Life is complicated. It hardly ever matters how much experience you have or what knowledge you’ve been able to acquire because, at some point or another, you end up in the same lost position as everyone else. Life is really a roller coaster, despite how cliché that sounds. It’s scary and exciting, predictable and unmanageable, and there’s nothing that can be done about it.
One of the best things you can do is stock up on the quotes of wiser than average people and navigate life to the best of your abilities. Here are eight quotes worth reciting every day to keep you going.
1. “It always seems impossible until it is done,” – Nelson Mandela, Political Leader and Philanthropist
There’s always a goal that seems unachievable or just out of reach. The sense of the impossible can make it really easy to get into a defeatist mentality and can lead to a feeling of not wanting to attempt to do what is seemingly unfeasible.
The best thing to remember is that you’ve surpassed a huge amount of “impossible” obstacles before facing this current one. And guess what? You’ll make it through, just like you will with the next and then the next one after that.
2. “Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward,” – Victor Kiam, Entrepreneur
There are only two ways to move in life; you’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward, there is no such thing as standing still. You should always keep your forward momentum, even if that involves falling on your face on occasion.
You’ll learn from the experience and then be able to apply what you’ve learned to future challenges, potentially avoiding future face-falls. Don’t let the fear of what could happen prevent you from taking much-needed steps toward your future and keep you in a version of yourself that isn’t as great as it could be.
3. “Either you run the day or the day runs you,” – Jim Rohn, Author and Motivational Speaker
It’s easy for the day to get away from you if you let it, which is why it’s important to take control and bend it to your will. You are the captain of the ship and you have the wheel.
Distractions are bound to happen and things are going to get in the way of your plans, so you have to make sure that what you want to get done takes priority. Days need structure — without it, all 24 hours might not go according to plan.
4. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new,” – Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist
Anyone who has ever been young and dumb knows that you can’t really grow and succeed if you haven’t already tried and failed at something first. Success is great — success is what you should aspire to have, but if it all comes easy and perfect for you, you’re not stepping outside of your comfort zone.
You’re not pushing yourself like you should be; instead of trying not to make any mistakes in life at all, get out there and try new things and know that you’ll probably make mistakes as you do so. Mistakes lead to new skills and believe it or not, a mistake is just as good as a success.
5. “When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you,” – Lolly Daskal, Author
It’s funny how as time goes by some of the things you found important in the past don’t seem that pivotal anymore; all it takes is a change in perspective. Once you give up the chase on those unimportant things, the good things, the things you want in your life right now, have a chance to catch up with you — it’s then that you can have what you really want and need. At the very least, you won’t be wasting time on the wrong things anymore.
6. “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope,” – Martin Luther King, Minister and Activist
Spoiler alert: Life is full of bad news. No matter what you do and how much effort you put in your work, disappointment’s going to pop up more often than not.
That dream job that you want might not pan out or your significant other might move on to someone else. For every “yes,” there are several “no’s” in pursuit, but it’s crucial to never let those rejections pin you down. Hope is what allows you to move forward and reach past the rejections to the positive things that lie beneath.
7. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it,” – Margaret Thatcher, Former U.K. Prime Minister
It’s said that although you may have won the battle, you haven’t won the war. But who says that the battle is over simply because you won it once? A lack of confidence doesn’t permanently go away just because you were able to conquer it Monday.
By Friday, you could be in the same situation. Fighting for respect might go well one day, but there’s always room for improvement the next. Get rid of the notion that when you’re done with a battle, you’re done waging war against something forever. The obstacles you face are strong, so you have to be stronger, enough to beat them again and again.
8. “Only I can change my life. No one else can do it for me,” – Carol Burnett, Actress and Comedian
It’s not a good idea to expect someone else to come by and change your life for the better, nor is it realistic — there’s a bigger chance of winning the lottery and that’s basically what you’re hoping for when you put the keys to your future in someone else’s hands.
This is not to say that others have no impact on your life, but you need to be the one putting in the most time and effort in carving your path forward. Only you know what you feel, so by default, only you can make the effort to get what you want in life.
