Here, we’ve culled together a collection of quotes that will teach you important lessons about life. (It’s sort of like a cheat sheet.)
So whether it’s living life to the fullest, or finding meaning in everything that you do, these quotes are sure to help point you in the right direction.
This is a curated sub-category. Check out our full collection of life quotes.
Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.Mary Oliver
Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.Annette Funicello
Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.Elizabeth Green
Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.George Carlin
Seek to learn constantly while you live; do not wait in the faith that old age by itself will bring wisdom.Solon
You’ve got to invest in the world, you’ve got to read, you’ve got to go to art galleries, you’ve got to find out the names of plants. You’ve got to start to love the world and know about the whole genius of the human race. We’re amazing people.Vivienne Westwood
It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.J.K. Rowling
We are not on this earth to accumulate victories, things, and experiences… but to be whittled and sandpapered until what’s left is who we truly are.Arianna Huffington
If they don’t know you personally, don’t take it personal.Unknown
Life isn’t fair. A fair’s a place where you eat corn dogs and ride the ferris wheel.Jennifer Brown
You’ll need coffee shops and sunsets and road trips. Airplanes and passports and new songs and old songs, but people more than anything else. You will need other people and you will need to be that other person to someone else, a living breathing screaming invitation to believe better things.Jamie Tworkowski
The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things. Rilke
You have to believe in yourself. That’s the secret.Charlie Chaplin
The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. Henry David Thoreau
Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will.Cheryl Strayed
Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.Robert Brault
Life is so much easier with a sense of humor.Unknown
The best advice I’ve ever received is: ‘No one else knows what they’re doing either.’Ricky Gervais
Never chase love, affection, or attention. If it isn’t given freely by another person, it isn’t worth having.Unknown
Sometimes rejection in life is really redirection.Tavis Smiley
Always be kinder than you feel.Unknown
Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.Doris Lessing
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and with that one, is what we are doing. Annie Dillard
Nothing will ruin your twenties more than thinking you should already have your life together.Unknown
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.Denis Waitley
Time decides who you meet in life, your heart decides who you want in your life, and your behavior decides who stays in your life.Ziad K. Abdelnour
Embrace the glorious mess that you are.Elizabeth Gilbert
Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.Kurt Cobain
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. Marcus Aurelius
A good life is when you assume nothing, do more, need less, smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are.Unknown
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed… never throw out anyone.Audrey Hepburn
Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.Regina Brett
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key. The Eagles
Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. Norman Cousins
The coolest thing is when you don’t care about being cool.Rick Owens
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. Charles R. Swindoll
Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim.Tyler Knott Gregson
Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself. George Bernard Shaw
Everyone comes with baggage. Find someone who loves you enough to help you unpack.Unknown
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.Howard Thurman
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. Mark Twain
If you don’t do wild things while you’re young, you’ll have nothing to smile about when you’re old.Unknown
Your mood should not dictate your manners.Unknown
The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life. Muhammad Ali
Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. Dalai Lama
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. Knowing what must be done does away with fear.Rosa Parks
Don’t be content in your life just to do no wrong, be prepared every day to try and do some good. Sir Nicholas Winton
Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. Life’s too short to be anything but happy. Unknown
In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don’t worry; be happy. Bobby McFerrin
Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.Denis Waitley
Short cuts make long delays.J.R.R. Tolkien
Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent free in your head.Unknown
So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. Morrie Schwartz
Love life and life will love you back.Unknown
Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours. Dale Carnegie
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.Regina Brett
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.Unknown
The man who is intoxicated with life does not pass judgment, does not seek to come to a conclusion, does not impose his message on the world. Henry Miller
Don’t worry what people think, they don’t do it very often.Unknown
In life, we will always encounter difficult people. Don’t allow them to frustrate you or steal your joy.Unknown
There’s always two sides to every story.Unknown
We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill
The more you overthink the less you will understand.Habeeb Akande
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. Joseph Campbell
If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan.Claire Cook
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different. C.S. Lewis
