Life Life Strategies Inspiration & Motivation 53 Positive Quotes to Brighten Your Day In case you're in need of a little optimism right now. By Lauren Phillips Lauren Phillips Lauren is a former SEO editor at Real Simple. With more than five years of digital media experience, she’s an accomplished editor, writer, and digital media strategist focusing on lifestyle content, including home decor, cleaning and organizing, home improvement, personal finance, and other lifestyle topics. She currently serves as a senior digital editor for Better Homes & Gardens. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on March 27, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Positive quotes are just one tool we can use to improve our mood and mental health. These succinct sayings might increase your productivity at work, help you feel more optimistic about your life, or make a seemingly dark day a little brighter. However, it's true that some quotes resonate more than others. We chose the following 53 positive quotes because they represent the most inspirational and uplifting quotes we could find. Sometimes all we need to feel better is a little perspective from another person who has been there and thrived. Nevertheless, if you find these quotes don't motivate you, don't fret. Sometimes it's better to lean into your negative moods, instead of trying to force toxic positivity. Whether you share them in a text, as a social media post caption, or as a spoken mantra, these uplifting, motivating words and sayings are sure to bring good vibes to any situation. 01 of 53 "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." Yeji Kim – William James 02 of 53 "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Yeji Kim – Theodore Roosevelt 03 of 53 "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." Yeji Kim – Albert Einstein 04 of 53 "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." Yeji Kim – C.S. Lewis 05 of 53 "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Yeji Kim – George Eliot 06 of 53 "Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful." Yeji Kim – Hazrat Inayat Khan 07 of 53 "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Yeji Kim – Joseph Campbell 08 of 53 "Happiness is not by chance, but by choice." Yeji Kim – Jim Rohn 09 of 53 "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way." Yeji Kim – Martin Luther King, Jr. 10 of 53 "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive." Yeji Kim – Maya Angelou 11 of 53 "You are enough just as you are." Yeji Kim – Meghan Markle 12 of 53 "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." Yeji Kim – Michael Altshuler 13 of 53 "You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing." Yeji Kim – Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden 14 of 53 "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." Yeji Kim – Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God 15 of 53 "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." Yeji Kim – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 16 of 53 "At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago." Yeji Kim – Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden 17 of 53 "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." Yeji Kim – Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy 18 of 53 "That is one good thing about this world ... there are always sure to be more springs." Yeji Kim – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea 19 of 53 "These things are good things." Yeji Kim – Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat 20 of 53 "Pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it." Yeji Kim – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist 21 of 53 "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Yeji Kim – Oscar Wilde 22 of 53 "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." Yeji Kim – Marilyn Monroe 23 of 53 "You cannot change what you are, only what you do." Yeji Kim – Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass 24 of 53 "Thou must gather thine own sunshine." Yeji Kim – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter 25 of 53 "It is not enough to have a good mind; the important thing is to use it well." Yeji Kim – Rene Descartes 26 of 53 "People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be." Yeji Kim – Harvey Mackay 27 of 53 "Walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps." Yeji Kim – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet 28 of 53 "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." Yeji Kim – Babe Ruth 29 of 53 "Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The Sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." Yeji Kim – Alexander Graham Bell 30 of 53 "Lay plans for something big by starting with it when small." Yeji Kim – Lao Tzu 31 of 53 "No exact recipe for today. Gather all available ingredients and whip yourself up something delicious." Yeji Kim – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gmorning/Gnight 32 of 53 "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." Yeji Kim – Henry Miller 33 of 53 "It's how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success." Yeji Kim – David Feherty 34 of 53 "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Yeji Kim – Thomas A. Edison 35 of 53 "It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." Yeji Kim – Eleanor Roosevelt 36 of 53 "Do anything, but let it produce joy." Yeji Kim – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass 37 of 53 "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." Yeji Kim – Desmond Tutu 38 of 53 "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." Yeji Kim – Charles Dickens 39 of 53 "As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." Yeji Kim – Mary Anne Radmacher 40 of 53 "Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." Yeji Kim – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 41 of 53 "That's what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing." Yeji Kim – Simone de Beauvoir 42 of 53 "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." Yeji Kim – Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! 43 of 53 "You rarely win, but sometimes you do." Yeji Kim – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird 44 of 53 "I've got nothing to do today but smile." Yeji Kim – Simon and Garfunkel 45 of 53 "I believe great people do things before they are ready." Yeji Kim – Amy Poehler, Yes Please 46 of 53 "I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go." Yeji Kim – Langston Hughes 47 of 53 "If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done." Yeji Kim – Bruce Lee 48 of 53 "For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end." Yeji Kim – Michelle Obama, Becoming 49 of 53 "Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink." Yeji Kim – Lilly Pulitzer 50 of 53 "Imagine this: What would happen if we were all brave enough to believe in our own ability, to be a little more ambitious? I think the world would change." Yeji Kim – Reese Witherspoon 51 of 53 "You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness." Yeji Kim – Diane von Furstenberg 52 of 53 "We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better." Yeji Kim – J.K. Rowling 53 of 53 "Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them." Yeji Kim – Mia Hamm Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit