Quotes to live by – Things I want my kids to know

I’m one of those people that borrows wise words from others all the time. Why “reinvent the wheel” when those that have come before me have already paved the way? For years, I have collected quotes that speak to me about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Even before my children were born, I would gather these quotes together in a journal to remind myself of ideals that I hold dear to my heart and my life’s journey. Now, as my kids are developing a moral compass, I cannot wait to pass these pearls of wisdom on to my kiddos and see how they use this knowledge to learn and grow throughout their own experiences. Here are some of those quotes from my collection, and look out for more to come…

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” — Stitch, from the Disney movie “Lilo and Stitch”

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates

“If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” — Maya Angelou

“I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.” — Denzel Washington

“When they go low, we go high.” — Michelle Obama

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle

“Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.” — Alfred A. Montapert

“We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.” –Anais Nin or Talmund

“What lies in our power to do, lies in our power not to do.” — Aristotle

“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou

“When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.” — Pabbie, from the Disney movie “Frozen 2”

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” — Lao-Tze

“There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that’s less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

“Don’t just aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.” — Denzel Washington

“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted. Sweep streets like Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets so well that when you die, may all the hosts of heaven and Earth look upon your grave and say ‘There lived a street sweeper who did his job well.'” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Being hungry is when you want to eat. Starvation, if I don’t eat, I will die. You must dream dreams that are so big, so unrealistic, so unimaginable, so unfathomable…that they’re destined to fail. You have to dream dreams too big.” — Caylin Moore

“What I’m not going to do to my children is ruin their lives by giving them everything they should work for.” — LL Cool J

“Be prepared. Just when you think you’ve found your way, life will throw you onto a new path.” — Mattias, from the Disney movie “Frozen 2”

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Jesus Christ, Matthew 6:34, The Bible (NIV Version)

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” — Maya Angelou

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou

“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself, and then stand up for somebody else.” — Maya Angelou

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by…and that has made all the difference.” — Robert Frost, from his poem “The Road Not Taken”