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Wouldn’t it be nice if life lessons came with a free bagel? Or maybe a sprinkled doughnut to sweeten the experience?
Think about it – you unintentionally upset your coworker by speaking without considering how your words would make them feel. But it’s OK because there’s a slice of apple pie on your desk that instantly makes you feel better.
Or, maybe you chose not to forgive your friend for their poor choices, and are now left with a bitter taste of resentment. Well, don’t worry, because there’s a chocolate brownie just waiting to sweeten things up again.
Only, life doesn’t work like that.
Whilst it would be wonderful to sugarcoat those difficult moments, it’s during them that we grow and learn the most. And these life lesson quotes will help you to see that.
Why Should You Embrace Life’s Lessons?
Life is a rollercoaster ride, full of ups and downs.
While we all desire a smooth and easy journey, it’s the challenging moments that truly shape us into who we are. They push us out of our comfort zones and force us to confront our fears and weaknesses.
It’s never nice. But it’s through these tough times that we build resilience and develop the necessary skills to overcome the obstacles. They force us to dig deep; to find the grit and determination needed to keep going.
And they uncover capabilities that we never knew we had, pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible.
We learn that setbacks are not failures, but rather opportunities for something greater, such as:
These experiences become windows through which we can view the world with a more compassionate lens. And with our eyes wide open, gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.
We discover our values, our priorities, and what truly matters to us. And learn to focus on them, rather than the chaos that surrounds us.
So, while it may be tempting to wish away the difficult moments, it’s important to embrace life’s toughest lessons with open arms. They teach us about resilience, patience, and perseverance.
And by facing these challenges head-on, enable us to grow into the best versions of ourselves.
Now, let's dive into these inspiring life lesson quotes to help motivate and guide you on your journey.
81 Life Lessons Quotes to Help You Learn and Grow
- “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” – Maya Angelou
- “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
- “Don’t cry because its over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
- “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
- “The biggest lesson I learned this year is to not force anything; conversations, friendships, relationships, attention, love. Anything forced is just not worth fighting for, whatever flows flows, what crashes crashes.” – Amanda Rose.
- “Don’t run from lessons; they are little packages of treasure that have been given to us. As we learn from them, our lives change for the better.” – Louis Hay
- “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
- “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” – Peter Drucker
We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” – Peter Drucker
- “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “A lesson learned from suffering is not easily forgotten.” – Unknown
- “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” – Carrie Fisher
- “Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C. S. Lewis
- “Don’t waste another moment crying over what went wrong! If it wasn’t a blessing — it was a lesson.” – Paula White
- “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” – Abraham Maslow
- “I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” – Winston Churchill
- “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “With every act of self-care your authentic self gets stronger, and the critical, fearful mind gets weaker. Every act of self-care is a powerful declaration: I am on my side, I am on my side, each day I am more and more on my own side.” – Susan Weiss Berry
- “Do what is right, not what is easy nor what is popular.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “Don’t go through life, grow through life.” – Eric Butterworth
- “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” – Albert Einstein
- “My greatest life lesson has been that life can change in a second. This is why it’s important to always live your best possible life and to do what you can for others.” – Niki Taylor
- “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Soren Kierkegaard
- “Pause and remember – Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were yesterday. Be thankful!” – Jennifer Young
Pause and remember – Every single event in your life, especially the difficult lessons, have made you smarter, stronger, and wiser than you were yesterday. Be thankful!” – Jennifer Young
- “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
- “You’ve gotta know when it’s time to turn the page.” – Tori Amos
- “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
- “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Rob Siltanen
- “To be successful, you must act big, think big, and talk big.” – Aristotle Onassis
- “The Universe is one great kindergarten for man. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson.” – Orison Swett Marden
- “You only struggle because you’re ready to grow but aren’t willing to let go.” – Drew Gerald
- “Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.” – Les Brown
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
- “In every success story, you will find someone who has made a courageous decision.” – Peter F. Drucker
- “What we think, we become.” – Buddha
- “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou
- “What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
- “Short cuts make long delays.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
- “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
- “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
- “A very wise man once told me that you can't look back-you just have to put the past behind you, and find something better in your future.” – Jodi Picoult
- “Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.” – Doug Firebaugh
- “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald
- “It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final.” – Roger Babson
- “If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And what they have planned for you is not much.” – Jim Rohn
- “Try to accomplish things you have always dreamt of while you can. I know it sounds cliche, but the biggest lesson I have learned is that life is precious; enjoy it while it lasts.” – Lisa Ling
- “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T. S. Eliot
- “Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” – Hillary Clinton
- “Over the years I've come to realize that mistakes are just lessons, life lessons almost like school. Once you've learned a lesson in class, you move on to the next lesson because now you know it. Well, mistakes are the same.” – Rashard Royster
- “Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.” – Rumi
- “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” – Shonda Rhimes
- “The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.” – Robert Cushing
The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.” – Robert Cushing
- “The highest reward for one's toil is not what one gets for it, but what one becomes by it.” – John Ruskin
- “Every fault made is another valuable lesson learned.” – Kaylee Stepkoski
- “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that hurt people hurt people, and kindness is just as contagious. So if you can focus your efforts on engineering kindness, it will prevail.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd
- “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ronald Osborn
- “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” – Deborah Day
- “The trouble is if you don't spend your life yourself, other people spend it for you.” – Peter Shaffer
- “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them―that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu
- “One of my biggest life lessons is, we heal at the speed of our forgiveness.” – Romany Malco
- “Be patient with yourself. You are growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter…and you will begin to shine brighter. Don’t give up.” – Robert Tew
- “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr
- “Learning to appreciate those things that aren’t related to success has proved the biggest lesson.” – Chet Faker
- “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth
- “But one of the big lessons I have learned from my journey is you can’t please everyone, so don’t try.” – Chris Colfer
- “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb
- “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost
- “And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” – Haruki Murakami
And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure whether the storm is over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” – Haruki Murakami
- “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Helen Keller
- “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
- “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experiences that reveals the human spirit.” – e.e. Cummings
- “It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.” – Nicholas Sparks
- “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.” – Denis Waitley
- “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius
- “Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
- “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me.” – Harland Sanders
Final Thoughts on Life Lessons Quotes
Life is an incredible journey filled with ups and downs, twists and turns. And while some lessons may come easily, it's the ones that challenge us the most that truly shape who we are.
These moments of struggle can be overwhelming and even discouraging at times. But they also have the power to reveal our inner strength and resilience.
It's during these difficult times that we push past our limits, face our fears head-on, and come out on the other side stronger and more confident than ever before.
For more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 61 Integrity Quotes on the Importance of Having Character
- 75 Positive Quotes to Lift Up Yourself or Other People
- 43 Stress Relief Quotes & Sayings to Help Relax
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.
