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How to Motivate Yourself: 21 Quotes to Help You Refocus and Renew
Quotes are a wonderful source of inspiration. Many people collect quotes (myself included) or display them in their physical space as personal reminders. I love reading quotes when I need an energy boost or a little help getting motivated to tackle my daunting to-do list. For this post, I decided to share the quotes I return to most often to spark my motivation.
Mindful Reading Tip! Try reading the quotes slowly. Allow your eyes to gently soften then close after you read each one, visualizing the words and what they mean to you. Just like a delicious piece of cake that you want to savor! But not all cakes are created equal, so taste this collection and notice if one outshines the rest. Then, sit with that quote for a couple of minutes and let its words work their magic! Below are 21 curated quotes just for you!
The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world. -John Burroughs
Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. -Harold B. Melchart
Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves. -Dale Carnegie
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. -John Henry Newman
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. -Albert Einstein
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? -Marianne Williamson
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Lao-Tzu
Things do not change; we change. -Henry David Thoreau
It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem. -G.K. Chesterton
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. -St. Francis of Assisi
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall. -Confucius
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. -Helen Keller
The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one. -Elbert Hubbard
It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not. -James Gordon
You have to get to the point where going for it is more important than winning or losing. -Arthur Ashe
Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. -Louis Pasteur
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -Ambrose Redmoon
Often you just have to rely on your intuition. -Bill Gates
It’s easier to live with disappointment than regret. -Andre Agassi
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. -J. Pierpont Morgan
Did you have a favorite quote? Do you have another quote to add to the mix? Please share!
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Thank you to @chadrem and @SafetyInNumbers for contributing to this post on Twitter!
Related "ripples" you might enjoy:
- How to Embrace an Attitude of Gratitude: 16 Quotes to Help You Refocus on the Positive
- The Courage to Write: 23 Quotes to Help You Overcome the Fear of Writing
- Pen & Paper: The Power of Quotes
- The Courage to Continue: 26 Quotes to Help You Regain Confidence When You Feel Defeated
- The Dance of Change: 15 Quotes to Help You Embrace the Uncertainty
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under Creativity & Inspiration, Goals & Productivity, Tips + Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
14 Responses to “How to Motivate Yourself: 21 Quotes to Help You Refocus and Renew”
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Thanks for posting these! Love the Albert Einstein quote :) Sooo true!
Twitter: carolynr
says:
So glad they resonate for you too, Lee!
Twitter: theapronthief
says:
thanks, i needed that! i especially loved the one from ralph waldo emerson (of course, he’s always awesome). i like to put a quote up on my facebook profile, in that little box below the photo, that i change when the mood strikes. right now it says:
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” (Lou Holtz)
Twitter: carolynr
says:
I LOVE this quote! Thank you so much for sharing; it makes it so clear how we have a choice in approaching our challenges. Definitely a keeper! =)
Twitter: AbubakarJamil
says:
Carolyn,
Great quotes.
I’d love to add the following quote on Renewal.
“Truth, God or what you will, is not something to be experienced, for the experiencer is the result of time, the result of memory, of the past, and so long as there is the experiencer there cannot be reality. There is reality only when the mind is completely free from the analyser, from the experiencer and the experienced.
Then you will find the answer, then you will see that the change comes without your asking, that the state of creative emptiness is not a thing to be cultivated – it is there, it comes darkly, without any invitation; only in that state is there a possibility of renewal, newness, revolution.” —Jiddu Krishnamurti
I also love, love, love quotes! They are tidbits of profound thought. :)
“Do or do not….. there is no try.” ~ Jedi Master Yoda
Twitter: slimjc
says:
Ms. Rubenstein
Out of all of the quotes, THe quote from Andre Agassi is my favorite Ms. Rubenstein
Love quotes. I just put up a quote on a different blog, blessedsilence.wordpress.com, about treating everyone we meet as though they would die at midnight – how kind, what compassion we would use! On my dog-blesssed-silverwalk.org blog, I have a whole listing of quotes – I added the John Burroughs quote about being where you are as the great opportunity. It echoes St. Paul as well as a colleague after I moved to MO from MT – I missed MT greatly and was having a difficult time accepting being here – but I am where ever I am – and so is everyone else. Thank you – simply drank in this post :).
Roberta´s last blog ..Snoozin on a Hot Afternoon
Cool Collection of Quotations
Hi Carolyn
Some really great quotes, I particularly resonate with the first one: The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.
to share a quote which mirrors that: Amor fati, the love of fate, it is here, in this place, in this time, in this arena, that we are called on to live our lives – James Hollis
Carolyn,
I love the James Gordon one, “It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.” I am fascinated by what makes some people willing to change and others not. I also love the Helen Keller quote and the (I think anonymous) addition, “When one door closes, another one opens, but it’s hell in the hallways.” Makes me laugh, because it’s so true.
Thanks for sharing these.
Linda
Twitter: carolynr
says:
@Abubakar – Wow, “There is reality only when the mind is completely free…” That’s so powerful. Thank you for adding that to my list!
@Valerie – Love it! Yoda can definitely be a source of creative inspiration. Thank you!
@Roberta – You have so many resources to share! What a fabulous way of approaching those around us, as if they were precious and limited and our time with them was a gift. Thank you for that reminder.
@Stephen – What a powerful quote! Living precisely in the moment takes so much courage and perspective. I’d love to hear feedback on how you find ways to make that happen.
@Linda – Ha! That’s exactly right. I love the addition too! Also, you ask a really good question about growth and change. What have you come up with?
Hi there! greetings from Kansas! I like this quotes Iam going to try to learn them so I can myself motivated :) thanks for sharing!
articles´s last blog ..Daytrading- The Sunny Aspect