9 quotes that will inspire you to change your life
Looking for inspirational quotes that will motivate you to start living a life aligned with your values?
Then look no further, these quotes will help you make the push to change your life for the better. I have hand-picked my favourite inspirational quotes that inspire me to live a values-based life.
Values-based living is about consciously designing your life to fit into your core values. It involves creating an inventory of the things/people/activities that are important to you and that you find energising.
It is not goals-based living where you are constantly seeking the next dopamine hit from achieving a goal. Values-based living is about authentically enjoying your life and choosing goals that are in alignment with your truest self. If you find that your goals no longer align with your values you can just pivot and create more suitable goals. You are not fixed to a certain life script. It is liberating.
Here are some quotes that will inspire you to take a step towards living a values-based life:
Live as though life was created for you
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is my role model because She definitely lived a life according to her values. She lived a full life from being a writer, director, dancer, poet, actress, civil rights activist and many more.
I see this quote every single time I pick up my phone because I have gone the extra mile to save it as my screensaver. It’s my reminder to take responsibility for my life and to create a life that is aligned with my values because Drake said it best ‘You only live once’ (cringe, I know but the message is true).

Things that have never happened before happen all of the time
Scott Sagan
I adore this quote so much. I first saw this quote cited in Morgan Housel’s book ‘The Psychology of Money’ and I was absolutely captivated. Sometimes we get stuck in a cycle of thinking that we couldn’t possibly live the life of our dreams because we’re not good enough or because no one in our family has ever done something like this or someone from my background could never do this. These are all limiting beliefs. We’re stopping ourselves before we even try because we don’t want to risk failure but remember ‘things that have never happened before happen all of the time’. Think of all of the great things human beings have accomplished before. Airplanes, mobile phones, the internet! There are so many stories of injured people being told they would never walk again but yet after months/years of work, they can take their first steps.
You can live a life aligned with your values and just because the majority of your life has been run by outside forces, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make that change today.

If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll quickly and inaccurately be defined by others
Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama, former first lady, Lawyer, philanthropist and author wrote this quote in her book ‘Becoming’.
Staying true to your values and knowing what you stand for is powerful. No one can tell you who you are because you have already defined it for yourself. When you are living a values-based life your confidence will increase as well as your overall wellbeing. Why stress about the opinions of others when you are glowing from the inside out and Walking in true alignment with yourself?

If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything
This quote has been attributed to so many different people over the years.
Living a values-based life is essential for your overall wellbeing and integrity. If you don’t know your core values you will set goals that may be in direct conflict with them. The reason mid-life crises are so common in society is that many people are not living the life that they want. They are living the life that society/friends/family told them would bring success. What happens when you’ve spent 20 years running on autopilot building a life that you didn’t need or want?
You guessed it: an existential crisis.
You don’t need to waste all of those years forcing yourself to live a life other people have chosen for you. You can change for the better and start living a values-based life now.

Define failure as not trying
Amal Clooney
This quote was pulled from the ‘Get Her There‘ campaign which included a panel interview with Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates and Amal Clooney.
Instead of being the victim in your life story, take the reins and save yourself. Take control of your life by taking responsibility for it. All you have to do is take one step towards your destination. You don’t need to be the fastest person there or even the greatest person but you have to try.
Failure is not trying. Failure is living a life full of regrets and should’ve/could’ve/would’ve. Don’t do that to yourself. You deserve so much more. Even if you try and fail you still would have learnt an important lesson and you will be able to apply the things you’ve learnt to a variety of different situations (read my blog post on why ‘failing my A level exams was the best thing that ever happened to me’). If you don’t try you will automatically fail. The story of that venture ends there and you will never get the chance to live the life you want.

Having fun is not a diversion from a successful life; it is the pathway to it
Martha Beck
This quote is attributed to Martha Beck, PhD, who is a Harvard-trained sociologist, world-renowned coach and New York Times bestselling author.
You need to enjoy the little things. When you live a life aligned with your values you’re not just focused on your goals
Studies have shown that goals-based happiness only lasts for a short amount of time as it eventually returns to baseline levels. you will always be striving for the next big hit of dopamine and won’t be able to enjoy life. (Check out this article by Postive Psychology ‘How to Escape the Hedonic Treadmill and Be Happier‘)
In my experience, the more aligned to my values my life is the happier I am on a day-to-day basis. It is a longer-lasting, consistent level of contentment.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good’
Unknown
This is a very old famous quote. However, I first came across this quote while reading Michelle Obama’s book ‘becoming’. I am a recovering perfectionist so this quote hit me hard. I always want to be the best at what I do but the amount of pressure I put on myself can be overwhelming. It is the perfect storm to allow procrastination to waltz right in and take over the show. And once procrastination has entered the picture it’s so much harder to get it to leave. I’ve found that reminding myself to not let perfect be the enemy of good has helped me push through procrastination. Done is better than perfect. So start taking the steps necessary to live a values-based life. You don’t have to be perfect but you have to try. You can always try again if things don’t work out because nothing is set in stone.
Perfection doesn’t exist so accept that fact and start living your life.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough
Mae West
Drake should have added the rest of this quote to ‘The Motto’. On a serious note, this is it. This is your life. If you live a life aligned with your values you will have few regrets. You would have stayed true to yourself and would honestly be able to say you lived the life that you wanted.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced
Soren Kierkegaard
You have to be present in your life. For some people, life happens to them. Constantly moving from one problem to another without enjoying the process of actually living their life. Yes, there will be trials and tribulations but life would be boring if everything was perfect. When you live a values-based life you have habits and systems in place that bring you joy and allow you to stay level-headed during hard times.
If you made it down to the end of this post, why not comment below about your favourite inspirational quote? What quote encourages you to continue living a values-based life?