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120 phrases of self-improvement that will change your life

120 phrases of self-improvement that will change your life

April 3, 2024

The phrases of self-improvement can express deep truths and can hide a powerful and motivating message .

A good phrase can help us reflect and remind us that we must keep going, even in the most complicated moments. There are times when we stagnate and, despite wanting to continue growing, the horizon becomes cloudy, making it difficult for us to improve ourselves.

The indispensable phrases for self-improvement

Because of that, and for those moments when you have trouble moving forward, we have compiled a list of phrases that can help you keep learning and growing , and that can help you improve yourself and be a better person.


So keep reading, because below we present you 120 of the most inspiring phrases that exist, so you can share them with your friends and family. The inspiration to change your lives positively can start right here.

1. Be the change you want to see in the world (Mahatma Gandhi)

This sentence is from Mahatma Gandhi , one of the characters that has most influenced the good people of modern society, those who want peace in the world with all their strength. This inspiring figure, the great thinker, pacifist and Hindu politician, makes us reflect on the change in life with each of his phrases.

On the one hand, this phrase refers to You must take full responsibility for your life to change , and in the second place you should practice what you preach, always in good faith. Therefore, the human being is not a passive being, nor is he a spectator facing changes.


In other words, with our acts we change our surroundings. In addition, this phrase, like so many phrases of Gandhi, refers to the importance of coexistence to build a better world. The individual is the one who must change to change the world. To be a better person you have to take this into account.

  • More phrases by Gandhi

2. Change is the law of life. Anyone who only looks to the past or present, will lose the future (John F. Kennedy)

This phrase of the thirty-fifth president of the United States of America John F. Kennedy makes reference to the fact that change is inevitable in the human being. Nothing is forever. Therefore, we must not stay stuck in the past and we must look forward to continue growing.

That's where he resides the importance of closing cycles and letting things flow by learning from failures and mistakes , because the changes are transcendent in life and personal improvement, so we can not avoid them


3. Fate mixes the cards, and we play them (Arthur Schopenhauer)

Great phrase that the famous German philosopher and thinker left us Arthur Schopenhauer . In life you will find different paths and different options, since fate will take you one way or another, without you having total control over the infinite variables that condition you.

It is possible that in some way you encounter obstacles and difficulties, that is inevitable. Even so, you have the power to overcome them, because you make the decisions and you decide if you want to stay there immobile or follow your path to self-improvement.

4. We should use the past as a trampoline and not as a sofa (Harold Macmillan)

This phrase was pronounced by the former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and follows the same trend as the previous sentence. That is, we must not stay stuck in the past, but the past must be used to continue growing, continue to surpass us.

Self-improvement has the past as a reference, because Experience is important for a better future and to develop our best version .

5. Success consists of going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm (Winston Churchill)

According to this sentence of Winston Churchill (who was British Prime Minister during World War II), the attitude with which we face the failures will condition our success in personal development and in overcoming the failures that arise in our lives.

So, see failures as learning by and for life is beneficial to our well-being . The important thing is to evolve, as this phrase recalls.

6. The best way to predict the future is to create it (Peter Drucker)

The Austrian philosopher Peter Drucker He left us this famous phrase. This sentence has to do with the reciprocal determinism Albert Bandura, that is, the world and the behavior of a person are mutually caused.

As the human being is an active being, he decides on the future. Everyone we are creators of our future, because our actions determine what will happen tomorrow . So, there are no excuses: Let's start building a better future today.

7. He who has a reason to live can face all kinds of things (Friedrich Nietzsche)

One of the most extravagant and recognized philosophers in the history of mankind, Friederich Nietzsche . Find and internalize your true purpose in life and you can overcome any obstacle or difficulty that comes your way.

In other words, If you manage to make your true motivations in life conscious, this will be important because it will turn you into a more emotionally balanced person and more resistant to adversities. One of the bases for resilience.

8. In our struggle for freedom, we only possess the truth as the only weapon (Dalai Lama)

This sentence is from Dalai Lama , a Buddhist spiritual leader. If what you want is to grow as a human being, you need to be a free person.

But not only that, but also You must be honest and honest with yourself and with others . Integrity and honesty are indispensable qualities for personal growth. The truth may be uncomfortable, but it is an important part of the authentic human being.

9. If you want something you never had, you must do something you never did (Anonymous)

This is one of those phrases that refer to change. He goes on to say that if you always do the same, the same consequences will occur. It's quite similar to a sentence he pronounced Albert Einstein and that we collected in another compilation of phrases.

For change it is necessary to do different things and have new experiences. Therefore, for self-improvement You have to overcome these fears and do different things .

10. When we can not change the situation we face, the challenge is to change us (Victor Frankl)

The existentialist psychologist Victor Frankl He left us this valuable reflection. You can not always change what others do. You can not force people or situations to go in the direction you want.

For example, if we have a problem with someone, first of all we must take a step back and look at ourselves , because that is what we can really change. It may be that a situation affects us negatively and depresses us, but if we change the way we perceive it, that is, if we do not see it as something negative, it may not affect us as much.

This is one of the principles of personal development, that is why it is important that one becomes empowered before the situations that are presented to us. The path to wellness is in oneself and, in many cases, it is born of our own loneliness and our self-reflection. Both change and personal growth are individual processes, in which responsibility, wanting to change and, finally, action, combine to lead us to success.

More reflections and famous quotes to keep going

If you still want to enjoy famous quotes that tell us about personal improvement, you can continue reading.

11. Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failing (Paulo Coelho)

12. Start doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you will find yourself doing the impossible (Fernando de Asis)

13. When life offers you a lemon, squeeze it and make lemonade (Clement Stone)

14. Only those who dare to have great failures end up achieving great success (Robert F. Kennedy)

15. It does not go ahead celebrating successes but overcoming clamorous failures (Orison Marden)

16. A today is worth two mornings (Benjamin Franklin)

17. The small actions of each day make or break character (Oscar Wilde)

18. Not wanting is the cause, not being able to pretend (Seneca)

19. Who transforms himself, transforms the world (Dalai Lama)

20. I believe that personal growth has a lot to do with the ability to act (Beverly D'Angelo)

21. The true seeker grows and learns, and discovers that he is always the main responsible for what happens (Jorge Bucay)

22. Why content ourselves with crawling when we feel the desire to fly? (Hellen Keller)

23. There is only one person who can decide what I am going to do, and I am myself (Orson Welles)

24. The biggest mistake a person can make is being afraid to make a mistake (Elbert Hubbard)

25. Stand facing the sun and the shadows will be behind you (Proverb mahorí)

26. Our time is limited, so do not waste it living someone else's life (Steve Jobs)

27. The greatest glory is not to win, but to rise when we have fallen (Nelson Mandela)

28. Nothing in life should be feared, only understood. It's time to understand more, to fear less (Marie Curie)

29. Always transform a negative situation into a positive one (Michael Jordan)

30. A little knowledge that acts is much more valuable than having knowledge and not acting (Khalil Gibran)

31. Always try to be the best, but never believe yourself the best (Juan Manuel Fangio)

32. If you can imagine it you can achieve it, if you can dream it you can become it (William Arthur Ward)

33. If you can not fly then run, if you can not run then walk, if you can not walk then drag yourself, but whatever you do, keep moving forward (Martin Luther King Jr.)

34. The difference between winning and losing often consists in leaving (Walt Disney)

35. Man never knows what he is capable of until he tries (Charles Dickens)

36. Nothing good happens that has never been a dream (Carl Sandburg)

37. Do each of your actions as if it were the last of your life (Marco Aurelio)

38. Love sees roses without thorns (German Proverb)

39. To love a person is to learn the song that is in his heart and to sing it when he has forgotten it (Anonymous)

40. It's not what you have, but how you use what you have what makes the difference (Zig Ziglar)

41. The tragedy in life does not consist in not reaching your goals. The tragedy in life is not having goals to reach (Benjamin E. Mays)

42. Within twenty years from now you will regret the things you did not do, so let go of the ties and sail out of your comfort zone, look for the wind in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover (Mark Twain)

43. You will never be able to cross the ocean until you have the courage to stop seeing the coast (Cristóbal Colón)

44. 80% of the success consists in presenting us to the appointment (Woody Allen)

45. Life does not last forever. Live the. Love Hurts. Mistress Envy hurts you. Ignore it. Good memories, keep them in your heart (Hindu proverb)

46. ​​Life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react to it (Charles Swindoll)

47. If you do not design your own life plan, there are many options for you to fall in with others. And guess what is waiting for you? probably very little (Jim Rohn)

48. Life is what happens next to you while you make other plans (John Lennon)

49. The greatest show in the world is a hard-working man fighting against adversity (Oliver Goldsmith)

50. Whoever stops fighting for his dream abandons part of his future (Anonymous)

51. Discipline is man's best friend, because it leads him to realize the deepest longings of his heart (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

52. It is good to celebrate success but it is more important to pay attention to the lessons of failure (Bill Gates)

53. Become someone you would never have believed you could be (Anonymous)

54. I honestly believe that it is much better to fail in something you love than to succeed in something you hate (George Burns)

55. I came here to win. To participate, the others are already (Anonymous)

56. Do not stop until you feel proud (Anonymous)

57. Life is very hard, but so are you (Stephanie Bennett Henry)

58. The others will forget what you said, the others will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel (Maya Angelou)

59. Education is not learning data, but teaching your mind to think accurately (Albert Einstein)

60. We can not help everyone, but each individual can help someone (Ronald Reagan)

61. No matter how slow you go, as long as you never stop (Confucius)

62. Falling is an accident. Not wanting to get up off the ground is a choice (Anonymous)

63. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent (Eleanor Roosevelt)

64. I have not come to the world to stay in average performance. I have come to stand out (Anonymous)

65. 90% of all those who fail are not really defeated, they just give up (Paul J. Meyer)

66. Stumbling is not bad ... getting attached to the stone, yes (Paulo Coelho)

67. The power of imagination makes us infinite (John Muir)

68. One finds limits pushing (Herbert Simon)

69. You have to expect great things from yourself before you achieve them (Michael Jordan)

70. In the middle of the difficulty lies the opportunity (Albert Einstein)

71. If not us, who? If not now when? (John F. Kennedy)

72. Always give the best you have. What you plant now, you will harvest later (Og Mandino)

73. If you think you can, you can (John Burroughs)

74. Self-confidence is the first secret of success (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

75. Strength does not come from the bodily capacity, but from the will of the soul (Gandhi)

76. If today you do not fight, tomorrow do not cry (Anonymous)

77. Men are not made from easy victories, but based on great defeats (Ernest Henry Shackleton)

78. Do not sit around waiting for things to come to you. Fight for what you want, take responsibility for yourself (Michel Tanus)

79. The measure of what we are is what we do with what we have (Vince Lombardi)

80. People are unhappy with uncertainty. You have to learn to live with her (Timothy Ferriss)

81. Give him light and the darkness will disappear by itself (Erasmus of Rotterdam)

82. Enthusiasm moves the world (Arthur Balfour)

83. If you are still breathing, do not stop learning (Lailah Gifty Akita)

84. No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world (Robin Williams)

85. S I've seen farther than others, is standing on the shoulders of giants (Isaac Newton)

86. Nothing takes as long to arrive as what never starts (Alain Joule)

87. There is nothing more powerful in the world as an idea whose time has come (Victor Hugo)

88. Instead of being worried because they do not know you, worry because it's really worth knowing you (Confucius)

89After all the effort, of all the sacrifice, comes the sweet victory, which is just another stage on the way (Anonymous)

90. More than passionate about our profession, we should professionalize our passion (Arturo Pérez-Reverte)

91. Experience is not what happens to us, but what we do with what happens to us (Aldous Huxley)

92. Everything is difficult before being easy (Goethe)

93. The ignorant affirm, the wise doubt and reflect (Aristotle)

94. There is no worse disgrace than underestimating your opponents (Lao Tzu)

95. There is nothing that I am afraid of as much as fear (Michel Eyquem de Montaigne)

96. Life begins and ends, but you have the opportunity to make amazing things happen in this lapse of time (Anonymous)

97. In a sigh you will realize that all the effort invested was worth it, in one way or another (Anonymous)

98. The world is not endangered by bad people but by those that allow evil (Albert Einstein)

99. It is better to act by exposing oneself to repentance, than to regret not having done anything (Giovanni Boccaccio)

100. If you do not like the way you walk, start building another one (Dolly Parton)

101. Do not let life discourage you; everyone who is where he had to start where he was (Richard L. Evans)

102. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us (J.R.R. Tolkien)

103. Joyful spirit makes life flowery, spirit sad, withered events (Solomon)

104. When the stars come down, how sad it is to lower your eyes to see them! (Antonio Porchia)

105. Sometimes your joy causes your smile, but there are also times when your smile can cause you joy (Thich Nhat Hanh)

106. Never count the years, just count the memories! (Anonymous)

107. Beauty is a state of mind (Émile Zola)

108. You should fight to live life, to suffer it and also to enjoy it. Life can be wonderful if you are not afraid of it (Anonymous)

109. If you have built castles in the air, your work is not lost; now place the bases below them (George Bernard Shaw)

110. If it is good to live, it is still better to dream, and best of all, to wake up (Antonio Machado)

111. Fate does not reign without the secret complicity of instinct and will (Giovanni Papini)

112. I will seize fate by grabbing him by the neck. It will not dominate me (Ludwig van Beethoven)

113. A man is nothing other than what he does about himself (Jean Paul Sartre)

114. Patience is a tree with a bitter root but with very sweet fruits (Persian Proverb)

115. Great souls have wills; the weak just wishes (Chinese proverb)

116. What your heart feels today, tomorrow your head will understand (Anonymous)

117. Expect yourself a lot and expect little from others. This way you will save yourself trouble (Confucius)

118. If you are looking for different results, do not always do the same (Albert Einstein)

119. If you do not act as you think, you will end up thinking how you act (Blaise Pascal)

120. Life has not been made to understand it, but to live it (George Santayana)

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