Quotes can be very helpful: Sometimes a single sentence can change your life – if it comes to you at the right time and the right place. These 30 quotes about change and growth have crossed my path in life and have been very motivating and helpful to me- and as I write about them like this, many more come to mind…
So it’s actually now become more than 30 quotes about change… so even this article is changing as I write it…
I’m happy if the quotes inspire you too. Feel free to let me know which one you like best or if you know of any quotes about change and/or personal growth that have guided you in your life.
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30 motivational quotes about change and growth
When it comes to change, one thing definitely keeps getting in our way: our comfort level! Also fear! Because fear – of the possible negative consequences of change, fear of defeat or "making things worse" – is ultimately a kind of "comfort" in which we are afraid to engage with the new and unknown.
Especially in these times, quotes about change can give us new strength, because they make us think: They make us sit up and take notice, encourage us to question whether our fears or our supposedly so unchangeable situation, whether all this is really just so – or whether our comfort zone has not been comfortable for a long time, but still seems "safer" to us than the wild life out there..
So here are a few quotes about change resp. Motivation for change in quote form:
"If you don’t like the way things are: Move! You are not a tree."
Jim was an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker and speaks a great word calmly: A tree can’t choose where it stands – you can!
Of course you can spend your life complaining and bitching about your condition, your environment, your origin and everything else – but it won’t change any of it. You want to have something different? Then move!
By the way, you can find help in moving with me! As a relationship coach for singles I help people to change their lives. Because rarely are the reasons for z.B. unintentional singledom obviously! For more info, take our free test>>>
"Who always does what he already can, always remains what he already is."
The founder of Ford, Henry Ford, was known for his powerful quotes. And with this one he surely hit the bull’s eye: If you always just do what you already know how to do, then you will not learn anything new and it will be difficult for you to change anything.
So if you want something different, you’ll probably have to do things you’ve never done before and probably can’t do yet… that’s called learning, isn’t it? &
And if we learn best from mistakes, why are we so afraid of making them??
"Life begins outside your comfort zone."
Neale Donald Walsch
And another nudge: in your cage of limiting beliefs, self-imposed prohibitions, fears and restrictions it seems safe – but life is out there: outside your comfort zone.
And the best thing is: Whenever you dare to leave your comfort zone, it expands – and things gradually seem "comfortable" to you that were rather uncomfortable before… This reminds me of another quote Tim Ferriss once mentioned – it’s from a Polish boxer and philosopher (strong mix, or? Why not?) named Jerzy Gregory:
"Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life!" meaning: If you always make the supposedly easiest choice, you will have a hard life. But if you make the hard choice (z.B. something dare), you will have an easy life. What do you think?
If you want help getting out of your comfort zone, click on the link here (don’t worry: new tab)>>>>
"It’s not because it’s hard that we don’t dare – it’s because we don’t dare that it’s hard."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 v.Chr. – 65 n.Chr.)
At this point I actually have to refer to the life data of the philosopher, because it is amazing that this wisdom already existed about 2 years ago.000 years ago, or? So loosely based on the motto: "Just do it for a change!" – or as the saying goes: The bumblebee, as it is built, could not actually fly – but fortunately it does not know that..
The longer you put things off and think about them, the bigger and more important they become – to fail then becomes more and more significant because you have been thinking about it for so long – and so it becomes harder and harder to get started.
So this would be the motivation for the "if" and "why" of making. But just as often we also ask ourselves: Is now already a good time? Is it not too early? It is already too late? Again, some very good quotes about change and growth will help:
"Don’t wait – the time will never be just right."
Don’t you know this from yourself: "I still have to…" or "When I’m ready…" or "I’m not ready yet…"? – but when will you be ready? For example, when is the perfect moment for a flirt?? If you always wait for the perfect moment, you will – even if it should come sometime – not be prepared for it. If you believe that you always have to learn more, you will never know if what you learn makes any sense at all.
Eckart Tolle always says: "It’s always now" and "now" is always the right moment.
"For the last 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I also want to do what I am about to do today??" And when the answer was "no" for too many days in a row, I knew I had to change something."
Of course, it remains to be asked whether Steve Jobs also often said no to the fact that his products are assembled in China (also) by minors under undignified conditions… nevertheless: If you are looking for a "good time" for change: If you have answered the question with "no" 30 times in a row, it is probably indeed a good time… Sometimes we are afraid of change – the fear that suddenly everything would be over… And suddenly something new would begin…
And yes, that can also be frightening, because in the new there is always also the unknown – and that is unfamiliar and makes us nervous… but it is also exciting. It’s fresh and opens up new opportunities… how many quotes about change do you need to admit to yourself that something in your life may end and something else may begin?
The next quote fits well with this thought:
"One day you’ll wake up and you won’t have time to do the things you wanted to do. Do them now."
When the day has come when it will be too late to do something, the only thing you will have left is regret… I know so many people who wanted to do something "later" and thought they would have enough time for it "later". Then they’ve gotten old and too sick to do what they would have wanted to do – or they’re like one of my teachers who died of a heart attack a year after his retirement (which he was really eagerly awaiting)…
"The bad thing is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk more."
Well, that should be motivation enough, don’t you think?? Because there’s something to this: you may be risking something when you change yourself and your circumstances – but you’ll be risking a lot more if you don’t… What will you have missed out on? What all you will not be able to experience? Never learned? Never experienced? That is sad!
Change is all well and good – it should not remain as it is now? But what then?
"The question you should ask yourself is not "What do I want??" or "What are my goals?", but "What would inspire me?"
Tim Ferriss wrote a very successful book that I never read: "The 4-hour-work-week" – I never read it because I love what I do so much that the title didn’t appeal to me… Why would I want to work only 4 hours?? But for some time now I’ve been following Tim on Twitter and receiving his "5 Bullet Friday Newsletter" – I find his ideas very inspiring. And so is this quote from him.
What would excite you? What makes you sit up and take notice, gets your attention, makes your heart beat faster? What are you burning for? What turns you on? What touches you? And how can you more of it bring into your life?
"The safest place for a ship is in port. But ships are not made for that!"
Of course, it’s safer to stay in port, doing nothing… although: I’ve heard if a ship is stuck somewhere for a long time, it can suffer worse damage than if it’s underway. Well… Maybe Einstein was even wrong?
Also the term "the port of marriage" is total nonsense: who wants to stay in the port with his dream partner? When you find the right one, the journey really begins after all! Ahoy!
"All people always get what they ask for. The problem is that until they have it, they never know what they asked for."
I have also experienced this many times – you too?
You know those movies where the actor has one wish (or even several), but when it comes true, it’s always completely different from what they thought it would be… (one of the most blatant versions of this is probably "Butterfly Effect" with Ashton Kutcher) And I always think to myself: THIS is my life here and I decide every day how it should change. I get to make a wish every day: Either I do more of what I’m doing now – or something else. And part of what happens as a result is as I imagined – and part is "surprise". And that’s okay – sometimes it’s annoying, but at least it doesn’t get boring…
"Miracles are only experienced by those who believe in miracles."
Maybe you need a miracle… Maybe a miracle would indeed be necessary to change your life the way you want it to be – the way you think you need it to be. So it might be a good thing if you believe in miracles, right??
Ultimately, you are surrounded by thousands of miracles every day – you live ON a miracle, you yourself ARE a miracle…
"We are what we think. Everything that we are, arises from our thoughts. With our thoughts we shape the world."
Buddha – Siddharta Gautama
This is exactly what I have experienced so, so, so many times:
What you think about yourself determines how you perceive yourself, what you trust yourself to do, how you treat yourself – and consequently: What is possible for you, what you dare to do, what happens to you, what you radiate, how you behave… and how others (can) deal with you – for better or worse. It all starts with how you think about yourself – because that also determines how you think about the world.
Who do you think you are? Because that determines your destiny… But you can also change this "story about you" at any time… Every story has different perspectives from which you can tell it.
"Change is only brought about by active action."
To make it short: Thinking changes nothing at all. You must already follow up with action…
"Be you the change you wish for this world."
Even if Gandhi said this in a different context at the time – it applies universally:
You wish for more love? Be more loving!
You wish for more attention and appreciation? Be appreciative and respect yourself.
You wish for more "justice? How about if you first deal with yourself fairly? Treat yourself well and speak well to yourself… Whatever it is that you wish for: begin with it!
Whatever you wished for from your parents and did not get: Give it to them! It’s pretty obvious that they don’t have it… but you do! They need it as much as you do – give it to them.
"It is never too late to abandon our prejudices; no view, no way of life, no matter how old, can be relied upon without examination."
Henry David Thoreau
Do you sometimes think it is too late? I do not believe!
As long as you breathe, as long as you live, you can always start something new – you can change your mind – and I can only advise you: Never rely on your opinion. Have one – but never believe that it would be "the truth. It is only an opinion. Your image of yourself: Only one opinion. Your image of the world: just an opinion. Dare to put all this to the test every now and then:
Is it still good for you? Is your life going well? Are you satisfied and everything is beautiful? Then it is good. If not: Check your "truths"!
Quotes about change and why you should dare something…
"You can’t look into the future, but you can lay the foundation for something future – because future can be built."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
I firmly believe that your life is not "predetermined. Life is a creative process: every decision you make today sets a course for the future… is the beginning of a new direction. And sometimes it’s the little things. In my experience, every little positive action, every tiny "effort" to do something new, good, loving is the beginning of something wonderful.
"For everything you do, or don’t do, you pay with your lifetime."
I had to smile when I "stumbled" on this quote, because it comes close to one of the things I say in almost every seminar: you were born – and you will die. In between you have time – time to make experiences. And it doesn’t matter what you do: whether you’re happy or not – whether you enter into this relationship or not.. Whether you dare to start something new or not… you will die. But you can choose every day which experience you will die with. It doesn’t matter if you do something or not – time is running – one way or another…
"We don’t see things the way they are, we see them the way we are."
This is probably one of my favorite quotes – and it’s so true. It also always helps me when someone sends me "nasty letters" (mails, reviews, comments, etc.).)… People don’t see what I mean – they understand what they see in it… And that’s okay – even if I don’t like it all the time. Maybe you can do something with it too?
"Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair, it keeps you busy but doesn’t get you anywhere."
Ah, this quote about change makes me smile… because how often do we worry – and what good has that ever done? 99% of all the worries we have are for nothing. But how much you can achieve if you turn your thoughts to something else?
"If many of us continue to ignore ourselves, it’s because self-knowledge is painful and we prefer pleasure to illusion."
Yes… real change sometimes requires that you also admit to something that is not very flattering to the self. It’s not easy to look at one’s "dark side", perhaps that one is falling into a victim role or that one is responsible for something for which one would rather blame others. But this is the moment when you can choose: Do you want to stay in the illusion – or do you dare the possibly painful self-knowledge and win back your power for it??
"If the sun does not wait for praise and entreaties to rise, but just shines and is greeted by the whole world, you too must need neither flattery nor applause to do good. Out of yourself you have to do it: Then you will be loved like the sun."
Epictetus (50-138), Greek. Philosopher
This quote touched me very much when I read it for the first time… it’s not about what others will think about your change or who will think it’s great, who will think you’re great… it’s about you being allowed to shine and glow because you want to. (And just like the sun, there will be people who will love it – and others who will find it too bright, or too hot, or generally prefer to be in the shade…)
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
And I can always smile about that, too… and it certainly doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make plans… just always remember: life is full of surprises. Some you will like, some you will not. That is quite normal.
"Problems can never be solved with the same mindset that created them."
Or to put it another way, the solution to a problem you’re thinking about is outside of your head – it’s something you don’t know yet. The solution lies in something you don’t yet know, haven’t yet experienced, haven’t yet experienced – it’s new. New to you… you have to think and do something new… then… then it’s not sure it will work out. But – as Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said: "I don’t know if things will get better if they get different". But things have to be different if they’re going to get better."
"Regardless of whether they think they can do something or they can’t, they are right to."
Henry Ford was not only a pretty successful businessman, he also said some really powerful things that make helpful quotes on change and growth for any kind of personal development today – this quote does fit very well with the one from Buddha: Your thoughts determine who you are. And therefore also whether you can do it or not… You will be right, because unconsciously you will do everything to be right…&
"Failure is just the opportunity to start over smarter."
And again Henry Ford – but I could have also quoted Thomas Alva Edison: After 1000 unsuccessful attempts to develop a marketable light bulb, Edison said: "I have not failed". I now know 1000 ways how not to build a light bulb."Or Walt Disney, who was rejected by over 300 banks with his idea for an amusement park. Or Michael Jordan: "I can accept failure. Everyone fails at some point. But what I can’t accept is not having tried at all."
What do I want to tell you? Do not give up so easily!
"There comes for everyone the moment of choice and decision: whether to live his own life, a most personal life of deepest fullness, or to choose that false, shallow, degrading existence which the hypocrisy of the world desires of him."
And sometimes it seems much easier to us – but it’s not…
"We marvel at the beauty of a butterfly, but so rarely acknowledge the changes it had to go through to become so beautiful."
And what is the end for the caterpillar is the beginning for the butterfly… who said it again?
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you are the easiest person to fool…"
It is normal that in every life situation we tell ourselves that it is just the way it is. Sometimes we have to do this to be able to bear situations that are not so easy to change at the moment. And later we look back and ask ourselves: "How did I stand it??" or "Why did I do that?" or "Why did I let this happen to me for so long??". Yet at the appropriate moment we believe: It must be so. Because we are good at fooling ourselves, because we are afraid of change…
But I would have another convincing quote:
"I believe in the horse. The automobile is only a temporary phenomenon."
Kaiser Wilhelm II (the last German Emperor)
Kaiser Wilhelm didn’t believe in the car – but he certainly wouldn’t have believed that he would be the last German emperor, either. So every now and then it is worth asking yourself if what you believe in is really not "up to date. &
I’m happy if you share this article and/or the pictures and inspire more people with it.
What are your favorite quotes and what did they do to you?? Which one might have touched you the most and why??