40 Positive Quotes About Change & Growth To Inspire You Seize New Opportunities
It all starts with one step forward.
It is easy to be susceptible to the negative energies we surround ourselves with every day. Often times, we become stagnant in our walk through life without realizing we’ve halted our progress.
To say positive change is inevitable is one thing, but to accept this ever-changing evolutionary process is another.
When there is a new opportunity knocking on your door, the fear of the unknown begins to settle in your mind. We’ve all gone through this at least a couple of hundred times in our life.
Maybe a new job you’ve been so excited for finally calls you back, but in the back of your mind, you start to question whether you’re experienced enough to handle the role. Maybe you registered for six classes next semester with the thought of facing each of them. Then you let doubt creep in and tell you, you won’t be able to handle the pressure.
The one thing in our lives that will remain constant is change itself. Instead of fearing it, embrace it and let yourself engage in an unknown world where the possibilities are endless.
In Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” there is a particular quote I thought might fit best with our topic of discussion. It says, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Whenever we are intimidated by a sudden shift in our environment, relationships, and career, it’s normal to be fearful at first. Change is scary, and that’s fine!
Our normal reactions are to question the outcomes of different situations throughout our walk in life. But, we should never let that stop us from becoming our truest selves.
Here are 40 inspirational and positive quotes about change and growth to help you learn how to accept change and seize new opportunities in your life with confidence.
1. Change yourself, and the rest will follow.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
2. Don’t stop, keep moving.
“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” — Stephen Chobsky, The Perks of Being A Wallflower
3. Love your neighbors!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Meed
4. Education never stops.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
5. Change comes from within.
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” — Albert Einstein
6. Step away for a moment, and look back at the bigger picture.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” — Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
7. Focus on your progression.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” — Lao Tzu
8. Challenge yourself.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” — Viktor Frankl
9. Keep your eyes straight ahead.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” — John F. Kennedy
10. Change waits for no one!
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama
11. Take a peek inside your mind.
“True change takes place in the imagination.” — Unknown
12. Change begins when you take that first step.
“How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” — Anne Frank
13. Knowledge is power.
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” — Stephen Hawking
14. It’s go time.
“One day or day one. You decide.” — Unknown
15. Another adventure comes in the morning.
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” — Dr. Suess
16. Dig deeper to find what needs to be changed.
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — James Baldwin
17. It all starts with you.
“Let him that would move the world first move himself.” — Socrates
18. Life is art, and we are the painters.
“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” — Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea
19. Stay true to yourself!
“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” — Dalai Lama
20. It’s okay to be a little crazy.
“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.” — Steve Jobs
21. You have the power.
“Miracles happen every day, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.” — Jon Bon Jovi
22. Change is scary but necessary.
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as great and sudden change.” — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein
23. Letting go is the hardest part.
“To say goodbye is to die a little.” — Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye
24. Go ahead and take a chance.
“You can’t stop the future, you can’t rewind the past. The only way to learn the secret is to press play.” — Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why
25. Stand out from the toxic crowd.
“If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you've made, if they don't realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.” — Steve Maraboli, Life, The Truth, and Being Free
26. Life is full of surprises.
“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” — Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym
27. Surround yourself around people who are inspirational.
“Even if you cannot change all the people around you, you can change the people you choose to be around. Life is too short to waste your time on people who don’t respect, appreciate, and value you. Spend your life with people who make you smile, laugh, and feel loved.” — Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
28. The ocean is full of opportunities.
“We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.” — C. JoyBell C.
29. 2020 is your year!
“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” — Taylor Swift
30. Do not let the past affect your future actions.
“The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.” — Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss
31. Even though change is evident, you must remember who you truly are.
“You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it.” — Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
32. Do not blame others for things you cannot accomplish.
“We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers - but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's always your fault because if you wanted to change you're the one who has got to change.” — Katherine Hepburn, Me: Stories of My Life
33. One step at a time.
“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” — Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing
34. Change is never too little nor too big.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” — Mother Teresa
35. There are certain things in life that do not require change.
“Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.” — J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
36. The universe is always listening!
“Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you've changed, by believing. Once you've changed, other things start to follow. Isn't that the way it works?” — Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard
37. The past shall remain in the past in order to move forward.
“We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.” — Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: Why on Earth Am I Here for?
38. Time is the conductor on the train of life.
“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.” — Stephen King, The Green Mile
39. Do not wait until the expiration date.
“Nature is never static. It is always changing. Everything is in a constant state of flux. Nothing endures. Everything is in the process of either coming into being or expiring.” — Kilroy J. Oldster, Dead Toad Scrolls
40. Be grateful for all of the sudden shifts in your life.
“There are some moments in life that change us forever.” — Mimi Novic
Destiny Duprey is a writer who covers pop culture, astrology, and relationship topics.