Books

Personal Mantras From Books To ~Motivate~ Your Day

by Melissa Ragsdale

Life can be complicated, messy, and just plain crazy. How on earth would I be able to figure it out without books to inspire and motivate me? For me, reading and taking in the words of brilliant authors has always been the best way to sort through the tangle of life. After all, books are a way for us to experiment and learn through other people's experiences, a way for authors to pass on the lessons they've learned through their own life. Without the help of books, I have no idea where I'd be.

Everyone needs a mantra to help them get through the day. Something to repeat to yourself when you need guidance, or that makes you feel just a little bit stronger. We can use the wisdom of books to energize us, help us believe in ourselves, and remind ourselves that we are not alone.

Here are some quotes from books to keep close to your chest. These quotes will inspire you, uplift you, and motivate you to live your best life. Find a mantra that speaks to you and keep it nearby. Pin it to your wall, write it in your journal, or just have it in your head for whenever you need it. Life may be weird, but literature's got your back.

1“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

2“I would rather be a bad feminist than no feminist at all.”

― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

3“What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it.”

Jakob Owens/Unsplash

4“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

5“I am the sole author of the dictionary that defines me.”

― Zadie Smith, NW

6“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

7“Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.”

― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess

8“Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

Dương Trần Quố/Unspla

― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

9“Work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled.”

― Mindy Kaling, Why Not Me?

10“Don't let the bastards grind you down.”

― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

11“Survival is insufficient.”

― Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven

12"I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.”

― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

13“I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now.”

― Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming

14“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”

15“Eat the pain. Send it back into the void as love.”