But to the haters who find them facile or trite, perhaps it’s time to reassess. After all, we live in stressful times. In a world with constant interruptions courtesy of phone and computer notifications, it might – ironically – be those little gadgets’ ability to proffer timely quotes for motivation that will help take us out of ourselves for a while, to make us stop whatever frenetic activity we’re at and slow down and reflect. After all, motivation to get a task done is not all about speed: it’s about focus.
While a personal mentor might be the dream scenario for sustaining one’s drive, they are not, alas, typically available on tap 24/7. Quotes for work motivation, on the other hand, can provide that boost of pithy inspiration at the exact second you need to reach for it, a quick pearl of wisdom to get our self-belief back on track. Whether you have one particular quote that is a failsafe rallying cry, or you use different motivational quotes daily, they demonstrate not only the power of words to keep us fresh and focused but also the benefits of the constructive thoughts of one human being – whether they occurred a week ago or 100 years ago – to another human being. In that sense, then, they highlight the best of humanity, a linked chain across time and place, an affirmation that we are, in fact, all in it together.
Here are some things to think about when you’re searching for the best motivational quotes to suit your need.
Why Are Motivational Quotes So Important?
You may enjoy an interesting new motivational quote or find value in words that make you view the world in a different way. But why are self-motivational quotes so important beyond the momentary enlightenment they can offer? Inspired By Elle reasons that there are six identifiable benefits that can make these choice words – whether they’re Monday motivation quotes, gym motivation quotes or business motivation quotes – life-changing ones.
Firstly, as the Elle blog points out, there is a universality to them: they are useful for everyone. The power of words should not be underestimated, nor should the value in taking some quiet time to regroup – a pursuit that the active perusing of some motivational quotes is excellent for. As she writes, ‘We even see individuals, especially sports people, engaging in chanting words or phrases, which empower them to success. Time is at a premium to most nowadays, so inspirational quotes bridge the gap between the availability of time and the need for swift words to motivate success.’
Secondly, we should not underestimate how far these quotes may enter our subconscious – and once there, how they may alchemize into creativity, spurring us on to more original ideas or great feats that we did not know were within us.
Third, quite simply, work motivation quotes are a brilliant way to overcome procrastination, as are self-motivation goals quotes, which can often offer just the reminder we need to get our heads down – and, crucially, why we are invested in the first place.
Fourth, workplace motivational quotes – or any others for that matter – can raise a smile both in the instant and later as we recall and reflect upon the moment. Motivational quotes thus pay dividends for the whole day – and much longer for the ones that truly resonate.
Fifth, motivational quotes are available in abundance and they are free – and how many things in life is it possible to say that of? Whether you look to spiritual leaders, great writers, politicians, or pop stars, there is a quote to stir you to your task.
And sixth and finally, it is an area which is constantly being added to. Elle writes, ‘The 21st-century has seen an explosion of inspirational and thoughtful quotes. Maybe a simple explanation of this, is that humanity is experiencing extraordinary times where there is global unrest, conflict and pressures in everyday life. Historically, quotes were always in the background, however, have taken prominence as the population look for simple solutions to what are complex problems. Quotes have catapulted to the mainstream as now the go-to cure for coping in modern-day life.’
Find more on the Inspired by Elle blog.
Types of Motivational Quotes
Brian Tracy International argues that there is more to motivational quotes than simply accessing a well-timed pep-me-up. Instead, he views the right words not just as game-changers, but as brain changers. As he writes, ‘Inspirational quotes can help motivate us and helps to create a positive outlook on life and work when we need it most. They do so by harnessing the power of positive thinking. Reframing our brains to think positively is a key step in leading a happy and successful life…. When you actively choose to think positively, however, you turn the situation into a development plan for growth, helping you become a better problem-solver and leader. Over time and after reframing your mind to think positively about problems, you’ll feel motivated, inspired, and empowered to take on any challenge that comes your way!’
The key is to know what type of quote you’re looking for and what will help you achieve that growth mindset. Inspirational quotes, for example, might include nuggets such as this, from the Dalai Lama: ‘Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions. Or this classic, from the ever-dependable Winston Churchill: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’
Tracy identifies short quotes as another category, under which falls Martin Luther King’s affirming counsel that, ‘If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.’ Punchy and direct, these are often extremely useful for memorizing and mouthing to yourself in moments of need. All together now: ‘Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.’ (For which we thank Robert H. Schuller.)
Business quotes for motivation or workout motivation quotes are all well and good, but what about the stuff of more general life? Tracy affords this its own category – after all, life is about more than simply work, business, money or sport. A couple in this area we like to include ‘Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself (George Bernard Shaw), and ‘Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less’ (Marie Curie).
He outlines other types of motivational quotes as quotes for work (sample: ‘The best way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing’ – Walt Disney), motivational quotes (sample: ‘The three ‘C’s’ of leadership are a consideration, caring, and courtesy. Be polite to everyone’ – Brian Tracy himself), motivational quotes for work (sample: ‘Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it’– Louu Holtz), positive quotes (sample: ‘You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great’ – Zig Ziglar), and, finally, short positive quotes (sample: ‘May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears’ – Nelson Mandela).
The Best Of The Best
The best motivational quotes do, of course, depend on what sphere you’re hoping to raise your game in – whether money motivation quotes, sports motivational quotes or otherwise. These are our top choices across four fields.
Workout
‘Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.’ – Mahatma Gandhi
‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.’ – Aristotle
‘I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’ – Mohammed Ali
‘Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.’ – Earl Nightingale
‘Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.’ – Wayne Dyer
‘Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.’ – George Halas
‘We do not stop exercising because we grow old- we grow old because we stop exercising.’ – Dr. Kenneth Cooper
‘I will beat her. I will train harder. I will eat cleaner. I know her strengths. I’ve lost to her before but not this time. She is going down. I have the advantage because I know her well. She is the old me.’ – Bonnie Pfiester
Find more quotes about training here.
Business
‘Every problem is a gift—without problems, we would not grow.’ – Anthony Robbins
‘Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.' – Henry David Thoreau
‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’ – Anaïs Nin
‘I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.’ – G.K. Chesterton
‘If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.’ – Steve Jobs
‘The real test is not whether you avoid this failure because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it, whether you choose to persevere.’ – Barack Obama
‘Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.’ – Albert Einstein
‘Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.’ – Albert Schweitzer
Find more quotes about business here.
Self-motivation
‘Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.’ – Anna Taylor
‘If there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.’ – Beyoncé
‘Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.’ – Coco Chanel
‘No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ – Eleanor Roosevelt
‘This life is mine alone. So, I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.’ –Glennon Doyle
‘Comparison is an act of violence against the self.’ –Iyanla Vanzant
‘Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.’ – Mark Twain
‘Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.’ – Princess Diana
Find more quotes about self-motivation here.
Money
‘Too many people spend money they earned… to buy things they don't want... to impress people that they don't like.’ – Will Rogers
‘A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.’ – Jonathan Swift
‘Everyday is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we've got 24 hours each.’ – Christopher Rice
‘I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy.’ – Warren Buffett
‘Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.’ – Thomas Edison
‘It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.’ – Seneca
‘It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy.’ – George Lorimer
‘You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.’ – Maya Angelou
Find more quotes about money here
Work
‘You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.’ — George Lorimer
‘Go as far as you can see, when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.’ — Thomas Carlyle
‘When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.’ — Karen E. Quinones Miller
‘A year from now you may wish you had started today.’ — Karen Lamb
‘Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.’ —Farrah Gray
‘You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.’ — Tony Morgan
‘Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.’ — Eleanor Roosevelt
‘The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.’ —Nelson Henderson
Find more quotes about work here
Summary
Daily affirmations have long been used to aid self-esteem and foster self-belief. The right quotes at just the right time can give us the energy and drive to take ourselves to the edges of our comfort zones and be the very best we can be, they may even change our very brains. Do, then, make time for the wisdom of other human beings, whether the words belong to our contemporaries, or to our forebears of thousands of years ago.
June 2022
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