Favorite Quotes/Food for Thought

My Favorite Quotes and Food For Thought

I’ve been collecting quotes and thoughts since I was at least a teenager. Here I am sharing some of my vast collection.

Alphabetically Categorized by topic, continuously being added to:

I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.
– Marlene Dietrich

Achieving

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” – Woody Allen

“Winners are people who aren’t afraid to take a chance now and then. Losers sit around and wait for the odds to improve. Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant, and interesting.” – Aldous Huxley

“Make a list of everything you accomplished – big or small – in the last day. Then make one for the last week. This will help you realize you are a highly motivated person who gets many things done. The realization will help encourage you to take on bigger tasks.” – The Little Book of Big Motivation

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver

“The most successful people are not necessarily the most popular.” – unknown

“You have achieved success if you have lived well, laughed often and loved much.” – unknown

“Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.” – Erica Jong

“Our beliefs about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we will be.” – Anthony Robbins

“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” – Mother Theresa

“To be thrown upon one’s resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune, for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously unsusceptible.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future.” – Charles F. Kettering

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” – Elbert Hubbard

“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson

Adversity

“Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger.” – Lou Holtz

“Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.” – Francis Bacon

“There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they’re necessary to reach the places we’ve chosen to go.” – Richard Bach

“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.” – Richard Bach

Advice (on living)

“You can be a happy person and not have a “perfect” life.” – unknown

“The more you enjoy life, the more attractive you will be. Nobody wants to be with an unhappy pessimist. They don’t make for good company. Make a list of twenty things that you can do to make yourself happy, then do three of them each and every day to boost yourself and your appeal to those around you, including those you have yet to meet.” – unknown

“In many instances, you can not only make a dent in a problem, but actually reduce your own stress level in the process, by making a suggestion or taking a positive step toward improving a source of stress.” – unknown

“Take time to deliberate; But when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” – Andrew Jackson

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” – David Lloyd George

“Be yourself, who else is better qualified?” – Franklin J. Giblin II

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott

“Submit to pressure from peers and you move down to their level. Speak up for your own beliefs and you invite them up to your level. If you move with the crowd, you’ll get no further than the crowd. When 40 million people believe in a dumb idea, it’s still a dumb idea. Simply swimming with the tide leaves you nowhere. So if you believe in something that’s good, honest and bright – stand up for it. Maybe your peers will get smart and drift your way.” – unknown

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Sometimes only a change of viewpoint is needed to convert a tiresome duty into an interesting opportunity.” – Alberta Flanders

“If you think you have it tough, read history books.” – Bill Maher

“Of the two lots, the woman’s lot of perpetual motherhood, and the man’s of perpetual babyhood, I prefer the man’s.” – Bernard Shaw

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: When the sun comes up, you better be running.” – Unknown

“What is the use of running when we are not on the right road?” – German Proverb

“Which questions guide our lives? Which questions do we make our own? Which questions deserve our undivided and full personal commitment? Finding the right questions is crucial to finding the answers.” – Henri Nouwen

“Advice is like kissing: it costs nothing and is a pleasant thing to do.” -H.W. Shaw

“Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it, and fools won’t heed it.” – unknown

“A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work.” – Geoffrey Norman

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you can not see the shadows.” – Helen Keller

“You grow up the day you have your first real laugh—at yourself.” – Ethel Barrymore

“Learning to let go of guilt and forgive yourself is part of emotional growth.” -unknown

“Don’t ever

Don’t ever try to understand everything–some things will just never make sense.

Don’t ever be reluctant to show your feelings—when you’re happy, give into it! When you’re not, live with it. Don’t ever be afraid to try to make things better—you might be surprised at the results.

Don’t ever take the weight of the world on your shoulders. Don’t ever feel threatened by the future—take life one day at a time.

Don’t ever feel guilty about the past—what’s done is done. Learn from any mistakes you might have made.

Don’t ever feel that you are alone—there is always somebody there for you to reach out to.

Don’t ever forget that you can achieve so many of the things you can imagine—imagine that! It’s not as hard as it seems. Don’t ever stop loving, don’t ever stop believing, don’t ever stop dreaming your dreams.” – Laine Parsons

“It’s imperative to avoid getting caught up in your thinking, particularly if you want to experience your low moods gracefully without spiraling even lower.” – unknown

“Most of us have mental “tapes” that repeat in our heads over and over; these repetitive thoughts are nothing more than falling prey to a negative mental habit.” – unknown

“Self-actualizing people must be what they can be.” – Wayne Dyer

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

“You can spend your precious energy beating down closed doors, or you can choose the doors that open when you knock.” – unknown

“It’s easier to deal with the stress and hassles of life when you’re also aware of what’s right with your life.” – unknown

“This is the first day of the rest of your life.” – unknown

“You are your own person.” – unknown

“If you find yourself entrenched in a habit that is clearly unhealthy to both your mind and your physical body, it is a virtual certainty that you are searching for gratification in all the wrong places.” – unknown

“Put increased emphasis on a potential solution and less emphasis on “cursing” the problem.” – unknown

“It is important to acknowledge that our humanness makes us imperfect by nature, and as long as you are alive, you will make mistakes – albeit fewer as you learn from your past lessons.” – unknown

“While you probably don’t have as much control over which thoughts come to mind as perhaps you’d like, you do have a great deal of control over which thoughts you give significance to – and which ones you invite into “your house.” – unknown

“If you pick it, it won’t heal.” – James, from Volentia.com

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.”
Christopher Morley – Nora, from Volentia.com

“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it’s no worse than it is.” – Margaret Mitchell

“We must recognize that boredom is a learned behavior and a form of anxiety that stems from our thinking.” – unknown

“Not only is there a right to be happy, there is a duty to be happy. So much sadness exists in the world that we are all under obligation to contribute as much joy as lies within our powers.” – John Sutherland Bonnell

“Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence to, not in an exemption from, suffering.” – Francois de Fenelon

“When you forgive a wrongdoing, you give yourself peace of mind; you can go about your life with a feeling of serenity and be grateful again.” – unknown

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain

“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” -Helen Keller

“Dedicate some of your life to others. Your dedication will not be a sacrifice. It will be an exhilarating experience because it is intense effort applied toward a meaningful end.” – Thomas Dooley

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” – Elbert Hubbard

“To be elated at success and disappointed at failure is to be the child of circumstances; how can such a one be called master of himself?” – Chinese proverb

“There is no real excellence in all this world which can be separated from right living.” – David Starr Jordan

“Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each is to succeed. ” – Corita Kent

“To act with common sense, according to the moment, is the best wisdom; and the best philosophy is to do one’s duties, to take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one’s lot, and bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it, whatever it is.” – Horace Walpole

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” – W. T. Purkiser

“Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles. What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other?” – George Eliot

“If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.” – Marie Osmond

“The key to happiness and youth is an unencumbered spirit – whether it comes naturally or whether you have to work hard for it.” – Emme Woodhull-Bache

“There are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.” – James Thurber

Age

“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.” – Mark Twain

“Enjoy your age before it’s past; Don’t try to be 18 so fast. You’re only 14 once, my dears, but you’ll be 35 for years.” – Elinor K. Rose

“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what people say. I just watch what they do.” – Andrew Carnegie

Change

“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” – Ellen Glasgow

“Times of crisis, of disruption or constructive change, are not only predictable, but desirable. They mean growth. Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” – Fyodor Dostoyeuski

“…Never fear the golding of a sunset. It means more than just the closing of another day. But marks the brightness of a new dawn….” – Oliver James

“To be really enjoyed, sleep, health, and wealth must be interrupted.” – Jean Paul Richter

“We must be willing to change chairs if we want to grow. During the passage from one stage to another, we will be between two chairs. Wobbling no doubt, but developing.” – unknown

“Since every choice is a fork in the road, each decision brings with it new hope and promise.” – unknown

Conflict

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly; ’tis dearness only that gives everything its value.” – Thomas Paine

Creativity

“Man either goes forward in imagination or remains imprisoned in his senses.” – unknown

“Before imagination can flow, you must let go.” – unknown

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” – Frank Capra

Dreams

“Hold on to your dreams

Never be afraid to dream, for it is dreams that will take you to your ultimate goals; Never be ashamed of your dreams, for it is the dreamers of the world who accomplish great things. And never abandon your dreams because they seem too far from your grasp, for it is only in dreaming and striving to fulfill your dreams that you will find purpose and enjoyment in life.” – Debbie Avery

“Don’t ever give up your dreams and never leave them behind. Find them; make them yours, and all through your life, cherish them, and never let them go.” – Elisa Costanza

“Hold on to a ray of hope, and a promise of future…and follow your dreams.” – unknown

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” – Joel Arthur Barker

Education

“Acquiring knowledge is passive-experience is active.” – unknown

“A college education shows a man how little other people know.” – T.C. Hailburton

“Sixty years ago I knew everything; Now I know nothing; Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” – Will Durant

Enthusiasm

“Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money and power and influence.” – Henry Chester

Friendship

“I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.” – Robert Braulting

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” – Dale Carnegie

Goals

“Goals need desire. Goals provide motivation and enthusiasm. Goals create awareness of opportunities. Specifics give direction. Men of accomplishment seldom reach their goals; Their goals keep moving ahead of them.” – unknown

“Goals by the yard are hard—Goals by the inch a cinch.” – unknown

“Your mind is the most powerful tool you have, and as long as you are clear about what you want, you will take the necessary steps toward reaching your goal.” – unknown

“If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, and endeavor to lead a life which they have imagined. They will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau

Happiness

“The way to happiness…

Keep your heart free from hate, your mind free from worry. Live simply. Expect little. Give much. Do as you would be done by. Thank God for all your blessings. Do all you can for people with no thought of personal gain. Fill your life with love.

Most people endeavor to acquire maximum happiness our of their lives. But they lack the art of living properly. And it is because of this that they are not able to unfold life’s latent energies. So instead of seeking the deeper waters of life, they continue to drift on the surface waves.” – unknown

Human Relations

“A fellow who is always declaring he’s no fool usually has suspicions.” – Wilson Miznor

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” – Gen. George S. Patton, Jr.

Humor

Oh, yes, sitting. The great leveler. From the mightiest Pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn’t enjoy a good sit?” -The Simpsons

Language & Learning

“Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides.” -Rita Mae Brown (Starting from Scratch)

“It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.” -Claude Bernard, French Physiologist

“I believe that words can help us move or keep us paralyzed, and that our choices of language and verbal tone have something – a great deal- to do with how we live our lives…”- Adrienne Rich

“Language is our meeting place, the sea we live in…it is the common ground of our humanity.” – Toby Wolfe, Vanity Fair (9/85)

“Not to mince words, Mr. Epstein, we don’t like your boys’ sound. Groups of guitarists are on the way out.” – Decca records executive, rejecting the Beatles in 1962, Brian Epstein, A Cellarful of Noise

“One of life’s most fulfilling moments occurs in that split second when the familiar is suddenly transformed into the dazzling aura of the profoundly new. These breakthroughs are too infrequent…and we are mired most of the time in the mundane and trivial. The shocker: what seems mundane and trivial is the very stuff that discovery is made of. The only difference is our perspective, our readiness to put the pieces together in an entirely new way and to see patterns where only shadows appeared just a moment before.” – Edward Lindaman, Thinking in Future Tense

“Logic is in the eye of the logician.” – Gloria Steinem

“Sebastian said, “Truth is the bottom of a bottomless well.'” – Katherine Hepburn, in Suddenly Last Summer

“All animals have to protect themselves from dangerous situations in order to survive, and there are only a limited number of strategies that animals can call upon to deal with danger. Isaac Marks, who has written extensively on fear, summarizes these as withdrawal (avoiding the danger or escape from it), immobility (freezing), defensive aggression (appearing to be dangerous or fighting back), or submission (appeasement).” – Joseph Ledoux, The Emotional Brain (paraphrasing and explaining comments from Isaac Marks, Fears, Phobias and Rituals)

“The important thing is not the camera but the eye.” – Alred Eisenstaedt

“All means prove to be blunt instruments if they lack a living spirit.” – Albert Einstein

“Every person I work with knows something better than me. My job is to listen long enough to find it and use it.” – Jack Nichols

“One of the easiest human acts is also the most healing. Listening to someone. Simply listening. Not advising or coaching, but silently and fully listening.” – Margaret Wheatley, Turning to One Another

“Learning music by reading about it is like making love by mail.” – Luciano Pavarotti

“When your heart’s on fire, you must realize, smoke gets in your eyes.” – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (words by Otto Harbach, music by Jerome Kern)

“Our thoughts are powerful tools. Luckily, many times we can use them to our great advantage.” – unknown

“Today, we see all kinds of charismatic, successful, and intelligent people of all ages who are starved spiritually.” – unknown

“The beauty of our humanness is that we can search for meaning from the inside out and rework our individual tapestry, one thread and one habit at a time.” – unknown

“If your find yourself entrenched in a habit that is clearly unhealthy to both your mind and your physical body, it is a virtual certainty that you are searching for gratification in all the wrong places.” – unknown

“Many people would rather fight back than admit they are wrong when attacked. When you are firm but not reactive, you will get the response you desire.” – unknown

“Knowledge alone is not enough. It must be leavened with magnanimity before it becomes wisdom.” – Adlai E. Stevenson

Life

“There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy, and a tragedy.” – Mark Twain

Love/Relationships

“Love keeps no record of wrongs.” – unknown

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness.” – Gibran

“Save time…see it my way.” – unknown

“Before you meet the handsome prince, you have to kiss a lot of toads.” – unknown

“Never, ever, take your spouse or significant other for granted. Appreciation is something you have 100 percent control over.” -unknown

“Earth’s the right place for love: I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.” – Robert Frost

Outlook

“A lot of what passes for depression these days is nothing more than a body saying that it needs work.” – Geoffrey Norman

“He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.” – Edmund Burke

Parenting

“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” – Lady Bird Johnson

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and somebody who believes in them.” – Earvin “Magic” Johnson

Self-improvement

“I’ve come to realize that real growth of character takes place in the valleys of life.” – Dave Dravecky

Spirituality

“Inner Peace – A new disease?

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs to look for:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment. A loss of interest in judging other people. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others. A loss of interest in conflict. A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation. Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature. Frequent attacks of smiling. An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

An increased susceptibility to the love offered by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it. Do you have this disease? If so, pass it on!” – unknown

“Priorities

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn’t granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.

I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as God loves me. God said…Ahhh, finally, you have the idea.

Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is.” – unknown

“The first step in becoming a more peaceful person is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases, you’re creating your own emergencies.” – unknown

“Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.” – unknown