120 Phrases of Self-Improvement that will change your life
The self-improvement phrases
can express deep truths and can hide a powerful and motivating message .
A good sentence can help us reflect and remind us to move forward, even in the most difficult moments. There are times when we get stuck and, in spite of wanting to keep growing, the horizon gets cloudy making it difficult for us to go on with our personal growth.
The indispensable phrases for self-improvement
That’s why, and for those times when you have trouble moving forward,
we have compiled a list of phrases that can help you keep on learning and growing , and that can help you to improve yourself and be a better person.
So read on, because here are 120 of the most inspiring phrases out there for you to share with your friends and family. The inspiration to positively change your lives can start right here.
1. Be the change you want to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi)
This sentence is from
Mahatma Gandhi , one of the characters who has most influenced the good people of modern society, those who want peace in the world with all their might. This inspiring figure, the great Hindu thinker, pacifist and politician, makes us reflect on the change in life with each of his phrases.
On the one hand, this sentence refers to
you must take full responsibility for your life to change , and secondly you must practice what you preach, always in good faith. Therefore, the human being is not a passive being, nor is he a spectator in the face of change.
In other words, with our actions we change our surroundings. Moreover, this phrase, like so many phrases of Gandhi, refers to the importance of living together to build a better world. The individual is the one who must change in order to change the world. To be a better person we must take this into account.
- More quotes from Gandhi
2. Change is the law of life. Anyone who looks only to the past or the present will miss the future (John F. Kennedy)
This sentence of the thirty-fifth president of the United States of America
John F. Kennedy refers to the fact that change is inevitable in human beings. Nothing is forever. Therefore, we must not remain stuck in the past and we must look ahead to continue growing.
That’s where he resides
the importance of closing cycles and letting things flow by learning from failures and mistakes , because changes are transcendent in life and personal growth, so we cannot avoid them
3. Destiny shuffles the cards, and we play them (Arthur Schopenhauer)
Great sentence left to us by the famous German philosopher and thinker
Arthur Schopenhauer .In life you will find different paths and different options, because destiny will take you one way or another, without you having total control over the infinite variables that condition you.
It is possible that on some path you will encounter obstacles and difficulties, that is inevitable. Even so,
you have the power to overcome them, because you make the decisions and decide whether you want to stand still or go your own way.
4. We should use the past as a springboard and not as a couch (Harold Macmillan)
This phrase was pronounced by the former British Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan and follows the same tone as the previous sentence. In other words, we should not get stuck in the past, but rather the past should be used to keep growing, to keep improving.
The past is the reference for self-improvement, because
experience is important for a better future and to develop our best version .
5. Success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm (Winston Churchill)
According to this sentence from
Winston Churchill (who was British Prime Minister during World War II), the attitude with which we face our failures will condition our success in personal development and in overcoming the failures that arise in our lives.
So,
seeing failure as learning for and by life is beneficial to our well-being . The important thing is to evolve, as this sentence reminds us.
6. The best way to predict the future is to create it (Peter Drucker)
The Austrian philosopher
Peter Drucker left us this famous phrase.This phrase has to do with Albert Bandura’s reciprocal determinism , that is, the world and a person’s behavior cause each other.
As a human being is an active being, he decides on the future. All
we are creators of our future, because our actions determine what will happen to us tomorrow . So, there are no excuses: let’s start building a better future today.
7. He who has a reason to live can face all comos (Friedrich Nietzsche)
One of the most extravagant and renowned philosophers in human history,
Friederich Nietzsche .Find and internalise your true purpose in life and you will be able to overcome any obstacles or difficulties that may arise.
In other words,
if you manage to make your true motivations in life aware, this will be important because it will make you a more emotionally balanced person and more resilient in the face of adversity. One of the bases for resilience.
8. In our struggle for freedom, we possess only the truth (Dalai Lama) as our only weapon
This sentence is from the
Dalai Lama , a Buddhist spiritual leader.If you want to grow as a human being, you need to be a free person.
But not only that, but also
you must be sincere and honest with yourself and others . Integrity and honesty are indispensable qualities for personal growth. Truth may be uncomfortable, but it is an important part of being truly human.
9. If you want something you never had, you must do something you never did (Anonymous)
This is one of those phrases that refers to change. It says that if you always do the same thing, the same consequences will occur. It’s quite similar to a phrase that he uttered
Albert Einstein and that we collected in another compilation of phrases.
Change requires doing things differently and having new experiences. Therefore, for personal improvement
you have to overcome those fears and do different things .
10. When we cannot change the situation we face, the challenge is to change ourselves (Victor Frankl)
The existentialist psychologist
Victor Frankl left us this valuable reflection.You can’t always change what others do. You can’t force people or situations to go in the direction you want.
For example, if we have a problem with someone,
first of all we must take a step back and look at ourselves , because that is what we can really change. It may be that a situation affects us negatively and depresses us, but if we change the way we perceive it, that is, if we don’t see it as something negative, it may not affect us as much.
This is one of the principles of personal development, so it is important that one is empowered by the situations that are presented to us. The path to well-being is found in oneself and, on many occasions, it is born from our own loneliness and our
self-reflection. Both change and personal growth are individual processes, in which responsibility, the desire to change and, finally, action, combine to lead us to success.
More reflections and famous quotes to keep you going
If you still feel like enjoying famous quotes that tell us about self-improvement, you can read on.
11.Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure (Paulo Coelho)
12.Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you will find yourself doing the impossible (Fernando de Asis)
13.When life offers you a lemon, squeeze it and make lemonade (Clement Stone)
14.Only those who dare to have great failures end up having great successes (Robert F. Kennedy)
15.
You don’t get ahead by celebrating successes but by overcoming resounding failures (Orison Marden)
16.A day is worth two mornings (Benjamin Franklin)
17.Small everyday actions make or break character (Oscar Wilde)
18.Not wanting is the cause, not being able to pretext (Seneca)
19.He who transforms himself, transforms the world (Dalai Lama)
20.I believe that personal growth has a lot to do with the ability to act (Beverly D’Angelo)
21.The true seeker grows and learns, and discovers that he is always primarily responsible for what happens (Jorge Bucay)
22. Why be content to live on the run when we feel the desire to fly? (Hellen Keller)
23. There is only one person who can decide what I will do, and that is myself (Orson Welles)
24.The biggest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making a mistake (Elbert Hubbard)
25.
Stand facing the sun and the shadows will be behind you (Maori proverb)
26. Our time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life (Steve Jobs)
27.The greatest glory is not to conquer, but to rise when we have fallen (Nelson Mandela)
28. Nothing in life should be feared, only understood. It is time to understand more, to fear less (Marie Curie)
29. Always transforms a negative situation into a positive one (Michael Jordan)
30.A little knowledge that acts is much more valuable than having knowledge and not acting (Khalil Gibrán)
31. You should always try to be the best, but never believe you are the best (Juan Manuel Fangio)
32. If you can imagine it you can achieve it, if you can dream it you can become it (William Arthur Ward)
33.If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, keep moving forward (Martin Luther King Jr.)
34.The difference between winning and losing often consists of quitting (Walt Disney)
35.
Man never knows what he is capable of until he tries (Charles Dickens)
36. Nothing good ever happens that was not once a dream (Cari Sandburg)
37.Perform each of your actions as if it were the last of your life (Marcus Aurelius)
38.Love sees roses without thorns (German proverb)
39.To love a person is to learn the song in their heart and sing it to them when they have forgotten it (Anonymous)
40. It is not what you have, but how you use what you have that makes the difference (Zig Ziglar)
41.Tragedy in life is not about not achieving your goals. The tragedy in life is not having goals to achieve (Benjamin E. Mays)
42.Twenty years from now you will regret the things you did not do, so cast off and sail away from your
comfort zone, look for the wind in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover (Mark Twain)
43. You will never be able to cross the ocean until you have the courage to stop seeing the coast (Christopher Columbus)
44.80% of success is in showing up for the appointment (Woody Allen)
45.
Life doesn’t last forever. Live it. Love hurts. Love. Envy hurts. Ignore it. Good memories, keep them in your heart (Hindu proverb)
46.Life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react to it (Charles Swindoll)
47.If you do not design your own life plan, there are many chances that you will fall into someone else’s. And guess what awaits you? probably very little (Jim Rohn)
48.Life is what happens next to you while you make other plans (John Lennon)
49.The greatest show in the world is a hard-working man fighting against adversity (Oliver Goldsmith)
50. Whoever stops fighting for his dream abandons part of his future (Anonymous)
51.Discipline is man’s best friend, for it leads him to realize the deepest desires of his heart (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
52.It is okay to celebrate success but it is more important to pay attention to the lessons of failure (Bill Gates)
53. Become someone you would never have believed you could be (Anonymous)
54. I honestly believe that it is much better to fail at something you love than to succeed at something you hate (George Burns)
55.
I came here to win. To participate the others are already here (Anonymous)
56. Don’t stop until you feel proud (Anonymous)
57. Life is very hard, but so are you (Stephanie Bennett Henry)
58. Others will forget what you said, others will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel (Maya Angelou)
59. Education is not learning data, but teaching your mind to think precisely (Albert Einstein)
60. We can’t help everyone, but every individual can help someone (Ronald Reagan)
61. No matter how slowly you go, as long as you never stop (Confucius)
62. Falling down is an accident. Not wanting to get up from the ground is a choice (Anonymous)
63. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent (Eleanor Roosevelt)
64. I didn’t come into the world to stay in the average yield. I have come to stand out (Anonymous)
65.
90% of all those who fail are not really defeated, they simply give up (Paul J. Meyer)
66. To stumble is not bad… to become attached to the stone, yes (Paulo Coelho)
67.The power of imagination makes us infinite (John Muir)
68.One finds limits by pushing oneself (Herbert Simon)
69.You have to expect great things from yourself before you can achieve them (Michael Jordan)
70.In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity (Albert Einstein)
71.If not us, who? If not now, when? (John F. Kennedy)
72.Always give it your best shot. What you plant now, you will reap later (Og Mandino)
73.If you think you can, you can (John Burroughs)
74. Self-confidence is the first secret of success (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
75.
Strength does not come from bodily ability, but from the will of the soul (Gandhi)
76.If you don’t fight today, don’t cry tomorrow (Anonymous)
77.Men are not made from easy victories, but from great defeats (Ernest Henry Shackleton)
78.Don’t just sit around waiting for things to come to you. Fight for what you want, take responsibility for yourself (Michel Tanus)
79.The measure of what we are is what we do with what we have (Vince Lombardi)
80.People are unhappy with uncertainty. You have to learn to live with it (Timothy Ferriss)
81.Give it light and the darkness will disappear by itself (Erasmus of Rotterdam)
82. Enthusiasm Moves the World (Arthur Balfour)
83. If you are still breathing, don’t stop learning (Lailah Gifty Akita)
84. No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world (Robin Williams)
85.
S y I have seen further than others, is standing on the shoulders of giants (Isaac Newton)
86. Nothing takes as long as what never starts (Alain Joule)
87. There is nothing more powerful in the world than an idea whose time has come (Victor Hugo)
88. Instead of being concerned that you are not known, be concerned that you are really worth knowing (Confucius)
89. After all the effort, after all the sacrifice, comes the sweet victory, which is just another stage on the road (Anonymous)
90. More than being passionate about our profession, we should professionalize our passion (Arturo Pérez-Reverte)
91. Experience is not what happens to us, but what we do with what happens to us (Aldous Huxley)
92.Everything is difficult before it is easy (Goethe)
93.The ignorant assert, the wise doubt and reflect (Aristotle)
94.There is no worse misfortune than to underestimate your adversaries (Lao Tse)
95.
There is nothing I am as afraid of as fear (Michel Eyquem de Montaigne)
96. Life begins and ends, but you have the opportunity to make incredible things happen in this period of time (Anonymous)
97. In one sigh you will realize that all the effort invested was worth it, one way or another (Anonymous)
98.The world is not in danger from bad people but from those who allow evil to happen (Albert Einstein)
99.It is worth more to act exposing oneself to regret it, than to regret not having done anything (Giovanni Boccaccio)
100. If you don’t like the path you are on, start building another one (Dolly Parton)
101. Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who is where they are had to start where they were (Richard L. Evans)
102. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we have been given (J.R.R. Tolkien)
103.A joyful spirit makes life flowery, a sad spirit withers events (Solomon)
104.When the stars come down, how sad it is to lower one’s eyes to see them! (Antonio Porchia)
105.
Sometimes your joy causes your smile, but there are also times when your smile can cause you joy (Thich Nhat Hanh)
106. Never count the years, just count the memories! (Anonymous)
107.Beauty is a state of mind (Émile Zola)
108.You should fight to live life, to suffer it and also to enjoy it. Life can be wonderful if you are not afraid of it (Anonymous)
109. If you have built castles in the air, your work is not lost; now place the bases under them (George Bernard Shaw)
110. If it is good to live, it is still better to dream, and best of all, to wake up (Antonio Machado)
111.Fate does not reign without the secret complicity of instinct and will (Giovanni Papini)
112.I’ll take fate by the scruff of the neck. It will not dominate me ( Ludwig van Beethoven)
113.A man is nothing but what he makes of himself (Jean Paul Sartre)
114.Patience is a tree with a bitter root but very sweet fruit (Persian Proverb)
115. Great souls have wills; weak ones only desires (Chinese proverb)
116.What your heart feels today, your head will understand tomorrow (Anonymous)
117.Demand too much of yourself and expect too little of others. Thus you will save yourself displeasure (Confucius)
118. If you are looking for different results, don’t always do the same thing (Albert Einstein)
119. If you don’t act like you think, you will end up thinking like you act (Blaise Pascal)
120. Life was not made to be understood, but to be lived (George Santayana)