“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.
When you first awake, be mindful and take a second to think about what a privilege it is to simply be alive and relatively healthy. Breathe onto the bathroom mirror just to see how amazing your breath looks. The moment you start acting like life is a blessing, I assure you it will start to feel like one. And when you start the day in a mindful state like this, it’s easier to focus more effectively on what matters most.
If you’d like to practice starting your mornings more mindfully in the year ahead, below you will find 52 good morning quotes — one for each week of the year. I choose one of these quotes every Sunday morning and sit quietly for two minutes, repeating it silently in my mind as if I were meditating. I also write it on a sticky note and put it next to my computer monitor for the duration of the week. This weekly ritual has helped reduce unnecessary stress in my life by reminding me to keep things simple, peaceful, and in perspective. Perhaps this practice can add value to your life too throughout the year. (And keep in mind that you can start this practice anytime you want — it doesn’t have to be the first week of January.)
1. The secret to being grateful is no secret. You choose to be grateful. Then you do it again and again, every day. When you forget, begin again.
2. If you worry too much about what might be, and wonder too long about what might have been, you will ignore and completely miss what is.
3. You don’t know what the future will bring, so your best strategy for living is to make the best and most positive use of the present.
4. Two things, more than anything else, define you daily: Your patience when you are struggling, and your attitude when you are not.
5. Patience is not about waiting — it’s the ability to keep a positive attitude while working hard for what you believe in.
6. It’s not selfish to enjoy life. What’s selfish is to insist on being negative despite all the positive possibilities available to you.
7. Before you waste it on anger, resentment, spite or envy, think of how precious and irreplaceable your time is today.
8. You may be exhausted. You may be discouraged. You may feel uncomfortable. No matter what, your best option is to move forward one tiny step at a time.
9. Those times when you don’t feel like being positive are the times when choosing to be positive makes the biggest difference.
10. It’s impossible to accomplish what you assume you cannot do. Be careful not to become a prisoner of your own negative assumptions.
11. If you truly wish to improve your self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth, stop allowing other people to be responsible for them.
12. Your track record for getting through hard days is 100% so far.
13. When you fail to get what you want, consider that it just might be a blessing in disguise, enabling you to have something even better, soon.
14. Use your struggles and frustrations today to motivate you rather than annoy you. You are in control of the way you look at life.
15. What may seem like a setback is really an opportunity for you to learn something new, and develop a more effective, more realistic strategy.
16. Again and again, remind yourself why. With a strong enough reason why, you will be able to do what’s required at any time and in any circumstance.
17. Be determined and ambitious, but not out of a desperate sense of need — do it out of a love for the possibilities. Appreciate your journey.
18. Do your thing with passion and integrity even if folks don’t notice you. We do what we do not for an applause, but because we know it’s right.
19. If the grass looks greener on the other side… Stop staring. Stop comparing. Stop complaining and start watering the grass you’re standing on.
20. When you are lost in worry it’s easy to mistake your worries for reality, instead of recognizing that they are only thoughts.
21. Whatever your challenge is, worrying about it won’t help. Either do something to address it, or do something to move past it.
22. Unless you let go of what’s behind you, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you accept that it’s over… you cannot move forward.
23. Most people make themselves unhappy simply by finding it impossible to accept life just as it is presenting itself right now.
24. You can’t calm the storm. What you can do is calm yourself, and the storm will gradually pass.
25. Nothing is permanent. When you understand this, you can do almost anything you wish because you’re not trying to hold onto everything anymore.
26. The most powerful changes happen when you take control of what you do have power over, instead of craving control over everything you don’t. (Read “The Untethered Soul”.)
27. Too often we see ourselves as the past victim, rather than the creator of our present situation. This is why our life is so difficult to change from one moment to the next.
28. When you are no longer able to change a situation, you are challenged to change yourself. And that changes everything.
29. Being grateful in life doesn’t mean everything is perfect; it often means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.
30. Your life will improve only when you take small chances, and the first and most difficult chance you can take is to be honest with yourself.
31. It’s not what you say to everyone else that determines your life; it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the greatest power.
32. Awareness is not just noticing what’s going on around you, but what’s going on within you as well. (Keep your eyes open and your Self in mind.)
33. Be careful about who you give the microphone and stage to in your life, especially when times are tough. Don’t just listen to the loudest voice. Slow down and listen to the truest one.
34. Don’t let someone who has done nothing tell you how to do your thing. Don’t let small minds convince you that your ideas and dreams are too big.
35. You can’t base your ideas of success and happiness on other people’s opinions and expectations.
36. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly again.
37. Don’t be scared to walk alone down the path less traveled, and don’t be scared to appreciate every minute of it.
38. Wherever your heart is — wherever your truth is — that’s where you will find your reason to smile.
39. Don’t let not knowing how it’ll end keep you from beginning today. Uncertainty chases us out into the open where life’s true magic is waiting.
40. You can’t be afraid to have certain conversations. It’s better to talk and find out, than to keep going and get nowhere. Communication is key.
41. No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a peaceful way to live, and a beautiful legacy to leave behind.
42. Changing the world doesn’t necessitate earth-shattering feats, but rather doing small things with great love. Think simple and consistent, not spectacular.
43. Our days are always happier and more fulfilling when we give people around us a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.
44. Don’t judge someone harshly just because they’ve made different mistakes than you have.
45. When you choose to see the good in others, you end up finding the good in yourself.
46. Set an example. Do your best to treat people with kindness and respect, even those who are momentarily rude to you — not because they are nice, but because you are.
47. Be thankful for all the rude, obnoxious, and difficult people you meet in life. They serve as important reminders of how NOT to live.
48. There are no permanent jobs on this planet. We are all interning here. Learn from everyone, remain humble, and don’t forget to have some fun along the way.
49. There’s no such thing as a self-made person. Someone else believed, encouraged, and invested in you. Be grateful and be that someone for others when you can.
50. Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in your journey one day at a time.
51. Every day is a new beginning; treat it that way. Stop thinking about what could have been and start looking at what can be starting today. (Marc and I discuss this in more detail in the “Passion and Growth” chapter of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)
52. Right now it all starts over. The possibilities ahead are endless. Be strong enough to let go, wise enough to move forward, diligent enough to work hard, and patient enough to wait for what you are gradually earning.
Now, it’s your turn…
What’s one additional quote or personal reminder that has given you some extra clarity over the years? Please share it with us by leaving a comment below.
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Photo by: Pan.
