It may seem odd that a single quote could “change your outlook on life”. Personally, I have seen the effects they can have. We have writings from some of the most extraordinary people who ever lived. These gives us the ability to read their own personal thoughts. In that sense, we would be crazy not to consider quotes an incredibly valuable gift from the past.

The quotes I have selected have all had a significant impact on my life in some way. As quotes can sometimes be open to interpretation, I will explain my views of the ones selected and how I found them practical and insightful. Whether or not you agree with my personal takeaways, perhaps you will still find some quotes that resonate with you. It is my hope that one of these quotes will resonate with you so strongly that it actually changes your outlook on life for the better.

1. “My life has been made full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened” — Montaigne

It doesn’t take an in depth view of our society to see the major role worry plays in our lives. Between 1999–2014, the rise in antidepressant use in America has risen 65%.¹ In a 2017 poll, 75% of adults reported feeling high levels of stress within the past month and 36% reporting experiencing some form of anxiety.²

With all of these worries going around, I believe the 16th century philosopher Montaigne’s advice is as applicable as ever. How often is it that we find ourselves in fear of some distant catastrophe that never comes? The majority of things we spend our time worrying over never occur. While this isn’t always the case, the vast majority of the time it tends to be. So let us not live in fear of things likely won’t come about. When the terrible things occasionally rear their ugly heads, we will have to face them accordingly, but for the majority of our lives, let’s not focus on the negative and live for the positive.

2. “The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life, which is required to be exchanged for it immediately or in the long run.” — Henry Thoreau

We all have one chance to make the most of our lives. We don’t know when, but at some point, our time here will come to an end. For this reason, the most valuable resource any of us have is time. The cost of anything in our lives if the amount of time that we choose to devote to it.

Although we don’t know the exact amount, this resource of time is finite. Therefore, we should always strive to make the most of it. To not take advantage of our limited time is doing a disservice to ourselves. If there is one thing to fear above all, it is to waste away our only opportunity at a fulfilling life. In the same sense, Daniel Keyes writes in his book Flowers for Algernon, “I am afraid. Not of life, or death, or nothingness, but of wasting it as if I had never been.”

3. “All of us are the children of conditions, of circumstances, of environment, of education, of acquired habits and of heredity molding men as they are and will forever be” -Abraham Lincoln

We are all made up of experiences. They are all unique and have shaped us into the individuals we have become. The reason for our beliefs and morals are all products of these various experiences. The time and place of our birth, the people we are surrounded with, the forms of education we pursue, and the opportunities presented to us all form who we become. Had any of these been different, we would surely be different people with different views.

We tend to become close minded to people with alternative ways of thinking. We hold strong beliefs and tend to alienate or resent people with differing views. While you may believe wholeheartedly that you hold the correct religious or political beliefs, you should keep in mind that had you been born elsewhere with a different upbringing, you would almost certainly hold different views. If we are more mindful of this, we can be more accepting of others and what they have been led to accept. Perhaps this would also allow people to not be so certain of what they themselves believe. Which leads me to my next quote…

4. “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” -Mark Twain

As humans, we are all fallible. The views we hold are often revealed to be wrong as we learn more. If history shows us anything, it is that the beliefs of any given age are likely to change with future knowledge. Given this, we should always be mindful to never deal in absolute truths when it comes to what we “know”. Considering our ancestors knew that we lived on a flat Earth in the center of the universe, we should keep in mind that the things we know are subject to change. As Mark Twain says, when we assume our infallibility, we open ourselves up to considerable trouble. Accepting that we, as a society and as individuals, are likely ignorant in many aspects is a great thing to keep in mind.

5. “Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to now!” -Mans search for meaning, Viktor Frankl

In Man’s Search for Meaning, neurologist and psychologist Viktor Frankl tells his gripping tale of his time spent in the concentration camps Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Kaufering and Türkheim. During the hardest times of his life, Frankl explains how he found meaning that gave him the strength to carry on. This experience helped him develop his form of therapy he called Logotherapy. Logotherapy revolves around the search for one’s purpose in life and the pursuit of it.³

This quote derives from one of the principles in Logotherapy. We all only get one chance on this planet. Often times, we forget this aspect of life as we get caught up in the present. Many spend countless days wasting their precious time away. If we are able to imagine ourselves as gifted with a second chance at life, to right all of our previous wrongs and to live to our greatest potential, perhaps we truly can make the most of it. As Confucius said in the same sense, “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”

6. “Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you only take what is worth having.” ― George Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon

In the 1926 book The Richest Man in Babylon, Clason writes a multitude of parables in a narrative set 8,000 years ago in Babylon. Although it mainly stands as a classic in finance, the stories in the book transcend the genre.

Advice from someone wiser can be one of the greatest assets available to you. We should, however, be wary from who we deem wise in certain areas. It is human nature to spread our opinions and beliefs, despite our credibility, to whoever will listen. For this reason, we should determine whether the advice we receive is worth having. For example, you likely wouldn’t take financial advice from someone broke or relationship advice from someone who has been divorced several times. Although you could use them to learn what not to do, their advice in those areas is probably not worth following. Sometimes, a misinformed opinion can even be harmful. On the other hand, advice from those wiser could be impactful enough to change your entire life.

7. “Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.” ― Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

With the current condition of the “United” States, I would assert Haidt’s writing is more relevant now than ever. Although political parties have a hard time coming to any agreement, I would imagine we can all agree that the current state of turmoil between the two main parties is unhealthy and unsustainable. The political divide between the left and right has only grown with the media portraying the opposing side as enemies with no morals.

As humans, we tend to think rather close minded. We usually consider our own beliefs and moral compasses as the only truth. In reality, we are all the products of our upbringing and our experiences have led to the shaping of our morality. We need to keep in mind that everyone thinks they are acting for the greater good and with proper morality. Whether you are left or right, everyone acts in accordance with what they think is just and aligning with their morals. So instead of thinking as people with differing views as “that immoral enemy”, hopefully we can instead see them as “my neighbor with differently aligned beliefs and morals”.

8. “Pain + Reflection = Progress” ― Ray Dalio, Principles

Ray Dalio is the founder of one of the most successful business management firms, Bridgewater Associates. Ranked the 66th wealthiest person in the world as of this writing, he is considered an incredible investor, and his advice is sought after by other massively successful people. Dalio attributes his success to having “principles” that he lives by, one of which is this particular quote.

As he explains in his 2017 book Principles, most progress comes from reflecting on past pain. It is rare for someone to grow from only experiencing success. Typically, the mistakes we make and hardships we experience are what give us the most opportunity to grow. While this may be easier said than done, viewing this pain as something to learn from is an incredible asset. Once you master this principle, you begin to see the true value that any pain might bring.

9. “How strange it is, our little procession of life! The child says, ‘When I am a big boy.’ But what is that? The big boy says, ‘When I grow up.’ And then, grown up, he says, ‘When I get married.’ But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to ‘When I’m able to retire.’ And then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; somehow he has missed it all, and it is gone. Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour.” - Stephen Leacock

Often times, we find ourselves living for the future. The outlook of some distant event is the only thing on our minds as we traverse through our day-to-day lives. After this future day comes, we then look for the next step to long for in this adventure of life.

To always live for the future is to do an injustice upon yourself. There will always be distant occurrences that we yearn for, but the real joys of life lay in making the most of every day. This idea of looking back over a long life and realizing we forgot to actually live in it can be used as an incredible motivation to live in the now.

10. “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Marcus Aurelius was the Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. He is widely considered as the most recognized and possibly the most influential Stoic philosopher. Aurelius wrote his personal thoughts on the Stoic philosophy and his principles to living life. These ideas were likely never meant to be shared, but they eventually became what we now consider Meditations.

The teachings of the ancient Greek Stoic philosophers has helped shaped the lives of many throughout the centuries. Stoicism “asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.”

This quote embodies one of the core principles of stoicism. Often times, the external events that happen around us are out of our control. The way in which we respond to those events is completely ours to decide. Our thoughts towards events completely dictate how we live and by how happy our lives are. It is for this reason that you will often find people that seem to have the world but struggle with depression and at the same time people with nothing but are happy for each day they have. The external events and material things around us don’t bring us happiness, but how our thoughts perceive them determine everything.

This same philosophy has been passed along through history in different variations. Many quotes from our ancestors reiterate these ideas in their own words. Dale Carnegie writes, “Two men looked out from prison bars, One saw the mud, the other saw stars.” The 17th century poet John Milton wrote, “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” Viktor Frankl wrote, “[E]verything can be taken from a man but one thing: that last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” While I used this as an opportunity to cheat and add three extra quotes, I believe it is one of the most life changing perspectives you can make.

I consider Meditations to be my Bible, and it stands as one of the most impactful books I have ever read. With all of the quotable bits of wisdom written in it, I forced myself to only choose one for this list. Having said that, I highly recommend giving the entire book a read and finding exerts that resonate with you.