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20 Amazing Quotes About Life to Rewire Your Brain

Revisit these truths often

By Jamie JacksonPublished 2 years ago 9 min read
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20 Amazing Quotes About Life to Rewire Your Brain
Photo by Timothy Meinberg on Unsplash

It's easy to dismiss quotes. They always seem a bit of a cop-out, like the ADHD, Tik-Tok, instant soundbites of the personal development world. Why put in the real work when you can just read a sentence?

Though I argue they're much more than that. A couple of quotes have changed my life. Maybe even saved it. These are the type of quotes that stick to you and make sense of the chaos unfolding in the world. They're a rock in a weary land, they're a saving grace, a helping hand, an epiphany.

For that reason alone, I want to share 20 of the great quotes I've heard, and I've heard a zillion. As I'm sure you have. Let's begin.

1. You can change the world by being yourself. – Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono's legacy is being the woman who broke up The Beatles. Slightly unfair, she's an artist in her own right and co-wrote Imagine with John Lennon. Even he admitted she had more of a hand in it than he first cared to admit. 

So it's these words that resonate. It's similar to when Marianne Williamson said you playing it small does not serve the world. Be yourself and see what happens. It doesn't mean be rude, be hateful, be selfish, it just means stop hiding who you are from people for fear of judgement. Give it a try.

2. Being in love with life is a key to eternal youth. – Doug Hutchison

Took me years to understand that you can't get a positive life from a negative mindset. This quote speaks that truth. Energy, enthusiasm, friends, adventure, they all come from loving life and possessing a strong a strong gratitude for living. 

3. You are a ghost, driving a meat coated skeleton made from stardust, riding a rock which is floating through space. Fear nothing. – Anon

This quote is an internet mainstay, I've seen it kicking around for years, but it puts everything into perspective. People often talk about "finding your why" but ask why enough and no one has any answers. Why are we here, what is space, time, gravity, where did everything come from? It's all a cosmic joke. The divine comedy! So laugh, play along and treat it like the adventure it should be.

4. Starting at school you have fought against authority. And now you are so used to it, you create authority to fight against. – Shekhar Kapur

Oh boy. Some quotes force you to take a long hard look at yourself, this is one of them. These words gave me an epiphany. I realised I was angry and rebelling against nothing but my fear and frustration. No one was holding me back but me. Most rules are self-imposed. I needed to get out my own way. Perhaps you do too. Kapur's words say it all.

5. If something sucks and is between you and your goals, embrace it. – Anon

I've been pursuing stand up comedy for a few years now. My progress is slow because as much as I love it, I also hate it. It scars me silly. But then I read these words. If my goal is to get good at this art form, this craft of standing in front of a room of people telling jokes, then I have to suck it up. There is no other option. As the Navy Seals says, embrace the suck. The only way out is through.

6. The strongest force in the whole human personality is this need to stay consistent with how we define ourselves. – Tony Robbins

We're animals who are driven by story. The bible. Our culture, history, the hero's journey. They're all stories. We limit ourselves because we buy into a story about how things have to be and who we are and then consciously or subconsciously live that story. But what if we let go of the narrative and bought into something else, something more positive, more empowering? 

7. The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. – Jim Carrey

People don't remember what you say or do as much as they remember how you made them feel. The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships. If you make people feel good, if you give them your time, your life will improve. Love, after all, is spelt T-I-M-E. 

8. If we do not understand that the enemy is within, we will find a thousand ways of making someone out there into the enemy. – Parker J Palmer

This quote came in like a wrecking ball. It was in a book. When I heard it (audiobook to be exact) it rang out the truth like a church bell on Christmas morning. We want to blame, we want to wriggle out of responsibility, we want an easy route. So we ignore all our self-made problems by blaming others. The world is full of angry people angry at politicians who are really angry at themselves. It's a call for personal responsibility and freedom.

9. Most of tradition is just peer pressure from dead people. – Anon

Tradition and culture are important, no doubt. In fact, I'd go as far as saying it's a fool's work to ignore them. But that doesn't mean you are bound by the expectations of society. You are an individual operating as a node in a wider network. Of course, the world around you matters, but you are sovereign, and in charge of your life and happiness. Don't allow the pressures from tradition to hold you back.

10. What if other people’s success wasn’t an indictment, but an inspiration? – Mandy Stadtmiller

Other people's successes are not your failures. This took me a long time to realise. It's easy to be jealous, it's hard to be inspired. What I realised is when my friends achieved something big, I had a choice; do I secretly hate them and myself or do I use it as fire, inspiration and celebrate with them? When I chose the latter ti was like rocket fuel. It was a revelation. Give it a try and emancipate yourself from jealousy.

11. You are always one decision away from a totally different life. – Anon

It's easy to feel stuck. It's difficult to have perspective and faith in the future when you're in a job you hate paying bills that need to be paid. But progress is a decision. A single decision to change. It might not happen instantaneously, but it will happen if you decide. (See quote 17).

12. You know yourself mostly by your thoughts. Everyone else in the world knows you only by your actions. Remember this when you feel misunderstood. – James Clear

There's nothing more frustrating than being misjudged. I've had it a lot. I used to complain regularly about feeling hungover or under the weather then that's how people saw me for a long time. I didn't understand why, but my words and actions told them that story. I couldn't blame them. It was me, painting a picture of my character for them. Lesson learned. I made sure my words and actions were more aligned with my character and voila, people misjudged me less.

13. Get up fool, you’re not dead yet. – Anon

It's good to read a purely defiant, backside-kicking quote. Sometimes all we need is a sobering slap around the face. This is one of them. Moan, complain, make excuses, tell everyone how much harder you have it, whatever. You're still here right? You're still going? So get on with it. You're not dead yet.

14. A year from now you will wish you had started today. – Karen Lamb

This quote haunts me. It makes my stomach tight with anxiety because it is both true and endlessly evident. It's easy to look back 12 months and think "If only I started to learn about investing/film editing/self-defence/working abroad". Whatever your goal, we know if we started earlier, it would be easier. Still, no excuse to stop moving forward as you'll be looking back to today, 12 months from now. Make yourself proud.

15. No one is standing in your way but you. – Neil Stauss

Ah, stop stop stop. I know, I get it. No need to bang this drum, Neil. When I look at all the things I am frustrated about - my income, my career, stage fright, fear of confrontation - it's all caused by me, from me, and lingers because of my avoidance. No one in my life is stopping me from doing anything... but me. Is this the same for you? I bet it is.

16. A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have. – Tim Ferriss

Tim's bang on the money here. Here's a great example. I had a terrible boss for 4 years. We argued, he bullied me and I felt sick about going into work on a daily basis. Eventually, it all became too much and I confronted him. Booked a meeting to address it all. It was one of the most awkward conversations I had in my life. The upshot? He apologised. He didn't realise how much impact his behaviour had on me. We started anew. I can't believe I put the conversation off for so long. Big lessons in there.

17. There is nothing more powerful than the made-up mind. – Lewis Gordon

This quote is beautiful. It sums everything up. All the personal development in the world won't mean a thing unless you decide. Truly decide. But once you do, there's no stopping you. A made-up mind is a superpower. As William Benjamin Basil King noted, be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.

18. The fool is his own enemy. The mischief is his undoing. How bitterly he suffers! – Gautama Buddha

More hurtful truth. As they say, the truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off. This quote from Buddha always makes me laugh because I think about it when I procrastinate, when I booze, when I lay in bed late and any other activity where I know I'm only hurting myself. Have the self-control to treat yourself right so you don't suffer. As Jocko Willink says, discipline equals freedom. remember this next time you're wasting time for no good reason.

19. Physical strength has a limit. Mental strength has no limit. – Marcus J Clark

A remarkable idea, and one that perhaps bears out. We are all much stronger than we believe. We spend so much time scared of failure, rejection, discomfort, heartache, confrontation and an endless list of other undesirable conditions. But humans are anti-fragile. Often the pain and hurt we feel turns into the pillars of strength that hold us up later on. We are mental colossuses and it would serve us well to remember this.

20. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. – Anais Nin

Someone once said, you're not bored of your life, you just don't have any plans. No plans means no stepping outside the comfort zone and experiencing anything new. The bigger your comfort zone, the smaller your life. Anais Nin was right in her observation, life only becomes an adventure when you decide to become an adventurer.

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Thanks for reading. If even one of these quotes hits a nerve, it's been worth writing this short article. Good luck on your journey.

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About the Creator

Jamie Jackson

Between two skies and towards the night.

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