I know for a lot of people New Year’s resolutions are a reason to be cynical and scoff, but I think it’s a great American past time. It’s a healthy tradition to take stock of the course of your life (at least) once a year and set some goals for self-improvement. I’m not into cynicism and making fun of people who have the courage to be vulnerable and try so these are quotes I’ve curated to inspire people who hope to make 2014 even better than 2013.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Sally Berger
It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop. Confucius
And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk more. Erica Jong
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. Maya Angelou
Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it. Oprah Winfrey
If you don’t like being a doormat then get off the floor. Al Anon
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. Nido Qubein
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. Maria Robinson
Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is! Anne Frank
I am always more interested in what I am about to do than what I have already done. Rachel Carson
I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. Diane Ackerman
There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’. Erma Bombeck
Belief creates the actual fact. William James
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. C.S. Lewis
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese Proverb
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. Amelia Earhart
The universe has no restrictions. You place restrictions on the universe with your expectations. Deepak Chopra
It is never too late to be what you might have been. George Eliot
The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand
Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life’s too short to think small. Tim Ferriss
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. Calvin Coolidge
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. Mark Twain
