I’ve heard a few life changing quotes – three to be exact. Each one really changed the way I think. Of course, I’ve heard many more quotes that have really stuck with me & that change the way I feel but these 3 really hit home! And, they have come together to shape my outlook on life.
The first quote I heard was when I was a teenager, it says – the only things in life you regret are the risks you don’t take. That really stuck with me. I wrote about it way back when for my quote of the week 14. It made me take more chances, to try what I wanted to try & to say what I wanted to say.
I thought about starting a blog for over a year then it was this living without regrets thinking that gave me the final push to do it. I didn’t want to look back & wonder what if I had started that blog? Or to look back with any regrets for that matter. Isn’t it better to try & fail than to regret not trying at all?
The second quote I was told when I was in college & totally overwhelmed. A very wise woman said to me – sometimes you just have to say no. If you let that sink in – I mean really sink in, it is an amazing weight off your shoulders. Sometimes you just have to say no. You can’t be everywhere, you can’t do everything. Somethings have to be left. And sometimes you dont’ feel comfortable doing something – then just don’t.
I find this very applicable to motherhood as well. And to blogging. You have to cut things out & make decisions every day on what’s the priority. Feeling guilty or trying to be everything at once just leads to stress & burnout.
Just say no! There doesn’t need to be a big explanation involved. Don’t feel guilty. Life is too short to be overwhelmed or to do things you don’t want to do / don’t have the time or energy to do.
So in my 20’s I wanted to live without regrets & I had learned to say no. The third life changing quote came to me in my 30’s it says – it’s not happy people who are grateful, it is grateful people who are happy. I wrote about this in my second quote of the week. In that post I talk about finding gratitude & the TED talk that I watched that put the gratefulness / happiness relationship out there so clearly!! I listened to this man & he changed my thinking with his words. He says: moment by moment we can be grateful for this gift. This gift can be your family, children, health, being alive.
You won’t find happiness waiting for great things to happen so that you can be happy. You find happiness by being grateful for the amazing gifts you have in life every day. It’s the simple things we should be grateful for and in turn we will be happy. And I tell you what – it works!!
Changing my mindset to focus on gratitude wasn’t & still isn’t always easy. It can be natural to start feeling sorry or bad about something or wishing I had something. But keeping this quote in mind has made me appreciate everything so much more & in turn has made me a happier person.
So there you have it – my three life changing quotes! They have come together to create my mindset of a life without regrets, of staying true to myself, saying no when need be & living day to day with gratitude. I wonder what quote will come along in my 40’s!?
Do you have any life changing quotes?
Sometimes you need these reminders. Thanks for sharing.
I love the idea of sharing life changing quotes! They are great quotes too, I think it can be hard to feel like it is OK to say no, but sometimes we really need to find that correct balance between yes and no! #Candidcuddles
These are all brilliant, I especially like the last one. It really is true – it doesn’t matter how much you have, you won’t be happy if you don’t appreciate it 🙂 Thanks for hosting #candidcuddles
Debbie
Great post! I always try to be grateful for what he have rather than always striving for more, it definitely makes for a happier life!
I love how these quotes all work together. I have heard something similar to the one about saying no, and this is the one that I struggle with the most. You really do have to appreciate things to be able to find joy and happiness 🙂 #CandidCuddles
I love the first one. Particularly true for me this week as I took a risk and although I knew the outcome wouldn’t be the one I was secretly hoping for, I’m still glad that I took it as I feel more at peace with myself (annoyingly cryptic, sorry). Wouldn’t it be interesting to gather life quotes that resonate with each decade of your life, and compare them when you get to old age? #candidcuddles
My favourite quote, which I remember hearing in one of our final lectures at Uni, “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land amoung the stars”. It has stuck with me all these years and it’s something I tried to instill in my teaching and now in as a Mummy.
Your gratitude quote struck a chord for me too, very personal but I lost my Dad almost 9 years ago and the best way I find to deal with it is to think of how lucky I was to have him. Wouldn’t swap him even if I knew I wouldn’t have him forever. X
That last quote is one of my faves! It’s hard to follow sometimes but so true. #candidcuddles x
I love every one of these quotes but I must admit the first one resonates with me a lot – I guess it relates to having no regrets and living life to the full. xx #candidcuddles
Three fantastic quotes. The risk one is so apt for teenagers/young people and the just say no is really good advice. I still find this one hard, but I came to understand its importance in my 30’s, when I was saying yes to everything and drowning! The happiness quote is so true! I spent a long time trying to work out the meaning of happiness and I watched the TED talk on it – really inspiring. My quote for my 40’s is: There are 2 things we should give our children, roots and wings. Because now my kids are tween/teenagers I feel a huge responsibility to get this right! Alison x #candidcuddles
These three are some of my favourite quotes too. As a family, we definitely live by you only regret what you didn’t do! The `sometimes you do have to say no` one is the hardest for me, but so true, sometimes you do, I have had to with blogging recently -sometimes I just can’t do every link & I am definitely fussy about accepting assignments these days. But it is a tough one for a people pleaser. Three great quotes !! Thank you for hosting Becky and have a great day xx
Three wonderful quotes that everyone should be reminded of all the time. They all resonates me a lot… #candidcuddles
Massively agree! People can spread themselves so thinly, and go by in life not actually enjoy things before of that! This is especially important when you have more responsibilities, you cannot do and enjoy it all! #candidcuddles
I loved hearing the background of how each one of these was life changing for you! I think I’m most in need of the ‘saying no’ one right now. x #candidcuddles
Such great quotes and I really enjoyed reading about how they have influenced your life. In my 40’s I have learned…What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I really like this idea of life-changing quotes; it hadn’t really occurred to me to think which quotes have changed my life, maybe I’d have a hard time narrowing it down to three! Most of them are probably from the last 10 years, though. #CandidCuddles
Great quotes. So true. Thank you .