Every experience holds the potential for personal growth and self-awareness. By examining each experience, our reaction to it, and how it impacts ourselves and others, we become more enlightened and emotionally intelligent people. This awareness is especially profound for challenging or uncomfortable experiences. We become stronger and wiser through our pain and discomfort and discover parts of ourselves we want to improve or change. We’ve curated a list of 67 of life’s lessons quotes to remind you (or introduce you) to some of the most valuable lessons you’ll bump into throughout your life.
67 Life Lesson Quotes for Inner Growth
As you read through these quotes on life’s lessons, make a note of those that speak to a particular situation or experience that has profoundly changed or enlightened you. You can use these quotes as prompts for writing in your journal about the life lessons, as daily reminders to maintain healthier thoughts and actions, or as affirmations to begin your day on a positive note.
Meaningful Life Lesson Quotes
- “Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning… Anyone can start over and make a new ending.” ― Chico Xavier
- “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “You only struggle because you’re ready to grow but aren’t willing to let go.” – Drew Gerald
- “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”– Lyndon B. Johnson
- “It’s not the mistake that matters, it’s how you interpret the lesson.” – Michelle C. Ustaszeski
- “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” ― Richard Branson
- “Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” ― Steve Maraboli
- “You’ve gotta know when it’s time to turn the page.” – Tori Amos
- “To be successful, you must act big, think big and talk big.” – Aristotle Onassis
- “A man who wakes up and finds himself a success hasn’t been asleep.” – Dave Thomas
- “Fear is not a good teacher. The lessons of fear are quickly forgotten.” – Mary Catherine Bateson
Positive Life Lesson Quotes
- “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” ― Maya Angelou
- “If there’s a single lesson that life teaches us, it’s that wishing doesn’t make it so.” ― Lev Grossman
- “Think of each failure, each heartache, and each loss in your life as a lesson in courage and resilience.” — Kate Anderson
- “Make improvements, not excuses. Seek respect, not attention.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” — Soren Kierkegaard
- “You’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.” ― John Irving
- “Courage is feeling fear, not getting rid of fear, and taking action in the face of fear.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “Knowing when to forgive yourself and correct yourself is a blessing.” – Angel Moreira
- “Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” — Denis Waitley
- “Avoid doing the same you always do or the day will fill like an incoming tide.” – Allan Jenkins
- “In every success story, you will find someone who has made a courageous decision.” – Peter F. Drucker
Inspiring Quotes about Life Lessons
- “I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them.” ― Joe Abercrombie
- “Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.” — Heath Ledger
- “How hurtful it can be to deny one’s true self and live a life of lies just to appease others.” ― June Ahern
- “You don’t have to like someone, but you have to treat them as you wish to be treated.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
- “Help someone, you earn a friend. Help someone too much, you make an enemy.” ― Erol Ozan
- “Just like there’s always time for pain, there’s always time for healing.” ― Jennifer Brown
- “Give out what you most want to come back.” ― Robin S. Sharma
- “Your time is way too valuable to be wasting on people that can’t accept who you are.” ― Turcois Ominek
- “What I was chasing in circles must have been the tail of the darkness inside me.” ― Haruki Murakami
- “You can’t wait around for something to become good, it either is, or isn’t.” ― Toni Aleo
- “There is no tomorrow and there was no yesterday; if you truly want to accomplish your goals you must engulf yourself in today.” ― Noel DeJesus
- “Sometimes just getting through each day requires almost superhuman strength.” ― Jojo Moyes
- “Being safe doesn’t mean you won’t be sorry.” ― Katerina Stoykova Klemer
Deep Quotes about Life Lessons
- “Forgive but do not forget, or you will be hurt again. Forgiving changes the perspectives. Forgetting loses the lesson.” ― Paulo Coelho
- “You think you know someone. But mostly you just know what you want to know.” ― Joe Hill 42.. “The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” ― Aristotle
- “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” — Robert Frost
- “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” — Rita Mae Brown
- “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” — Zig Ziglar
- “Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.” ― Erica Jong
- “Betray a friend, and you’ll often find you have ruined yourself.” ― Aesop
- “Don’t bite off more than you can chew because nobody looks attractive spitting it back out.” ― Carroll Bryant
- “What a waste my life would be without all the beautiful mistakes I’ve made.” ― Alice Bag
- “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
- “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.” ― Dale Carnegie 33 Good Mottos To Live By For A Stellar Life 47 Quotes On The Power Of Grit
Wise Sayings about Life Lessons
- “There came a time when you realized that moving on was pointless. That you took yourself with you wherever you went.” ― Stephen King
- “To overcome fear is the quickest way to gain your self-confidence.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can’t go all the way around.” — John Green
- “Your fear is 100% dependent on you for its survival.” ― Steve Maraboli
- “Focus on making yourself better, not on thinking that you are better.” ― Bohdi Sanders
- “Time management is about life management.” ― Idowu Koyenikan
- “Emotion without reason lets people walk all over you; reason without emotion is a mask for cruelty.” ― Nalini Singh
- “Wisdom is the reward for surviving our own stupidity.” ― Brian Rathbone
- “You can’t make someone feel good about themselves until you feel good about yourself.” ― Robin S. Sharma
- “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again.” ― Joseph Campbell
- “You just can’t let life happen to you, you have to make life happen.” ― Idowu Koyenikan
- “But one of the big lessons I have learned from my journey is you can’t please everyone, so don’t try.”― Chris Colfer
- “If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters – 204 if you’re in Japan.” ― Claire Cook
- “What to do with a mistake – recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” — Dean Smith
Why You Should Read These Quotes About Life Lessons
You love quotes — but why? Believe it or not, there’s a biological reason. While the science is a lot more complicated than the scope of this article, the basic concept is easy to wrap your head around. The main factor is the brain’s neuroplasticity — its ability to change. Thoughts create neural pathways, and the ones that most often pop into your mind build deeper grooves, giving them more control over your moods. It follows that repeated negative thoughts put us in poor moods; conversely, good thoughts let in the proverbial sun and positively impact our physical and mental health. As such, reading affirming life lesson quotes:
Decreases stress, anxiety, and depression Lowers blood pressure and improved cardiovascular health Fosters better emotional balance Improves cognitive function
How to Use These Life Lesson Quotes
How can you use these life lesson quotes to boost your motivation and help you navigate any rough terrain life throws in your path?
Share Quotes on Social Media: Nearly everyone loves a memorable quote. So why not make graphics of your favorite sayings and post them? Making the images will be meditative and affirming in and of itself, and you may inspire others to look up rather than down. Meditate on Them: Choose a quote to dissect for an analytical meditation. Think about it from all angles. Use Them as Journal Prompts: Using quotes as journaling prompts is an excellent way to internalize their messages and incorporate them into your worldview. Write Them on Post-It Notes: Leaving post-it reminders around the home is a time-honored tool used by many people in the midst of self-development work. Post them on mirrors around the house, cartons you see upon opening the fridge, and cabinets as reminders.
The best life lesson quotes inspire and motivate you to seek out opportunities for learning in all of the ups and downs of life. As you accumulate this learning, you will grow in wisdom and discernment. You’ll become more resilient in the face of future challenges and more grateful during times of ease and happiness.
