Most days we just live in a survival mode, overcoming daily obstacles, coping with the rush, meeting social commitments … And so on, day after day, secretly hoping that maybe tomorrow be better. However, no one guarantees that tomorrow will be better and that we’ll feel more satisfied or closer to our goals. For this reason is better to assure that every day counts. To achieve this, we can follow some giants advice. Take note of some of their thoughts in the following motivational quotes and apply it to your daily life.
1. Do not waste time touching a wall waiting it to become a door – Coco Chanel
We touch a wall every time we waste a day without trying to get closer to our dream but still hoping this will turn real, as if by magic. We touch a wall every time we complain about something but do nothing to fix it. We touch a wall when we make a mistake, we are aware of it, and still try not to amend it. In fact, we spent much of our life touching a wall, with the secret hope that it becomes a door that allows us to pass. Obviously, is only wasted time and wasted energy. So it’s smarter trying to find the doors or get the necessary tools to build them.
2. There are two days a year in which you can do nothing: yesterday and tomorrow – Mahatma Gandhi
We wasted an amount of time and energy worrying about the incredible future and reproaching the past. We live continually in a nonexistent time, without being fully aware of this, and meanwhile, our mind becomes saturated with negative thoughts, fears and insecurity. However, the present moment is all we have because the past is history and there’s no future yet. That doesn’t mean we should not plan or that we should not look back and learn from the past, but we must also learn to enjoy more of this, to be with the people we love and do what we love. Because, we don’t know if we will have the occasion tomorrow.
3. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become trying to achieve them- Henry David Thoreau
The end does not always justify the means. However, in a society where virtually anything goes in order to succeed, we often forget it. We work harder, we try harder, we get stressed more and sacrifice many things, sometimes people, in order to get our goals. However, sometimes you need to stop and ask if these sacrifices are worth it. Remember that any activity in which we invest a lot of time, ends up changing us. Perhaps, when you reach the end of the road, you don’t like the person looking at you in the mirror. Remember that what really matters is not the goal, but the way you scroll through that path, the profit that serves you and the experience you gain.
4. People forget what you said and done to them, but never forget what you made them feel – Maya Angelou
The words are gone with the wind, the shares are a little more durable but emotions are eternal. In fact, if you look back and remember the important people in your life, probably you’ll be mugged by different emotions. Emotions are fixed in our brains leaving a very deep impression, so it is impossible to forget a person who has managed to touch our heartstrings. On the daily life this becomes the need to emotionally connect with those people who really matter to us. We should set aside technology and concerns to connect from the depths of our being.
5. It doesn’t matter how slowly you go if you never stop – Confucius
Our society is an ode to the speed and presenteeism. So when we don’t get quick results, we lose motivation and think we have failed. However, behind the biggest hits in the history of mankind is hidden tenacity. In fact, success is: going from failure to failure without losing our faith. The important dreams come true every day, with everyday actions, not with dramatic solo effects. While not abandon, you won’t have failed.
6. When you let go who you are, you become what you might be – Lao Tzu
Over the years we accumulate different life experiences. However, these experiences also come loaded with its own share of stereotypes and prejudices. So when we want to change, it is essential to look inside and let go all those preconceptions that limit us. Without realizing it, throughout life we build a prison around us that keeps us the further develop of our potential. Therefore, a big dream can only be achieved if you leave behind your old “ego” and you’re willing to rebuild yourself.
7. You have not lived until you’ve not done for someone, something that he/she can never pay to you- John Bunyan
I once read that “love is not giving graciously what we have in abundance but just sharing what is just enough for us.” However, in a society where the quid pro quo has been established, where one hand washes the other and both wash the face, we are used to help expecting to receive something in return. Anyway, there is nothing better than learning to give for the simple pleasure it brings, without expecting anything in return because what we have done, can’t be quantified, no money can afford it. Learn to live each day with generosity because helping others is also helping yourself.
8. Build your own dreams, or someone will do it for you – Farrah Gray
There are people who go around the world driven by inertia, leaving to situations and to others the responsibility to tell them the way they have to live. However, this is the safest way to lose ourselves and park our dreams. When we are not able to determine our goals, we don’t know what we really want, no wind will be propitious to us and we will end up going in the direction that others want for us. Therefore, if you want something, plan it and do every day small steps that take you closer to your goal. If you don’t act consciously, the everyday routine will alienate you from your dreams.
9. Life is too short to repent. So, love the people who treat you right, and forget those who don’t – Harvey MacKay
Hatred and resentment are two toxic feelings that keep us tied to the past, preventing us from enjoying the present and not allowing us to move forward. Unfortunately, we are often resentful to people who have hurt us. However, one of the keys to being happy is to learn to let it go. Remember that throughout life, anyone can hurt you, but you can choose for who you want to suffer. Emotions are not a reaction to the circumstances, but a reaction to what you expect from such circumstances.
10. Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can – Arthur Ashe
We often procrastinate our dreams just because it’s not the right time. However, 100% certainty doesn’t exist, nor is there an ideal time. There will always be obstacles and uncertainty, so the best solution is to start immediately with what you have. When you have a sufficiently valid reason motivating you, the rest will come down the road. There is nothing worse than regretting something that we didn’t have the courage to undertake, so it is best to make the most of every day. At the end of the road you will feel proud, because you know that at least you tried.