36 Best Positive Life Quotes To Brighten Your Day & Motivate You

When we are in a tough place in our lives and feel as though we're completely helpless — what can we do? According to research, the answer is adjusting our mindsets.

There's a strong scientific link between "positivity" and one's health. Many have even shown that positive attitudes can build our resilience levels, improve numerous health conditions, and even lengthen our lifespans.

When you're in need of a little more positivity in your life, these positive life quotes can help you reset your mindset.

Life is full of uncertainties. It always feels like we never truly know when to expect a positive turn of events or our next all-time low. And of course, because there's no sure-fire way to predict what comes next, it often feels like our fate is in the hands of a vast and unforgiving universe.

In our lowest moments, it's important to remind ourselves that life won't be kicking us forever, even if it feels that way. No matter how awful things are, there's always something better waiting for us at the end.

Stay strong, friend! You will get through this!

Here are 36 positive life quotes to instantly brighten your day.

1. “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.”― Oprah Winfrey

2. “When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.” ― Shannon L. Alder

3. “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”― Haruki Murakami

4. “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”― Roy T. Bennett

5. "‎Though nobody can go back and make a new beginning... Anyone can start over and make a new ending.”― Chico Xavier

6. "I have taken the biggest lesson of all from animals, needless to say, and discovering that living for the day is the way to live." — Jackie Weaver

7. "Over the years I've come to realize that mistakes are just lessons, life lessons almost like school. Once you've learned a lesson in class, you move on to the next lesson because now you know it. Well, mistakes are exactly the same." — Rashard Royster

8. "Every relationship offers one of two things: a lesson or a blessing. In many instances, the lesson is the ultimate blessing." — Anquanette Gaspard

9. "My greatest life lessons have not come from any achievements I have attained but rather from the failures, heartaches, and setbacks that I have experienced." — Dr. Marshall Hennington

10. "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." — Oprah Winfrey

11. "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." — Oprah Winfrey

12. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” — Steve Jobs

14. “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.” ― Abraham Lincoln

15. “My life has been one great big joke, a dance that’s walked, a song that’s spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke when I think about myself.” — Maya Angelou

16. “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” — Maya Angelou

17. "Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend — or a meaningful day." — Dalai Lama

18. "I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus on the brightest. I do not judge the universe." — Dalai Lama

19. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dream." — Paulo Coelho

20. “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ― Paulo Coelho

21. “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it.” ― Paulo Coelho

22. “Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” ― Paulo Coelho

23. “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ― Marcus Aurelius

24. “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ― Marcus Aurelius

25. “Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.” ― Marcus Aurelius

26. "Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart." — Zig Ziglar

27. "If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere." — Zig Ziglar

28. "Everything has its wonders, even darkness, and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content." — Helen Keller

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29. "What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." — Helen Keller

30. "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle — victorious." — Vince Lombardi

31. "I think that everybody needs four things in life. Everybody needs something to do regardless of age. Everybody needs someone to love. Everybody needs something to hope for, and, of course, everybody needs someone to believe in." — Lou Holtz

32. "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." — Mahatma Gandhi

33. “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

34. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

35. "Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.” — Lou Holtz

36. “When the negative thoughts come — and they will; they come to all of us — it’s not enough to just not dwell on it…. You’ve got to replace it with a positive thought.” — Joel Osteen

Yona Dervishi is a writer who is currently working at YourTango as an editorial intern. She covers topics pertaining to news and entertainment.