Powerful words to move you forward and ignite your inner fire
We all have days when the desire to do anything is out of our reach. Whether we’re feeling confused, overwhelmed by our list of tasks, struggling with a recent failure, or just upset in some way, it’s normal to lose our momentum from time to time.
Sometimes, we just need a little motivation or spark of inspiration to move forward again. This is where motivational quotes come in – these simple but powerful words can inspire us when we need it most.
“Inspirational quotes remind us that we can even work hard when needed. They also remind us that we are not alone, others also sometimes have trouble working,” says Amy drams, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the charity clinic. In Chicago.
Inspirational quotes remind us that we can even work hard when needed. They also remind us that we are not alone, others also sometimes have difficulty working.
We have compiled a collection of inspirational quotes that will inspire you to move forward. When your energy and creativity levels are low, these quotes from famous people will remind you to continue it until you achieve your goals. Remember, you’ve got it!
At a glance
We all have days when we feel trapped and cannot awaken the will to do anything in our lives. Inspirational quotes can be like helpful friends, offering powerful words of encouragement when we need it most. So, the next time you feel sad, take a few minutes to read these quotes.
How to use motivational quotes for daily motivation
We all need motivation to pass the day.
Motivational quotes can be helpful because life can sometimes be tiring, and we have to do things that we don’t like, says Dr. Called Drama. “Doing interesting things is easy, like playing with your pet or watching a good movie, but when you have to do something that is not interesting to you, you have to find a way to motivate yourself.”
Here are some strategies that can help you use motivational quotes for your daily dose of motivation:
Choose quotes that match your goals: choose quotes that talk to you and match what you are trying to achieve.
Start your day with a quote: start your day by reading or writing an inspirational quote that matches yours. This can be a great way to set a positive atmosphere for the day.
Use visual reminders: place inspirational quotes on your mirror, fridge, desk, computer or phone screen. That way, they will serve as constant reminders to stay focused and motivated.
Chant quotes as mantras: some quotes can become your favorite phrases during stressful or challenging times. Repeat these like a mantra to calm your mind or increase your confidence.
Include quotes in journaling: when you write in your journal at the end of the day, consider a quote and write down how it applies to your experiences. It helps deepen its meaning and keeps you connected with your motivation.
Share quotes with others: when you find a quote that suits you, share it! Whether it’s with friends, colleagues, or on social media, spreading positive things helps build relationships stronger.
What to do when references are not enough?
Although motivational quotes can be a powerful tool, they may not always provide the motivation you need. Here’s what you can do when motivational words aren’t working:
Consider your feelings: sometimes we rely on quotes to make us feel better without addressing the issue that is bothering us and stopping us. If you are feeling stuck or frustrated, take some time to think about what is happening. For example, factors like stress and burnout can have a big impact on your motivation level.1
Rethink your goals: if your motivation is lacking, it may be time to rethink your goals. Are they still worthwhile for you? Do they need to adjust? Being obsessed with what you are doing can be a powerful source of motivation
Take small steps: motivation often follows action, not otherwise. Instead of waiting to feel motivated, set clear, achievable goals and divide them into actionable steps, says Tatiana Rivera Cruz, MSW, LCSW, therapist at ADHDAdvisor. Taking action, however small, can help speed up and ultimately create a greater sense of accomplishment.
Change your environment: sometimes, a change of scenery can awaken creativity and inspiration. Try working in a different location or take a short break.
Focus on self-care: when we are physically or mentally weak, no motivational word can motivate us. Take a step back and evaluate if you are neglecting your self-care. Sometimes you need to be relaxed, rested and refreshed to regain your motivation.3
Seek help: seek help from mentors or peers, says Cruz. Sometimes we need more than motivational encouragement – we need connection, advice, perspective, or emotional support to help us move forward.
125 Motivational Quotes
Here are some motivational quotes that will inspire you to keep going:
If you can dream it, you can do it.
— WALT DISNEY
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
— THEODORE ROOSEVELT
You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.
— GEORGE LORIMER
The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs, one step at a time.
— JOE GIRARD
I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.
— ESTÉE LAUDER
Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
— WINSTON CHURCHILL
It’s not whether you get knocked down. It’s whether you get up.
— VINCE LOMBARDI
It is only when we take chances that our lives improve.
— WALTER ANDERSON
Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.
— CHRIS GROSSER
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
— THEODORE ROOSEVELT
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
— PAULO COELHO
Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.
— JIM ROHN
He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.
— CONFUCIUS
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
— JIM ROHN
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
— GEORGE ELIOT
Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.
— BOB RILEY
Don’t let the bastards grind you down.
— MARGARET ATWOOD
One of the differences between some successful and unsuccessful people is that one group is full of doers, while the other is full of wishers.
— EDMOND MBIAKA
Do the best you can. No one can do more than that.
— JOHN WOODEN
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.
— ZIG ZIGLAR
Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
— VINCE LOMBARDI
Love your family, work super hard, live your passion.
— GARY VAYNERCHUK
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.
— CONFUCIUS
If you’re not positive energy, you’re negative energy.
— MARK CUBAN
I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.
— LUCILLE BALL
Here are 100 motivational quotes to inspire and uplift you!
- “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
- “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
- “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
- “Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.”
- “Dream big and dare to fail.” – Norman Vaughan
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
- “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D. Rockefeller
- “If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
- “Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
- “Great things never come from comfort zones.”
- “The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.”
- “Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you’re done.”
- “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
- “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
- “Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” – Chris Grosser
- “Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you.”
- “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino
- “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
- “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
- “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
- “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon
- “Success is not in what you have, but who you are.” – Bo Bennett
- “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
- “You are the artist of your own life. Don’t hand the paintbrush to anyone else.”
- “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
- “Hustle until you no longer have to introduce yourself.”
- “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”
- “Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.”
- “Success doesn’t just find you. You have to go out and get it.”
- “Do what you can with all you have, wherever you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Dream it. Wish it. Do it.”
- “Your limitation—it’s only your imagination.”
- “Sometimes we’re tested not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.”
- “Success isn’t about the end result, it’s about what you learn along the way.” – Vera Wang
- “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair
- “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
- “You didn’t come this far to only come this far.”
- “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
- “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” – Thomas Carlyle
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” – Robert Collier
- “Dreams don’t work unless you do.” – John C. Maxwell
- “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn
- “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
- “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
- “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” – Thomas Jefferson
- “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
- “Every morning you have two choices: Continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.”
- “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
- “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
- “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
- “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” – William Butler Yeats
- “Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Charles R. Swindoll
- “You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.”
- “Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long-term results.” – Robin Sharma
- “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
- “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
- “To be a champion, you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.” – Sugar Ray Robinson
- “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
- “Success is not about how much money you make, but about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
- “Success is what happens after you have survived all of your mistakes.”
- “If you don’t build your dreams, someone will hire you to help build theirs.”
- “Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.” – Robert Kiyosaki
- “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
- “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going.”
- “Don’t fear failure. Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today.”
- “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
- “Don’t call it a dream. Call it a plan.”
- “The road to success is always under construction.” – Lily Tomlin
- “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller
- “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.”
- “When you feel like quitting, remember why you started.”
- “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
- “Do what you fear, and fear disappears.” – David Schwartz
- “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred DeVito
- “The bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity for growth.”
- “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to dance in the rain.”
- “Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.” – Frank Ocean
- “Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.” – Aisha Tyler
- “You are stronger than you think.”
- “Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
- “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “Success is a journey, not a destination.” – Arthur Ashe
- “Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.”
- “Don’t wait for perfect conditions; success starts with action.”
- “Keep going. Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time.”
Hope these quotes spark motivation and keep you going!
