Life Lesson Quotes – Simple, Wise & Honest
The very best quotes about life lessons are simple, wise, eye-opening, and sometimes a little too brutally accurate.
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” Lao Tzu
Life lessons are those important titbits of wisdom that we can learn from life experience – personally and from others.
They teach us how to handle challenges, relationships, and difficult situations. They can teach us about ourselves and our place in the world. They can have us questioning our thinking patterns, and they can help explain feelings and why we do the things that we might do.
Sure, life lessons can hurt and bruise our egos, but ultimately, they are huge opportunities for growth.
Check out this great collection of quotes and see if they resonate with you personally, particularly at this stage of your journey.
Life Lesson Quotes
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” Judy Garland
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” Michelangelo
“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 really 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
“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.” Lao Tzu
“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Archimedes
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Socrates
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” William Arthur Ward
“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” Maya Angelou
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” Epictetus
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu
“We are what our thoughts have made us; so, take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.” Swami Vivekananda
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” Helen Keller
“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” Sigmund Freud
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu
“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” Roy T. Bennett
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” Maya Angelou
“Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning… Anyone can start over and make a new ending.” Chico Xavier
“A tree is known by its fruit, a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” Saint Basil
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau
“Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut, that held its ground.” David Icke
“You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is.” Will Rogers
“Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance.” Jean de La Fontaine
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke
“The superior man blames himself. The inferior man blames others.” Don Shula
“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” Michael Jordan
“The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds.” John F. Kennedy
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” Confucius
“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” Paulo Coelho
“When in doubt, don’t.” Benjamin Franklin
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Carl Jung
“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Max de Pree
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rogers
“If you set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” Margaret Thatcher
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” Daniel J. Boorstin
“You are a product of your environment. So, choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success – or are they holding you back?” W. Clement Stone
“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.” Paulo Coelho
The very best life lessons we can learn are probably those that teach us how to be happy and successful, regardless of what life throws our way. Other great life lessons include learning how to be resilient in the face of adversity, staying positive even when things are tough, and taking risks when necessary.
However, it’s important to remember that everyone learns different lessons at different times in their lives, so what works for one person might not work for another. The most important thing is to always be open to learning and growing, and to never give up on yourself.
No matter what life throws your way, you can always overcome it if you have the strength and determination to do so.
For more wise and insightful quotes, check out:
