Lifestyle: Quotes for Keeping You Motivated

Today is the day I sit my first proper professional exam. Well, the first half of it anyway. Two three hour papers over two days – so the torture isn’t over until tomorrow evening! Then it’s a break for a few weeks before a practical one in May, then straight back into studying ready for September’s exam – all before the results of this one are released! They weren’t joking when they said the first few years of my career would be intense…

When I finish my first exam later, I know I’ll have to come back home and hit my notes again ready for tomorrow. I know that it won’t be very long before I need to start prepping for my practical exam. I know that studying will start all over again very quickly. And for that I’m going to need some serious motivation. It’s not easy studying on top of full-time work (I’ve got a post coming soon – once exams are over and I’ve had time to write it!) so I keep a list of quotes on hand for when I need a good kick up the arse.

I’ve got these typed up on my phone, handwritten in my diary and there’s a few on post-it notes doted around my flat, work desk and study notes. They’re surprisingly uplifting when you randomly happen across one!

The first few quotes have been taken from Becca Rose (there’s loads of great motivational quotes on her post here).

“Inhale confidence. Exhale doubt.”

“Set some goals. Stay quiet about them. Smash the shit out of them. Clap for your own damn self.”

“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.”

“You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.”

“Small progress is still progress.”

“Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal.”

“Don’t think about what can happen in a month. Don’t think about what can happen in a year. Just focus on the 24 hours in front of you and do what you can to get closer to where you want to be.”

“If you get tired; learn to rest, not to quit.”

“We don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we face challenges.”

The rest of the quotes I’ve picked up from Pinterest and Instagram over the last few months. Where I found them with a source, I’ve added it in – as well as adding in any I could easily find. If you know where the rest of them are from, feel free to share!

“The Way Get Started Is To Quit Talking And Begin Doing.” -Walt Disney

“Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.” -Will Rogers

“You Learn More From Failure Than From Success. Don’t Let It Stop You. Failure Builds Character.”

“Whether You Think You Can Or Think You Can’t, You’re Right.”- Henry Ford

“You Are Never Too Old To Set Another Goal Or To Dream A New Dream.”- C.S. Lewis

“Don’t stop when you’re tired. STOP when you are DONE.”

“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

“Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.”

“If life was not meant to be a puzzle it would have come with an instruction manual.”

I also picked up a Motivational Desk calendar for W last year, just as a little stocking filler from Santa, but I’ve kind-of adopted it. It’s been so nice to have something motivating displayed in the flat – it’s one of the first things I see when I come home and I find it spurs me on to do just that little bit more after a long day.

How do you keep yourself motivated? Do you have any quotes to share?