Inspirational Short Quotes About Life: Words of Wisdom

Inspirational short quotes about life. Picture of a grey heron in the sunset or sunrise.

– By Birgitte Coste og Søren Lauritzen, an article in the ‘Consciousness Snacks’ series.

Did you know that some people (we know several, at least) actually spend a fair amount of time each day reading good, inspiring, and uplifting quotes?

Maybe you’re one of them?

If you are, we’re happy for you, because good, inspirational short quotes about life can truly be balm for the soul.

If you don’t read quotes, it’s never too late to start. 😉

Here at goodconsciouslife.com (Søren and Birgitte), we thoroughly enjoy the moment when we come across inspiring quotes about life, consciousness, and personal development. Beautiful, shiny gems of truth that speak to a given phenomenon or concept, and that confirm our own experience of this or that. Such quotes are worth their weight in gold for truth-seekers.

On this page, you’ll find plenty of uplifting, good quotes about life, which will both guide you on how to live life meaningfully and help you understand how you can perceive the relatively abstract yet quite concrete ‘thing’ that life is.

Enjoy!

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.
~ Søren Kirkegaard ~

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.
~ Helen Keller ~

Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
~ Charles Swindoll ~

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
~ Omar Khayyam ~

Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.
~ unknown ~

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
~ George Bernard Shaw ~

Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
~ John Lennon ~

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
~ Confucius ~

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.
~ Tony Robbins ~

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 ~

More Good and Wise Inspirational Short Quotes About Life

Er du stadig sulten efter flere gode citater, så har vi i det følgende den helt optimale dessert, nemlig lækre, flotte billeder med citater om livet.

If you’re still hungry for more great quotes, we have the perfect dessert for you: beautiful and decorative images with good quotes about life.

Life Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. Quote by Annette Funicello about life and accepting that-which-is. Photo of a tree trunk in a forest that has snapped in half.

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.
~ Annette Funicello ~

WHEN THINGS ARE ALLOWED TO SIMPLY BE WHAT THEY ARE, THEY ARE ‘PERFECT’ IN THEMSELVES
Living with ideas of perfection vs. imperfection is not only limiting but also a sure recipe for a life of dissatisfaction. When we constantly judge things as right or wrong, it means that they will never be allowed to just be what they are – they are constantly assessed and measured against what is really just artificial standards of e.g. beauty and correctness.

But if we look at the broken tree in the picture with an open mind, isn’t it just beautiful? Fascinating. Even decorative! … Maybe even ‘perfect’. Just as it is. Don’t you think? 🌳

~ Birgitte Coste ~

Life Is Short

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Quote by Steve Jobs on living your life and being authentic. Image of a man in casual clothing looking at himself in the mirror, seeing another man in a suit. Partially AI-generated.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
~ Steve Jobs ~

WHOSE LIFE ARE YOU LIVING?
Expectations, norms, culture, and traditions can create a sense of community and mutual understanding, but they can also cast such a heavy shadow over us that we lose touch with who we are, what we want, and what we’re good at.

And often, we have been there so long – perhaps always – that we are not even aware we are living in someone else’s shadow, whether it’s our parents’, friends’, or society’s.

So when (or if we’re lucky enough to) finally wake up, it can be a great sorrow to realize we’ve never truly been ourselves. But at the same time, it’s incredibly freeing to know there’s a choice for something else. Something that is more ‘ourselves.’ ❤️

~ Birgitte Coste ~

Let Go of Planning

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Quote about letting go by Joseph Campbell. Image of a man in front of two doors. One door leads to no control and unpredictability. The other door leads to control and predictability. Partially AI-generated.

We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.
~ Joseph Campbell ~

WHICH DOOR WILL YOU CHOOSE? 🤔
Behind one door, there is soothing comfort in predictability and control. If we choose a life with these values at the forefront, we can live each day the way we always have, making the same choices as before. We can swing our legs out of bed in the morning and switch on the easy autopilot.

Behind the other door lies the unknown. Uncertainty can feel dangerous and unsettling, but if we dare to open the door to the unpredictable, this is also where change happens.

Many believe that simply hoping things will get better is enough for them to actually get better. This can be enough in some cases, BUT if you want to be sure of change, there’s a simple equation you need to understand and act on – and it is:

No new choices = status quo, no change
New choices = new reality, change

~ Birgitte Coste ~

A Life Well Spent

Inspirational short quotes about life. Leonardo da Vinci statue and text: Life well spent is long.

Life well spent is long.
~ Leonardo da Vinci ~

Leonardo da Vinci has a good point that is worth reflecting on. There isn’t much pleasure in a long life spent on something we don’t enjoy. And it’s not just about our life experience (although that is super important): if we actually live a good life, the chances of it being long are also greater – because our mental and emotional states significantly affect our physical body.

On average, we not only live better but also longer if we are happy (see for example this page, which explains how positive emotions affect our immune system).

Of course, what constitutes a good life is up to each of us. And it’s worth spending resources first on a) figuring that out, then b) choosing it … and finally c) consciously spending the rest of our lives creating and maintaining it.

A big part of the secret to having a good life is actually maintaining a constant focus on creating it.

~ Søren Lauritzen ~

Become that Which You Want

Sweet drawing of cute cat. Good quote about life by Arthur Rubinstein: I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.
~ Arthur Rubinstein ~

Your approach to life is nothing less than crucial to your experience. If you choose to love, love will be what you experience. If you choose to see meaning, meaningfulness will be what you experience. If you choose to be open-minded, openness will be your experience.

Choose what you desire – step into it as your new reality – and that desired state will be your experience. It cannot be otherwise. ❤️

Life’s Secret

Photo of sun beams in a forest. Inspirational quotes on life by Kamal Ravikant: A secret to life: Know that none of this matters, and yet… live as if every single moment does.

A secret to life: Know that none of this matters, and yet… live as if every single moment does.
~ Kamal Ravikant ~

‘This moment means nothing and yet it means everything’ – this is a delightful paradox and it also reveals a wonderful approach to life. But why is this the case?

Well, on one hand, every moment will eventually become part of the past, existing only as a tiny fragment of our memory. In the grand scheme of things, it may not seem to matter much. BUT, when you ARE in the moment, the moment is all you have (and all you will ever have), so you might as well make the most of each and every moment – or as it’s popularly said, ‘live in the now.’ 😊

~ Birgitte Coste ~

Don’t Take Life too Seriously

Picture of a boy playing in a puddle. Inspirational short quotes about life from Oscar Wilde: Life is too important to be taken seriously.

Life is too important to be taken seriously.
~ Oscar Wilde ~

Back when I had gotten my first student job in my early twenties, I later asked the person who was involved in hiring me, “Why did you choose me?”.

One of the things she mentioned was that I had said something important that left a lasting impression: “Life should be taken seriously, but not gravely. (Livet bør tages seriøst, men ikke alvorligt!)”.

(In Danish ‘serious’ can have two translations: ‘seriøs’ and ‘alvorlig’. When you take things ‘seriøst’, you become determined, consider them important and worth spending your time an energy on. If you take things ‘alvorligt’, there is a sense of fear involved and you may become grave, austere and rigid, which will unnecessarily limit you in whatever you are trying to do.

~ Birgitte Coste ~

Everything You Meet and Experiece Is a Gift

Picture of a flower blooming and one that is withered. Deep inspirational quotes on life: You will meet two kinds of people in life: ones who build you up and ones who tear you down. But in the end, you’ll thank them both.

You will meet two kinds of people in life: ones who build you up and ones who tear you down. But in the end, you’ll thank them both.
~ Uknown ~

Would you like to learn from everything, all the time? Then it’s actually just a decision away.

If you choose an ever-curious mindset, you will realize that everything you encounter is a gift. Everything you meet and experience – good or bad – is an opportunity for deep personal insights, which, over time, will leave you with a profound sense of gratitude. 🙏 ❤️

~ Birgitte Coste ~

The Key to Life

Drawing of a boy from the back drawing on a wall. Excellent inspirational quotes by John Lennon: When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
~ John Lennon ~

From children and drunk people, you will hear the truth!

Especially children have a remarkable ability to express things simply, deeply, and accurately. Little John Lennon certainly managed to put his teacher in place (even if the teacher may not have realized it). ❤️

~ Birgitte Coste ~

Life Is a Process

Picture of colored liquid. Good life quotes by Søren Lauritzen. Life is a process.

Life is a process, so …
Clearly life is a process … of constant development and change.
So everything is in flow – temporary, transient.
Which makes at least a few things paramount:
– Accepting that-which-is … as well as change
– Consciously choosing the direction of your own development
– Experiencing and enjoying the here and now
– At opleve og nyde nuet.
~ Søren Lauritzen ~