These 50 Inspiring Quotes Are Really Just the Best Advice Ever

I love finding motivational quotes on Facebook, Pinterest, or even just as I’m browsing around the web. I keep a Word document filled with all of my favorites, so I can read and re-read them anytime I need a little inspiration, words of wisdom, or a reminder to look for the good in the world. Below, I’m sharing 19 “advice quotes” that I really feel like we all need to hear right now.

Inspiring and Motivational Quotes That Make Really Great Advice

These inspiring and motivational quotes really are just the best pieces of advice ever. Each of them really made me think and helped me see the world in a new way. Print them out and hang them up as reminders to be your best self! They’re not in any particular order, so just dive in and enjoy.

1. Make your dreams a priority

I think this is a great one to start with! It’s a reminder that if we want to follow our dreams, we have to be willing to make them a priority.

2. Learn to let go and see what happens

Plans are great and all, but at some point, you just have to let go and see what happens. I think that everyone should have a “where the day takes you” day at least once a month. Just wake up on a Saturday morning, let go of all of your worries, your fears, and anything else that’s stressing you out. Just for one day, tell yourself “it can wait.” Then just do whatever comes to mind and see where your journey takes you. My friend calls them her “do whatever days.”

3. Remember, there’s nothing more beautiful than kindness

If you’re beautiful on the inside, it really does shine through on the outside. I know that it’s a bit cliche, but it’s true. Kindness truly is more beautiful than good skin, great hair, and whatever “ideal” body shape the media says we should have these days.

4. Treat people as good as you are

Like Michelle Obama says, “When they go low, we go high.” When someone treats you badly, it’s tempting to return the favor. Don’t stoop to their level or debase yourself. Just keep being the good person that you are. Treat people the way you want to be remembered, even if they don’t always deserve your kindness. You’re not doing it for them. You’re doing it so that you can continue to feel good about who you are.

5. Remember the people who helped you

I have mixed feelings about this one because sometimes those “excuses” are actually reasons. Like, it’s not really fair to be mad at your best friend for not babysitting your kids while you go to an appointment because she had to go to an appointment herself. I think you’ll know in your heart who is really there for you versus who is coming up with excuses to avoid helping you.

6. Stop trying to prove your worth

You have nothing to prove to anyone. If you know you’re a good person, that’s all that matters. Your self-worth is defined by no one but you. That’s why it’s called self-worth.

7. Find the magic in your life and embrace it

If you can’t see the video above for some reason, it’s a quote by Brooke Hampton that says, “I hope there are days when your coffee tastes like magic, your playlist makes you dance, strangers make you smile, and the night sky touches your soul. I hope there are days when you fall in love with being alive.”

While it’s more of a sentiment than a piece of advice, it’s a good reminder to seek out the magic in the world around you. Look for the beautiful, the kind, the good. Smile more often. Dance frequently. Just fall in love with life. It really is one of the best rules for happiness.

8. Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you

I think this one speaks for itself. If you surround yourself with unhappy and negative people, then that’s bound to rub off on you. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with positive people, that joy will rub off on you, too.

9. Know when to stay quiet

Knowing when to stay quiet is just as important as knowing when to speak up. Don’t bottle up your emotions, but at the same time don’t feel like you owe everything your entire life story.

10. Don’t take tomorrow for granted

“Here today may be gone tomorrow! Never take anyone or anything for granted! Be sure to count your blessing daily because tomorrow isn’t promised.” – Surgeo Bell

We only get so much time on this planet, and we never really know when our last day will come. So tell people you love them before it’s too late. Live like this is your last day on earth. Never, ever, ever take a single day for granted. Always remember that tomorrow is not promised.

11. If something is meant to be, it will happen.

If something is truly meant to happen, it will. If it’s not, it won’t. Now, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work for what you want, or that the universe will just magically make your dreams come true. It’s up to YOU to find that way. But if you can’t, if you find that you’re exhausting yourself trying to make something happen, know when to accept that it’s not meant to be.

12. When you’re in a bigger boat, help others through the storm

There’s a cliche saying that we’re all in the same boat, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  We’re in the same storm, but some of us have very different boats than others. If you’re fortunate enough to be riding out the storm in a yacht, reach out to someone who is drowning.

13. Be a rainbow in someone’s cloud

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” ― Maya Angelou

Keeping with the storm metaphor, when you see someone struggling beneath a storm cloud, strive to be their rainbow. Brighten someone else’s day and you just may find that you brighten your own as well.

14. Know when to walk away

While I truly believe that some people can change if we let them, at some point, we have to accept that others just can’t. Knowing when to walk away is a part of growing up.

15. Focus on the lesson instead of the pain

Sometimes, our worst experiences are the ones that teach us the most. When life gets really rough, focus on the lesson instead of the pain and you’ll find your way through it a lot easier.

16. Don’t hate the experiences that shaped you

I have some mixed feelings about this one, too. Sometimes, the experiences that shape us are things that no one should ever have to go through. I would never tell someone that in order to love themselves, they have to be okay with the fact that they were abused or hurt by someone they trusted. However, there are some not-so-great experiences that really do turn out to be part of what makes us better people. You don’t have to love that they happened to you, but you can take the lesson from them and accept that they made you who you are.

17. As long as you reach your destination, it doesn’t matter how long your journey took

It’s okay to take your time, to get lost a little along the way, and arrive at your destination a little later than others, metaphorically speaking. If you reach your destination, you’ve succeeded, plain and simple.

18. Stop trying to explain yourself

This one is self-explanatory, but I’d also add that you shouldn’t ever feel like you have to explain yourself at all. You don’t owe anyone an explanation for being yourself.

19. Be where your feet are.

You can interpret this any way you want, but to me, it means to be present in the present. Don’t let your mind dwell on where your steps took you or are yet to take you. Just feel the ground beneath your feet and live in the moment.

20. Don’t waste time with people who can’t admit when they’re wrong

Every single person on this planet is wrong sometimes. If someone can’t admit it when they are- or worse, makes you feel like everything is YOUR fault-keep your distance. I’m not saying you should write them off entirely, especially if they’re family. Just put up a metaphorical shield around your heart and protect your energy from their toxic behavior.

21. Don’t let hate take pieces of your heart

“Hate takes pieces of your heart. Love creates peace in your heart.”  

I think it’s a bit unreasonable to say “never, ever hate anyone.” I mean, there are some pretty horrible people out there in the world that inspire intense loathing. But spending time thinking about how much you abhor them and feeling angry with them doesn’t really affect them at all. It only takes away from time you could be spending on something that brings you joy. You can despise someone without actively devoting energy to hating them. Does that make sense?

22. Look within to find all of the answers

In other words, you don’t have to go far to “find” yourself. In fact, you don’t have to go any farther than the nearest mirror. All of the answers you need are right within your own heart, soul, and mind. Only by looking inward can you discover who you’re meant to be. Remember, you make your own destiny.

23. Make memorable moments

As I’ve said before, life’s good moments make for a lifetime of good memories. Make it your mission to have as many good moments as possible, even on (or maybe especially on) really bad days. Years from now, it’s those moments that you’ll remember, not what happened during the rest of the day.

24. If you can’t help others, at least don’t hurt them

We should all strive to be kind to each other and help others as much as possible. If you can’t do that, at least make an effort to not make things worse. I don’t think that’s too much to ask of a civilized species, do you?

25. Remember, every little bit helps

Never avoid doing something just because you think that it won’t make a difference. That goes for everything from helping others to making positive changes in your own life. Even tiny good deeds can add up to big changes in the world.

26. Give up on being perfect

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. – Anna Quindlen

If there’s one thing you should give up on in life, it’s trying to be perfect. Stop spending all of your time and energy being this idealized version of who you think you should be, or who others want you to be. Just be yourself.

27. Do what is right, not what you want to do right now

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right. – Peter Marshall

Freedom isn’t about being able to do whatever you want whenever you want no matter who it hurts. It’s about having the opportunity to do the right thing. There are so many people throughout the world that don’t even have that basic liberty.

28. Speak when you have something to say

Know when to stay silent and when to use your voice. Speak up when you have something to say, but don’t speak just because you feel like you have to say something.

 

29. Live life to the fullest

Perhaps the best piece of advice ever, and a good summary of all of the quotes above- just remember that life is short. Follow your dreams. Eat the cake. Take the trip. Just live life to the fullest.

More Amazing Quotes For When You Really Need Advice

While the 29 quotes above are my favorites, there are a ton of other great words of wisdom out there for when you really need advice. Here are some more that I love:

1. “Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.” ― Paulo Coelho
2. “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.” ― Robert Frost
3. “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” ― Bruce Lee
4. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”― Abraham Lincoln
5. “Do not complain beneath the stars about the lack of bright spots in your life.” ― Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
6. “Trust your instincts, not your overactive imagination.”- Helen Fielding
7. “Intelligence is when you spot the flaw in your boss’s reasoning. Wisdom is when you refrain from pointing it out.” —James Dent
8. “The greatest mistake you can make is to be continually fearing that you’ll make one.” —Elbert Hubbard
9. “I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.” ― Louis C.K.
10. “Don’t try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.” ― Philip K. Dick
11. “I’m told there’s no going back. So I’m choosing forward.” ― David Levithan
12. “As you grow up, always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don’t think you are the most important being on earth. Rich or poor, you then can look anyone in the eye and say, ‘I’m probably no better than you, but I’m certainly your equal.” ― Harper Lee
13. “If you have to convince someone to stay with you then they have already left.” ― Shannon L. Alder
14. “Never give advice unless you have walked the walk, because anybody can talk the talk.” ― Valencia Mackie
15. “I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay
16. “The quality of any advice anybody has to offer has to be judged against the quality of life they actually lead.” ― Douglas Adams
17. “Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” -Aldous Huxley
18. “Schedule all your worrying for a specific half-hour about the middle of the day. Then take a nap during this period.” -Peterborough
19. “You’re never too broken to be fixed.” -Jonathan Van Ness
20. “In the end only kindness matters.” ― Jewel
21. “Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing.” -Katherine Mansfield

I think that last one really is the best advice we could ever give each other! Live a life that lets you look back 50 years from now and think “I have zero regrets.”