Life Life Strategies Inspiration & Motivation 76 Positive Quotes to Brighten Your Day In case you're in need of a little optimism right now. By Lauren Phillips Lauren Phillips Lauren is a former editor at Real Simple and currently serves as a senior digital editor for Better Homes & Gardens. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 06, 2024 Trending Videos Close this video player Positive quotes are just one tool we can use to improve our mood and mental health. These succinct sayings might increase your productivity at work, help you feel more optimistic about your life, or make a seemingly dark day a little brighter. However, it's true that some quotes resonate more than others. We chose the following positive quotes because they represent the most inspirational and uplifting quotes we could find. Sometimes all we need to feel better is a little perspective from another person who has been there and thrived. Nevertheless, if you find these quotes don't motivate you, don't fret. Sometimes it's better to lean into your negative moods, instead of trying to force toxic positivity. Whether you share them in a text, as a social media post caption, or as a spoken mantra, these uplifting, motivating words and sayings are sure to bring good vibes to any situation. 01 of 76 “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible.’” Corinne Mucha/RS —Audrey Hepburn 02 of 76 “I cannot express how important it is to believe that taking one tiny—and possibly very uncomfortable—step at a time can ultimately add up to a great distance.” RS/Corinne Mucha —Tig Notaro 03 of 76 “Here comes the sun. And I say, it’s all right." RS/Corinne Mucha —The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun" 04 of 76 “Do your thing and don't care if they like it.” RS/Corinne Mucha —Tina Fey, Bossypants 05 of 76 “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than the things I haven’t done." RS/Corinne Mucha —Lucille Ball 06 of 76 “Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” RS/Corinne Mucha —Maya Angelou 07 of 76 “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” RS/Corinne Mucha —Ruth Bader Ginsberg 08 of 76 "A dead end is just a good place to turn around." RS/Corinne Mucha —Naomi Judd 09 of 76 "Choose to be optimistic, it feels better." RS/Corinne Much —Dali Lama 10 of 76 "Just say yes and you’ll figure it out afterwards." RS/Corinne Mucha —Tina Fey 11 of 76 "You can’t make a cloudy day a sunny day, but you can embrace it and decide it’s going to be a good day after all." RS/Corinne Mucha —Jane Lynch 12 of 76 "Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life." RS/Corinne Mucha —Amy Poehler 13 of 76 "You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will." RS/Corinne Mucha —Stephen King 14 of 76 "In your life expect some trouble. But when you worry, you make it double. But don't worry, be happy, be happy now." RS/Corinne Mucha —Bobby McFerrin 15 of 76 "You’re in the same boat with a lotta your friends. Waitin’ for the day your ship’ll come in, and the tide's gonna turn and it’s all gonna roll your way." RS/Corinne Mucha —Dolly Parton, "9 to 5" 16 of 76 "Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you." RS/Corinne Mucha —Walt Whitman 17 of 76 "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." Yeji Kim – C.S. Lewis 18 of 76 "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." Yeji Kim – Albert Einstein 19 of 76 "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Yeji Kim – George Eliot 20 of 76 "Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful." Yeji Kim – Hazrat Inayat Khan 21 of 76 "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Yeji Kim – Joseph Campbell 22 of 76 "Happiness is not by chance, but by choice." Yeji Kim – Jim Rohn 23 of 76 "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way." Yeji Kim – Martin Luther King, Jr. 24 of 76 "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive." Yeji Kim – Maya Angelou 25 of 76 "You are enough just as you are." Yeji Kim – Meghan Markle 26 of 76 "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." Yeji Kim – Michael Altshuler 27 of 76 "You make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing." Yeji Kim – Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden 28 of 76 "There are years that ask questions and years that answer." Yeji Kim – Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God 29 of 76 "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." Yeji Kim – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring 30 of 76 "At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago." Yeji Kim – Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden 31 of 76 "Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." Yeji Kim – Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy 32 of 76 "That is one good thing about this world ... there are always sure to be more springs." Yeji Kim – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea 33 of 76 "These things are good things." Yeji Kim – Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat 34 of 76 "Pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it." Yeji Kim – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist 35 of 76 "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." Yeji Kim – Oscar Wilde 36 of 76 "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." Yeji Kim – Marilyn Monroe 37 of 76 "You cannot change what you are, only what you do." Yeji Kim – Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass 38 of 76 "Thou must gather thine own sunshine." Yeji Kim – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter 39 of 76 "It is not enough to have a good mind; the important thing is to use it well." Yeji Kim – Rene Descartes 40 of 76 "People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be." Yeji Kim – Harvey Mackay 41 of 76 "Walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps." Yeji Kim – Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet 32 Self-Care Quotes to Help With Depression and Anxiety 42 of 76 "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run." Yeji Kim – Babe Ruth 43 of 76 "Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The Sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." Yeji Kim – Alexander Graham Bell 44 of 76 "Lay plans for something big by starting with it when small." Yeji Kim – Lao Tzu 45 of 76 "No exact recipe for today. Gather all available ingredients and whip yourself up something delicious." Yeji Kim – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gmorning/Gnight 46 of 76 "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." Yeji Kim – Henry Miller 47 of 76 "It's how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success." Yeji Kim – David Feherty 48 of 76 "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Yeji Kim – Thomas A. Edison 49 of 76 "It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." Yeji Kim – Eleanor Roosevelt 50 of 76 "Do anything, but let it produce joy." Yeji Kim – Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass 51 of 76 "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." Yeji Kim – Desmond Tutu 52 of 76 "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another." Yeji Kim – Charles Dickens 53 of 76 "As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." Yeji Kim – Mary Anne Radmacher 54 of 76 "Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." Yeji Kim – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 55 of 76 "That's what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing." Yeji Kim – Simone de Beauvoir 56 of 76 "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." Yeji Kim – Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go! 57 of 76 "You rarely win, but sometimes you do." Yeji Kim – Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird 58 of 76 "I've got nothing to do today but smile." Yeji Kim – Simon and Garfunkel 59 of 76 "I believe great people do things before they are ready." Yeji Kim – Amy Poehler, Yes Please 60 of 76 "I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go." Yeji Kim – Langston Hughes 61 of 76 "If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done." Yeji Kim – Bruce Lee 62 of 76 "For me, becoming isn't about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn't end." Yeji Kim – Michelle Obama, Becoming 63 of 76 "Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink." Yeji Kim – Lilly Pulitzer 64 of 76 "Imagine this: What would happen if we were all brave enough to believe in our own ability, to be a little more ambitious? I think the world would change." Yeji Kim – Reese Witherspoon 65 of 76 "You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness." Yeji Kim – Diane von Furstenberg 76 Positive Quotes to Brighten Your Day 66 of 76 "Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them." Yeji Kim – Mia Hamm 67 of 76 "We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: We have the power to imagine better." Yeji Kim – J.K. Rowling 68 of 76 “Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.” – Venus Williams 69 of 76 "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Yeji Kim – Theodore Roosevelt 70 of 76 “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” – Brené Brown 71 of 76 “If you see someone without a smile, give 'em yours!” – Dolly Parton 72 of 76 “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” – Oprah Winfrey 73 of 76 "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." Yeji Kim – William James 74 of 76 “For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb 75 of 76 “You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison, Beloved 76 of 76 “There is no greater thing you can do with your life and your work than follow your passions–in a way that serves the world and you.” – Sir Richard Branson Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit