10 Quotes for Inspiration in Life

“It is not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

I think what Charles Darwin is saying here is that humanity needs to remain flexible in life. By staying flexible and working with what comes our way instead of fighting the changes, we as people will have the ability to adapt to new situations. This will prevent undue stress that is mainly created in our mind. Which brings me to the next quote:

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.”  – Buddha

I agree with Buddha! The mind is a very powerful thing and a major part of our lives. If more people would focus on their own thoughts and in what way are they thinking about things, I am confident that these people would have more control over their thoughts and hopefully they will realize that all the negative thoughts they have are making their lives more negative. So think nice and positive thoughts that way nice and positive things will be in your life.

“You can’t do anything to change the past, but by changing your thoughts and actions in the present moment, the future is yours to create.” – Tom Venuto

Many times people get caught up thinking about the past and what could have been. Instead it would be much more beneficial to live in the moment and focus on your present thoughts and actions. Making the appropriate changes to increase the positivity in your life will also increase your overall happiness. We all have the power to pave a better future for ourselves. All we need to do is let go of the past and focus on the here and now.

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.” – Epictetus

This is a very true statement. By trying to control something is truly outside of our control is utterly useless and can create a great deal of stress. By letting go of things outside of our immediate control we are left with only the things we can control which lessens our stress levels and increases overall happiness. This is something I have been working on in myself for the past few years and I have made tremendous progress. I have felt a great weight lifted off my shoulder and I feel much freer to just be and that makes me happy!

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” – Robert A. Heinlein

Love is about giving and very little to do with receiving. I think it is much better to give your heart and soul into the love you have for others. There are different kinds of love, but one thing remains the same across the board and that is the fact of caring more about that other person’s happiness above your own. I agree with this ideal of love and what it means to love someone else.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

Life and time do not stop for anyone or anything. The only way to succeed in life is to keep moving with the flow of life. It’s important to me to improve my life and keep moving forward. I try my best to stay focused on the now in order to pave the way for the future that I desire. If you try to stop then you will most likely crash. Crashing in life is not a failure, but merely a setback that takes times and energy to fix. I have had my share of setbacks and in fact I had one this year. It has been a hard year for me, but I have picked myself back up and I am once again moving forward with my life. It may be hard, but sometimes the best thing in life is to keep moving despite the hardships.

“Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” – Winston Churchill

Courage is a valuable attribute for anyone to have and it is much needed. In order to keep moving in life, and to be flexible with life’s different changes, it is important to have courage. By having courage, we as people are strong and able to overcome any and all adversities that we are faced with. Sometimes I struggle with having courage, but I seek out little reminders and support that signal to me that I am able to handle this situation. Nothing in life lasts forever and this tough situation will soon pass. This is a statement I tell myself when things get really hard and I feel like giving up. By talking to myself and reassuring myself, I give myself the courage to continue and not give up.

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” – Charles Swindoll

While it is true that things happen in life that are outside our control, the truth is there is something we can always control and that is how we react. The best reaction is to act with careful thought. Focusing your thoughts on what you are about to do or say will help you make sure you are doing the right things. You can always be in control of yourself and I believe the first step to this is to control your thinking.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Sometimes words carry heavy weight and can mean the world to people, but what they remember isn’t what you said word for word, but rather they remember the feeling those words invoked in them. Having someone help you to feel a strong emotion makes for a strong memory. Sometimes memories are all we have left and I think it’s highly important to leave your loved ones with good memories and that means creating strong (hopefully good) feelings between you. Sometimes the simplest thing, such as smiling, can make a huge difference in the way interactions take place. I hope people become more aware of the affect they can have on others as well as the feelings they are helping to create in others. Let’s try to make happy positive feelings!

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”  – Robert Frost

I can remember the many times my mom would ask me ‘why must you always take the harder path?’ and I remember thinking to myself that I wasn’t trying to take hard roads, but I didn’t believe I could just take other people’s word on what I should do. I had to learn for myself and make my own mistakes. Trust me I have made plenty of them, but I am grateful for all of my life’s experiences. I have learned and grown into the woman I am today, because I had refused to take the easy route of following in someone else’s footsteps. I wanted to create my own road and travel down it on my own. I had always been more individualistic and I felt I needed to be myself. By taking that “hard” road, the one less traveled, I have become strong and I have been fortunate to have many great opportunities for both success and learning.

What are some quotes you find to be inspirational?

Have you been taking the road less traveled? What are the pros and cons to taking the harder road?