With the new year around the corner, it is time to make new resolutions again. All of us wish to start the new year with a positive and joyous attitude. Mark these motivational quotes on the calendar to give your new year just the right start.

Life was, is and will remain ambiguous to all of us. The more we try to decipher it into something meaningful, the more it emerges out to be as a mystery and a challenge. With all the difficulties and problems it tests us and often that testing period knows no bounds. The best that we can do is to face those hurdles imposed on us with boldness. One must not forget that even the most determined in our lot today had a time when things were not in her or his favor. We will understand life in its totality only with great will, fortitude and belief in ourselves in our heart and infinite compassion for others. That will deliver us from all of our hardships as well as of those around.

As long as man has been alive, he has been collecting little sayings about how to live. We find them carved in the rock of the Temple of Apollo and etched as graffiti on the walls of Pompeii. They appear in the plays of Shakespeare, the commonplace book of H. P. Lovecraft, the collected proverbs of Erasmus, and the ceiling beams of Montaigne’s study. Today, they’re recorded on iPhones and in Evernote.

BELOW ARE 19 WONDERFUL QUOTES WORTH REMEMBERING, HAVING QUEUED IN YOUR BRAIN FOR ONE OF LIFE’S CROSSROADS OR TO DROP AT THE PERFECT MOMENT IN THE CONVERSATION.

Each will change and evolve with you as you evolve and yet each will remain strong and unyielding no matter how much you may one day try to wiggle out and away from them. Each one will teach you how to be a better person if you let them.

1. CALENDAR QUOTE #1″ BRAVERY MEANS FINDING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN FEAR.” – MICHAEL HYATT

 

Courage without meaning is just recklessness. Brave people aren’t fearless; they’ve simply found something that matters more to them than the fear they’re facing. Say you’re scared to start a business. Find a reason that has greater meaning than the fear: your family’s future, your desire to make a difference, or your dream of a more fulfilling life.

When you find a greater meaning, you’ll find the courage to overcome your fear.

2. CALENDAR QUOTE #2 “ RESENTMENT IS LIKE DRINKING POISON AND EXPECTING THE OTHER GUY TO DIE.” – MALACHY MCCOURT

 

The same holds for bitterness. And jealousy. And dislike. Let it go. If you don’t, the only loser is you.

3. CALENDAR QUOTE #3 “RIGHT IS RIGHT EVEN IF NO ONE IS DOING IT; WRONG IS WRONG EVEN IF EVERYONE IS DOING IT.” – AUGUSTINE OF HIPPE

Righteousness never relied on its followers and neither will it in future. What is right shall continue remaining right even if it is just being supported by a minority of a population. Not everyone is able enough to go for what is right as that is a path not alluring enough as the latter one. And what is alluring and easy would always attract more people.

4. CALENDAR QUOTE #4 “ONLY IN THE DARKNESS CAN YOU SEE THE STARS.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

 

Metaphorical indeed. All the noble people out there working for the betterment of others with great benevolence in their hearts never seek the limelight. You would find them in the darkest of places extending their helping hand to those in need and bringing in whatever light and happiness they are capable of. That would be a life of charity and selflessness.

5. CALENDAR QUOTE #5 “EVERYBODY IS A GENIUS. BUT IF YOU JUDGE A FISH ON ITS ABILITY TO CLIMB A TREE, IT WILL LIVE ITS WHOLE LIFE BELIEVING THAT IT IS STUPID.” – ALBERT EINSTEIN

It is a fact acknowledged indefinitely that it is not possible for all to have a potential of a similar nature. Different upbringing, culture, the environment come together to facilitate the ability of an individual making him realize his self-worth. You cannot uproot an individual from his zone of excellence and rather test him on an absolutely different zone. That would not only be undermining but also overlooking the genius hidden in her/him.

6. CALENDAR QUOTE #6 “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

While it is good to struggle for more, you must not forget and overlook the blessings that you already have in life. Be thankful to Him for all the goodness that he has bestowed in your life in the form of your friends, family and the availability of the basic amenities that many have been deprived of. If your mind constantly keeps on shifting to all the things that you yearn for, then you will never have a moment of peace.

7. CALENDAR QUOTE #7 “EMBRACE BAD NEWS TO LEARN WHERE YOU NEED THE MOST IMPROVEMENT.”- BILL GATES

 

Perfection is an abstract idea. You can come close to it but not achieve it. In that endeavor you will come face to face with your own limitations and weaknesses, sometimes realizing it on your own and sometimes made to realize a very tough way. Embrace those weaknesses and limitations and work on them such that they are honed into your strengths. That would be the best gift you can give yourself.

8. CALENDAR QUOTE #8 “IF OPPORTUNITY DOESN’T KNOCK, BUILD A DOOR.” – MILTON BERLE

 

Sitting and waiting for an opportunity to be served on a silver plate would bring you no good. The only thing that you would derive out of it would be a huge waste of your time and abilities. Rather stop whining over the absence of that much-awaited chance and take matters into your hand. Remember luck does not make us rather we make our own luck.

9. CALENDAR QUOTE #9 “THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY IS THAT LITTLE EXTRA.”- JIMMY JOHNSON

We all prefer to be not linked with the ordinary and rather be seen as the one who is extraordinary. It is a question that we need to ask ourselves today then, ‘have we really put in that extra effort that would make us the latter?’ People become extraordinary when they give up the desire to take up a shortcut every time and instead put in the actual required extra effort.

10. CALENDAR QUOTE #10 “TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A WOOD, AND I- I TOOK THE ONE LESS TRAVELED BY, AND THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.” – ROBERT FROST

Following the mad rat race is no way to rise up in your life and gain success. You need to be daring enough to take up the unfrequented way and traverse it. Unknowingly you might actually be pioneering something that you would be aware of only years later.  It is fear that abstains you from setting your foot on the unknown space. Once you let go of it there would be nothing holding you back.

11. CALENDAR QUOTE #11 “IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH HELL, KEEP GOING.” – SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL

 

Nothing stays on forever. Life is a cyclic process of ups and downs; it is a roller coaster ride. It is natural to be disheartened when bad times dawn upon you and your loved ones but it needs to be understood, that it won’t stay forever. Hold hands, be together and walk through it. And you are never alone in the larger scheme of things.

12. CALENDAR QUOTE #12 “TO LOVE ONESELF IS THE BEGINNING OF A LIFELONG ROMANCE.” – OSCAR WILDE

 

What the quote implies is that you need to awaken your love for yourself, such that it never dies. Once you are able to do that nobody would be competent to bring you down by hurting your self-esteem. You would become your best critic. The days of finding an emotional support and relying on others for psychological well-being would be over.

13. CALENDAR QUOTE #13 “SEARCH OTHERS FOR THEIR VIRTUES, THYSELF FOR THY VICES.” – BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

 

The key to self-knowledge is the ability to see the virtues of others while seeing your own mistakes because if you can only see the faults of others and the virtues of yourself then you will not be able to know everything about yourself or others. Also, you have no idea what other people are going or have been through. So give people the benefit of the doubt. Look for the good in them, assume good in them, and let that good inspire your own actions.

14. CALENDAR QUOTE #14 “TO IMPROVE IS TO CHANGE, SO TO BE PERFECT IS TO HAVE CHANGED OFTEN.” – WINSTON CHURCHILL

Churchill certainly abided this in his life. He’d even quip about his constant change of political affiliation. There is nothing more impressive — intellectually or otherwise — than to change long-held beliefs, opinions, and habits. The more you have changed, the better you probably are.

Maintain a diary/journal every day to keep a track on what you were before and what you are right now. By jotting down a few things every day, you will know how you have changed over a period of time. This will help you to notice your strength and weaknesses and bring you closer to yourself.

15. CALENDAR QUOTE #15 “JUDGE NOT, LEST YOU BE JUDGED.” – JESUS

Waste no time judging and worrying about other people. You have plenty of problems to deal with in your own life. Chances are your own flaws are probably worse — and in any case, they are at least in your control. So do something about them.

16. CALENDAR QUOTE #16 “TIME AND PATIENCE ARE THE STRONGEST WARRIORS.” – LEO TOLSTOY

 

When it comes to accomplishing anything significant, you are required to exhibit patience and fortitude, so much patience, as much as you’d think you’d need boldness and courage.

17. CALENDAR QUOTE #17 “IT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, BUT HOW YOU REACT TO IT THAT MATTERS.” – EPICTETUS

There is the story of the alcoholic father with two sons. One follows in his father’s footsteps and ends up struggling through life as a drunk, and the other becomes a successful, sober businessman. Each is asked: “Why are you the way you are?” The answer for both is the same: “Well, it’s because my father was an alcoholic.” The same event, the same childhood, two different outcomes. This is true for almost all situations — what happens to us is an objective reality, how we respond is a subjective choice.

18. CALENDAR QUOTE #18 “THERE IS GOOD IN EVERYTHING IF ONLY WE LOOK FOR IT.” – LAURA INGALLS WILDER

It is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.

19. CALENDAR QUOTE #19 “CHARACTER IS FATE.” – HERACLITUS

In the hiring process, most employers look at where someone went to school, what jobs they’ve held in the past. This is because past success can be an indicator of future successes. But is it always?

There are plenty of people who were successful because of luck. Maybe they got into Oxford or Harvard because of their parents. And what about a young person who hasn’t had time to build a track record? Are they worthless? Of course not.

This is why a character is a far better measure of a man or woman. Not just for jobs, but for friendships, relationships, for everything. When you seek to advance your own position in life, the character is the best lever — perhaps not in the short term, but certainly over the long term. And the same goes for the people you invite into your life.

BONUS QUOTE!

20. “WE MUST ALL EITHER WEAR OUT OR RUST OUT, EVERY ONE OF US. MY CHOICE IS TO WEAR OUT.” – THEODORE ROOSEVELT

At the beginning of his life, few would have predicted that Theodore Roosevelt even had a choice in the matter. He was sickly and fragile, doted on by worried parents.

Then, a conversation with his father sent him driven, almost maniacally in the other direction. “I will make my body,” he said when told that he would not go far in this world with a brilliant mind in a frail body. What followed was a montage of boxing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, swimming, boldly charging enemy fire, and then a grueling work pace as one of the most prolific and admired presidents in American history. There is not a person on the planet who would say that he had not worn his life well and not lived a full one in those 60 years.

If you want to read how to organize your day, read our blog on 13 tools to organize and plan your day.