Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes By and About Women

The following quotes are all either by or about women. If you have any personal favourites that are not recognised on this page, please let us know.

On Happiness

• “I’ve learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.” —Martha Washington
• “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” —Helen Keller
• “The happiest excitement in life is to be convinced that one is fighting for all one is worth on behalf of some clearly seen and deeply felt good.” — Ruth Benedict
• “Laughter not only makes the journey endurable and even enjoyable, it also helps keep us healthy…. Be like a child: learn to laugh more!” - Joyce Meyer

On Motivation & Success

• “I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.” —Golda Meir
• “Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” —Louisa May Alcott
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Sally Berger
• “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie
• “To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.” - Sister Mary Lauretta
• “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” - Helen Keller
• “I would rather stay positive and get 50 percent good results, than stay negative and get 100 percent bad results!” - Joyce Meyer

On Relationships

• “People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me.” —Princess Diana
• “Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.” — Author Unknown
• “Sons branch out, but one woman leads to another.” — Margaret Atwood
• “I am treating you as my friend, asking you to share my present minuses in the hope that I can ask you to share my future pluses.” - Katherine Mansfield
• “I suppose there is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one’s self, the very meaning of one’s soul.” - Edith Wharton

On Change

• “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
• “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” - Mother Teresa
• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

On Helping Others

• “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” — Margaret Fuller

On Self-Love

• “Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Curve: The loveliest distance between two points.” —Mae West
• “My heart’s in the right place. I know, ‘cuz I hid it there.” - Carrie Fisher

On Courage

• “Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.” - Ruth Gordon
• “When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” - Audre Lorde
• “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

On Resilience

• “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” - Charlotte Bronte
• “Accept that all of us can be hurt, that all of us can-and surely will at times-fail. Other vulnerabilities, like being embarrassed or risking love, can be terrifying too. I think we should follow a simple rule: if we can take the worst, take the risk.” - Dr. Joyce Brothers
• “I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” - Agatha Christie

On Life

• “When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.” - Dian Fossey
• “Fortunately, psychoanalysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself remains a very effective therapist.” - Karen Horney
• “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” - Helen Keller
• “What matters most is that we learn from living.” - Doris Lessing
• “There is nothing as tragic as being alive and not enjoying life… Life should be celebrated!” - Joyce Meyer
• “You have to count on living every single day in a way you believe will make you feel good about your life - so that if it were over tomorrow, you’d be content with yourself.” - Jane Seymour

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it!”
Mother Teresa