Why is it that a few words put together in a particular order invoke such strong reactions in us? Is it thanks to history’s greatest authors, philosophers, and orators who are just naturally able to communicate ideas succinctly and vividly? Primarily, yes, but there’s a lot more going on than first meets the eye.
Look inside the mind of the average person, and you’ll no doubt be confronted by a whole load of negative mental chatter: “I can’t do this,” “I’m a horrible person,” “I’ll never achieve what I want.” With our inner worlds dominated by self-criticism and self-defeating thoughts, it’s a much welcome relief to hear quotes or affirmations, as some call them, that transcend nasty psychological blocks and tap into our core beliefs.
The purpose of affirmations is not to convince you of something. They solidify something that already exists inside of you that doubts have obscured. Affirmations need to be repeated constantly to help us bring light to these inner truths. In the case of understanding quotes and making sure you put them into action, that means reading them consistently as part of your daily routine. If you need some motivation to get out of bed in the morning, look no further. Spring to life every morning by reading these inspiring and motivating quotes from some of history’s greatest thinkers and doers.
“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” — Henry David Thoreau
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”—Marcus Aurelius
“Do not say, ‘It is morning,’ and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.” —Rabindranath Tagore
“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it.” —Richard Whately
“Be pleasant until ten o’clock in the morning, and the rest of the day will take care of itself.” — Elbert Hubbard
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day.” —Dalai Lama
“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination” —Oscar Wilde
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”—Napolean Hill
“Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them.” —William Arthur Ward
“Many a false step has been made by standing still.” —Fortune Cookie
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” —Seneca
“Life is very short for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future.” —Seneca
“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.” —Jim Rohn
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” —Anthony Robbins
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” —Leonardo da Vinci
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” —Anne Frank
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” —Thomas Jefferson
“Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” —Farrah Gray
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” —Aristotle
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“Morning is an important time of day because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kinds of day you are going to have.” – Lemony Snicket
“Success comes to those who have the willpower to win over their snooze buttons.” ― Unknown
“How we start our day determines how we create our life. Are you snoozing through your morning, snoozing through your life, and snoozing through your unlimited potential?” ― Hal Elrod
Life is getting up an hour earlier to live an hour more.― Unknown
“There is no better day than today for us to give up who we’ve been for who we can become and upgrade the life we’ve been living for the one we really want.”― Hal Elrod
“If you want to be the best, you can’t take the path of least resistance. Every morning, you wake up, and your mind tells you it’s too early, and your body tells you you’re a little too sore, but you’ve got to look deep within yourself and know what you want and what you’re striving for.” ― Antonio Brown
“Wake up early and tackle the day before it tackles you.”― Evan Carmichael
“You must decide where you are going in the evening if you intend to leave early in the morning.”― Malian Proverb
“You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”― George Lorimer
“Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.”― Wayne Huizenga
“If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.”― J.M. Power
“Every time you choose to do the easy thing, instead of the right thing, you are shaping your identity, becoming the type of person who does what’s easy, rather than what’s right.”― Hal Elrod
Everyone has days where they feel like they have to drag themselves out of bed. Perhaps you didn’t sleep too well the night before, or maybe you’re going through something that makes you want to stay in bed all day. Whatever the reason, these motivational quotes will make you want to jump out of bed and get your day started. Write them down, hang them up, repeat them to yourself, whatever it takes, so that you can get pumped to wake up early and start building the life you truly want.
