass
- “The best way out is always through.” — Robert Frost
- “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” — Kurt Vonnegut
- “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” — Lucille Ball
- “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
Friday Motivational Quotes
- “Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama
- “Believe in yourself. Stay in your own lane. There’s only one you.” — Queen Latifah
- “I will not erase all my hard work this week because it’s the weekend.” — Unknown
- “It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” — Betty White
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius
- “Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Daily Motivational Quotes
- “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” — Maya Angelou
- “There is no better compass than compassion.” — Amanda Gorman
- “To become the person you wish to be, first be yourself.” — Anonymous
- “Don’t tell people about your dreams. Show them your dreams” — Unknown
- “It is only when we take chances that our lives improve. The initial and the most difficult risk we need to take is to become honest.” — Walter Anderson
- “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “A compass is only useful if you know where you want to go.” — Unknown
Quotes About Time
- “The strongest of all warriors are these two—Time and Patience.” — Leo Tolstoy
- “For one to have complete satisfaction from flowers, you must have time to spend with them.” — Grace Kelly
- “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” — Andy Warhol
- “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb
- “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” — Will Rogers
- “Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein
- “My father gave me the best advice of my life. He said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t wake up at 65 years old and think about what you should have done with your life.” — George Clooney
Motivational Self-Confidence Quotes
- “We can see through others only when we can see through ourselves.” — Bruce Lee
- “You just gotta keep going and fighting for everything, and one day you’ll get to where you want.” — Naomi Osaka
- “What I’ve realized is that confidence is a daily journey. We always think that confidence is a destination we must get to, but it’s a choice we make. I don’t think it’s something we ever really get to and stay at. And I think once you know that, it takes the pressure off.” — Jonathan Van Ness
- “If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” — Muhammad Ali
- “Never give up on yourself. You don’t deserve that.” — Anonymous
- “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” — Hasidic Proverb
- “I was built this way for a reason, so I’m going to use it.” — Simone Biles
- “You can’t be hesitant about who you are.” — Viola Davis
- “Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too.” — H. Jackson Brown.
- “Believing you are unworthy of love and belonging—that who you are authentically is a sin or is wrong—is deadly. Who you are is beautiful and amazing.” — Laverne Cox
- “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” — Rosa Parks
Encouraging Quotes
- “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem
- “There does come a moment when you start saying, ‘I want more,’ and people look at you a little cross-eyed, because it’s loving what you have and also knowing you want to try for more. Sometimes that makes people uncomfortable.” — Ariana DeBose
- “Every single day is the start of a new year and a chance to renew your dreams” — Anonymous
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
- “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it” — Chinese Proverb
- “The key responsibility of leadership is to think about the future. No one else can do it for you.” — Brian Tracy
- “It’s a whole lot more satisfying to reach for the stars, even if you end up landing only on the moon.” — Kermit The Frog
- “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” — James Cameron
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar
- “When you go out of your comfort zone and it works, there’s nothing more satisfying.” — Kristen Wiig
- “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
Super Motivating Quotes
- “Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.” — Elizabeth Bibesco
- “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” — Confucius
- “It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.” — Ella Fitzgerald
- “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you” — Walt Whitman
- “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” — Chuck Palahniuk
- “We will fail when we fail to try.” — Rosa Parks
- “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” — Og Mandino
- “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” — Duke Ellington
Best Motivational Quotes
- “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear–not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain
- “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou
- “Be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
- “To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live.” — Dorothy West
- “You are your best thing.” — Toni Morrison
- “Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.” — Washington Irving
- “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” — Dale Carnegie
- “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” — Booker T. Washington
- “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius
- “I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere, if you really want to go.” — Langston Hughes
- “What’s the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable.” — John Green
- “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” — Oprah Winfrey
Motivational Quotes For Women
- “It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” — Marilyn Monroe
- “If we choose to dream on behalf of others, others will dream our dreams for us” — Unknown
- “Today a reader. Tomorrow a leader.” — Margaret Fuller
- “You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” — James Dean
- “Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think.” — Olivia Newton-John
- “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” — Maya Angelou
- “Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do, and at some point, you will.” — Venus Williams
- “Change the world by being yourself.” — Amy Poehler
Motivational Quotes For Men
- “Forget your excuses. You either want it bad or don’t want it at all.” — Unknown
- “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” — Michael Jordan
- “Don’t stop when you are tired. Stop when you are done.” — David Goggin
- “A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” — Vince Lombardi
- “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” — Kurt Cobain
- “It takes courage to examine your life and to decide that there are things you would like to change, and it takes even more courage to do something about it.” — Sue Hadfield
- “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin
- “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” — Billie Jean King
- “Most people can talk without listening. Very few can listen without talking.” — Bruce Lee
- “Goal setting is the secret to a compelling future.” — Tony Robbins
- “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” — Paulo Coelho
More Motivating Quotes
- “Make your life a masterpiece, imagine no limitations on what you can be, have, or do.” — Brian Tracy
- “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda
- “North, South, East, or West. No matter where you go, go in the direction of your dreams.” — Unknown
- “Nature has given us all the pieces required to achieve exceptional wellness and health, but has left it to us to put these pieces together.” — Diane McLaren
- “Nobody thinks something can be done, until someone is doing it.” — Anonymous
- “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” — Helen Keller
- “You can’t fall if you don’t climb. But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground.” — Unknown
- “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” — B.B. King
- “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” — Henry David Thoreau
- “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” — Robert Frost
- “The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” — Mother Teresa
- “Imagining something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions.” — Fred Rogers
Real People’s Favorite Quotes That Motivate Them
I went on Reddit to see what quotes were really motivating other people, and I was not disappointed.
I found some amazing quotes that I honestly think will really help you out!
- Zeexen says their favorite motivational quote is, “If you aren’t going to help yourself, nobody will.” — Unknown
- And from Leemo0088, “Take control of your life. The instant you take control, interesting things will come to you.” — Douglas Adams
- Callisstaa’s favorite quote: “If you don’t choose a path in life, you will be led down one.” — Unknown
- MsMcClane says, “Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You’ve got two good legs. So get up and use them. You’re strong enough to make your own path,” by Edward Elric was their favorite.
- The quote by Ernest Hemingway, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self,” was darknight1580’s favorite.
- “You’re wishin’ too much, baby. You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughtta be.” A quote by Elizabeth Gilbert and a favorite of LeluWater.
- “Don’t settle for being better when you could be the best.” A quote by Piccolo from Dragaon Ball Z and a favorite of a Reddit user. Also as a nerd, I appreciated this one. 👍
- From Nobody_Expects_That, “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
- “If your not living life on the edge you are taking up too much space,” by Stephen Hunt is a favorite quote of BatmanAndMe123.
- And CueBall_21 says that, “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength,” by Teddy Roosevelt is their favorite.
How To Use These Quotes
Reading motivation quotes can uplift you momentarily, but often, its impact goes away pretty quickly.
And because motivation is important for overcoming challenges, achieving goals, and reaching your potential, here are some helpful ideas for making these quotes more impactful:
- Try taking on one (or more) of these quotes as a personal mantra. Keep it close and refer to it daily.
- Write your favorite quote at the top of your planner. Look at it every day for a week to take in its message as a part of your daily routine.
- Share a quote that moved you with a friend. Pass on the inspiration and potentially change their perspective too!
- Set a quote as your phone or computer wallpaper. This will help you see a motivational reminder every time you use your device and reinforce the message all day long.
- Incorporate a quote into your morning or evening routine. Reflecting on a meaningful quote during meditation, journaling, or even while exercising can help put its values into your mindset.
- Create a quote board in your home or office. Pin quotes that resonate with you on a bulletin board or place them in frames. Regularly update it with new quotes that inspire you, making it a visually helpful source of motivation.
The idea is to put motivational quotes into your daily routine so that you can fuel your dreams and have successes in life.
And remember, these quotes can serve as more than nice sayings. They have the power to help create big changes this year if you take on their wisdom.
Is There Scientific Evidence Supporting the Effectiveness of These Quotes?
Yep! Since quotes can be used as affirmations, there is scientific evidence suggesting that positive affirmations can have a beneficial impact on performance and well-being.
So for instance, research has shown that self-affirmation (or quotes in this case) can protect against the negative effects of stress on problem-solving performance.
And beyond this, another study found that positive self-affirmation could improve problem-solving abilities under stress.
Now while these studies show the potential benefits of positive affirmations and by extension, motivational quotes, it’s important to know that their effectiveness can vary among individuals and should be put into a broader personal development and mental health strategy.
Quotes for Motivation FAQ
1. How do motivational quotes help?
Motivational quotes can serve as powerful reminders of your strengths, goals, and the potential for personal growth. They can boost your morale during tough times and inspire you to keep moving forward.
2. Can quotes on motivation really make a difference in achieving my goals?
Yes, motivation quotes can make a difference by serving as a catalyst for change and inspire action. They can spark inspiration, shift your mindset, and encourage you to adopt a more positive and proactive approach towards your goals.
3. How often should I read motivational quotes?
The frequency with which you read motivational quotes depends on your personal preference and needs. Some find daily inspiration helpful, starting their day with a quote to set a positive tone. Others might turn to motivational quotes as needed, perhaps during moments of doubt or when facing a particular challenge. The key is to use them in a way that best supports your motivation and well-being.
4. How can I personalize motivating quotes to fit my situation?
Personalizing motivational quotes involves reflecting on how their messages align with your life and goals. You can adapt a quote to your circumstances by journaling about what it means to you, or even create your own variations of the quote that directly speaks to your experiences.
I hope these quotes on motivation will help you as you take on all the different challenges on your plate.
I know it can be hard to overcome the stress and difficulties in life, but I just want to let you know that you can do it!
With helpful tools like these quotes and surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, I know you can make it!
PS – What’s one of your favorite motivational quotes? I’d love to know!
Grace Moser is the owner and founder of Chasing Foxes, where she writes articles to help women create a life they love in big and small ways. She's been a full-time traveler since 2016 and loves sharing her experiences and exploring the world with her husband, Silas. Her lifestyle and travel advice can also be seen on sites such as Business Insider, Glamour, Newsweek, Huffpost, & Apartment Therapy.
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