88 Quotes About Life That Will Help You Make Sense of the Complexity and Change We All Face
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With all its ups and downs, life is full of wonder, desire, hope, fear, sadness, joy and everything in-between. And what better way to encapsulate these feelings than with quotes from the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift? Here’s to living through the chaos and the mess, the sweetness and the tranquility, letting the journey take us where it may.
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Motivational Quotes
1. “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” — Dolly Parton
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2. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” — Stephen King
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3. “Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral. Pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” — Shonda Rhimes
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Quotes About the Future
4. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” — Maya Angelou
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5. “I'm not goal-oriented so much as I'm constantly aware of what I'm passionate about, and I'm constantly updating the list. I envision many possible futures for myself where I could be happy, so I just try to keep my passions alive.” — Greta Gerwig
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6. “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” — Malala Yousafzai
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7. “I'm not going to become anybody I don't want to become.” — Kristen Bell
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On Identity, Self-Love and Growth
8. “A true diva is graceful, and talented, and strong, and fearless and brave and someone with humility.” — Beyoncé
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9. “As you get older, you become more comfortable in your skin and comfortable in saying no to things . . . I've also learned that saying no is just as valuable as saying yes. It's something that, I think, comes with age and really having a sense of your self-worth. And then you make choices based on that.” — Meghan Markle
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10. “I have very intense feelings of joy or sadness. I used to not like that so much because I was worried it was girly, and I wanted to be more stoic. I think this happens a lot. When you're 16, there are qualities you wish you didn't have, and then when you're 30, you're like, 'Thank God I have that; otherwise, I'd be living less vividly.'” — Greta Gerwig
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11. “I'm okay if people don't know who I am, but if you remember my character that would be great.” — America Ferrera
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12. “It's when you're true to yourself that resonates with other people.” — Keegan-Michael Key
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13. “Badassery, I’m discovering, is a new level of confidence—in both yourself and those around you.” — Shonda Rhimes
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14. “As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.” — Tracee Ellis Ross
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15. “Being irrational and out of control is what happens in real life. Not cautiously choreographing your anger or your emotions, losing yourself in them is what happens in real life.” — Margot Robbie
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16. “Follow your instincts and do not let other people's opinion of you become your opinion of yourself.” — Sarah Jessica Parker
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17. “I think the success of my work stems from being truthful.” — Catherine O’Hara
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18. “I am constantly amazed by Tina Fey. And I am Tina Fey.” — Tina Fey
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On Fate and Circumstances
19. “Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.” — Celine Dion
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20. “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on.” ― Robert Frost
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21. “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” — Benjamin Franklin
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22. “Living an experience, a particular fate, is accepting it fully.” — Albert Camus
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23. “Can you make a mistake and miss your fate?” — Sarah Jessica Parker
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The Spice of Life
24. “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
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25. “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life or the life of another.” — Helen Keller
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26. “My mama always said, life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” — Forrest Gump
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27. “Maybe that’s what life is… a wink of the eye and winking stars.” — Jack Kerouac
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28. “I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things. That means you’re alive.” — Joan Rivers
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On Nature and Beauty
29. “Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.” — Leonardo da Vinci
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30. “Feeling beautiful has nothing to do with what you look like, I promise.” — Emma Watson
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Introspective Quotes
31. “The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates
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32. “Life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met – obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.” — John F. Kennedy
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33. “Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated.” — Confucius
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34. “Just disconnect. Once in a day sometime, sit silently and from all connections disconnect yourself.” — Yoda
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35. “When you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, your body will let you know.” — Ariana DeBose
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About the Little Things
36. “Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
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37. “As my knowledge of things grew, I felt more and more the delight of the world I was in.” — Helen Keller
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38. “We found that our kids enjoy those simple adventures we take as a family. I’m driving, my wife’s the copilot and we give one kid a choice of what they want to go do. We eat a lot of bad food and sleep in some interesting hotels.” — Mark Consuelos
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39. “The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” — Leonardo da Vinci
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40. “Finding pleasure at home-whether in a family dinner or a book club or a backyard barbecue-can give us the strength to go out into the world and do incredible things.” — Reese Witherspoon
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41. “You've got to have fun in life. Otherwise, wow - imagine life without fun.” — Prince Harry
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42. “Everything happens for a reason is something that we have to tell ourselves all the time, because it's good to have the idea that something good is around the corner.” — Margot Robbie
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On Generosity
43. “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” — Audrey Hepburn
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44. “No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.” — Taylor Swift
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45. “Only by working together can we bring about lasting change for the generations to come.” — Kate Middleton
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46. “My guiding principles in life are to be honest, genuine, thoughtful and caring.” — Prince William
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The Choices We Make
47. “One historical note that I just love: When the suffragettes were marching, at one point they started wearing red lipstick so they would all be wearing the same bold color and stand in solidarity with one another. I love how this little thing many women had in their purses became a powerful political symbol. It's a reminder that we don't have to diminish ourselves as women to be seen as strong. You can push for societal change and you can love getting dressed up. You don't have to choose.” — Reese Witherspoon
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48. “Clay can be dirt in the wrong hands, but clay can be art in the right hands.” — Lupita Nyong'o
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49. “Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?” — Leonardo da Vinci
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50. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” — Malala Yousafzai
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51. “It's something my mother believed in: If you are in a position of privilege, if you can put your name to something that you genuinely believe in, you can smash any stigma you want, and you can encourage anybody to do anything.” — Prince Harry
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52. “Being young is a great advantage, since we see the world from a new perspective and we are not afraid to make radical changes.” — Greta Thunberg
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53. “The truth is, we are a culture built on a reward system, and our instinctive pursuit of pleasure can often lead us astray. We will rationalize anything into an excuse to indulge in whatever it is that makes us feel temporarily satiated.” — Dan Levy
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On Love and Kindness
54. “The best portion of a good man's life is his little nameless, unencumbered acts of kindness and of love.” — Wordsworth
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55. “Life is a flower of which love is the honey.” — Victor Hugo
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56. “In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.” — Anne Frank
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57. “Be nice to people on the way up, because you may meet them on the way down.” — Jimmy Durante
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58. “Once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kinda falls into place.” — Jennifer Aniston
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The Risks We Take
59. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” — Anaïs Nin
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60. “Life is short, and it is here to be lived.” — Kate Winslet
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61. “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” — Bruce Lee
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62. “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.” — Alexander Graham Bell
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63. “You only pass through this life once, you don't come back for an encore.” — Elvis Presley
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64. “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” — Vivian Greene
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65. “If you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.” — Emma Watson
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66. “Nobody knows what you have in you until you've done it, so I just keep pushing those boundaries, and I figure it will all come out in the wash.” — Greta Gerwig
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67. “I feel like my convictions and my passions come from my very personal experience and the life that I've led. I feel the very natural tendency to stand up for and use my voice for the things that I know about and the things that I feel passionate about.” — America Ferrera
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68. “Every 'yes' changes something in me. Every 'yes' is a bit more transformative. Every 'yes' sparks some new phase of revolution.” — Shonda Rhimes
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69. “I'm not saying that everyone should swim with sharks, but sometimes you have to jump over your own shadow in order to learn something that you will never forget for the rest of your life. Then you know you can conquer your fears.” — Heidi Klum
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The Mistakes That We Make and Our Failures
70. “I embrace mistakes. They make you who you are.” — Beyoncé
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71. “I always remind my kids, “I’m your parent, but I’m a human being, too, so I may not be perfect.” — Kelly Ripa
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72. “I like criticism. It makes you strong.” — LeBron James
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73. “I think children are like pancakes: You sort of ruin the first one, and you get better at it the second time around.” — Kelly Ripa
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74. “Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” — Drew Barrymore
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75. “Don't be afraid to fail. It's not the end of the world, and in many ways, it's the first step toward learning something and getting better at it.” — Jon Hamm
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76. “If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.” — Beyoncé
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On Happiness
77. “Happiness is the feeling that power increases — that resistance is being overcome.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
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78. “The secret of happiness, you see is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” — Socrates
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79. “It’s never too late – never too late to start over, never too late to be happy.” — Jane Fonda
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80. “I discovered that joy is not the negation of pain, but rather acknowledging the presence of pain and feeling happiness in spite of it.” — Lupita Nyong'o
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On Community-Building and Relationships
81. “You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak.” ― George Clooney
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82. “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” — Confucius
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83. “Find people who will make you better.” — Michelle Obama
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84. “Building a strong team around you and being able to really communicate well with them is part of what's going to bring you a higher level of success.” — Meghan Markle
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85. “You won't meet a friend sitting on your couch.” — Reese Witherspoon
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86. “It's very important for us all to understand that we are interconnected and we need to hold hands together, especially when the going gets tough.” — Michelle Yeoh
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87. “I feel like our culture is so good at pulling other people down and being so judgmental, but there's space for all of us to be who we are. There's space for us to celebrate each other and root for each other and not take each other down.” — Tracee Ellis Ross
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88. “Meeting with people is awesome in every sense of the word. It can inspire you with glee. It can inspire you with happiness. It can inspire you with sadness and melancholy, but also hope.” — Emma Gonzalez
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32 Quotes to Help You Stay Motivated When You’re Feeling ‘Meh’
