With just a few weeks left of the semester there are so many of us that are feeling the challenges that college likes to throw at us. We are determined to catch up on the readings we are so terribly behind on. We are facing tests and quizzes on subjects we are kind of grasping. We are running low on dining plus and we have lost all motivation to get out of bed and walk to our 9:30am classes. It is this time of the semester that I find myself Googling motivational quotes to post everywhere as a reason to keep going.
And I am sure I am not the only one doing so.
Without further ado here is my list of motivational quotes to get you through college.
1. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
I know there are times that everything seems to be out of reach. It is as if our dreams are unobtainable and we are too small to accomplish big goals. Take a moment and look around. What can you do to make progress right now? Make a list, prioritize it, and write possible solutions. Set out and start taking those steps. Cross things out when you finish them; it will make you feel so much better!
2. “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.”
-Mark Twain
My first few years of college, I was so worried about always getting that ‘A’ that I never took time to have fun. I went to class, did my homework, worked, and adulted. What I eventually found out is that none of that relieved stress or helped my emotional health. So get out, go play a game of ping pong, blare the music, take a road trip, go to a concert or three, and have a blast. Keep yourself safe and I promise it will be ok.
3. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
-Steve Jobs
So many of us have pressures coming in from all sides. We have so many people who think they know what is best for us. We hear comments about how we are not doing enough or how we need to be doing something a certain way. It is so easy to let those pressures and people decide our paths for us. But what do we learn that way? What do we achieve? How successful will we feel when we realize that we are in a career that we can’t stand with a degree we didn’t want? It is important to listen and take in opinions. But it is up to us what we become. The unknown is scary but it could be so worth it! Give it a try.
4. “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.”
-Jeff Olson
We are young adults and there are some roads in life that we would never dream we are capable of traveling on. There are many roads we have no clue we will come across. There are some people who will drive by a road covered in gravel and decide they don’t feel like getting their car dusty. There are other people who will turn on that road and wash their car later. The gravel road may be the one that comes with more responsibility but it will be the one that has the greater reward in store. Don’t be afraid to open your mind to a difficult task. You’ll be a better person for it.
5. “This too shall pass”
-Persian Poem
I have a habit of saying; “It will all be ok because it has to be.” I never know what exactly is going happen to solve the problem but I haven’t been wrong yet. Every struggle that we face is just today’s struggle. It could be this week’s struggle. But it will pass. There will be another struggle up ahead and that one will pass too. It is up to us to decide how we handle the struggles we face.
6. “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”
-Lao Tzu
It is important to care for those around you. Be human. Be humble. Be sympathetic and empathetic. Listen to what others have to say. Give them space to make their opinion clear. Decide if they are someone you should be listening to. Use their words as reference before making your decisions. But once you make your decision…understand there will be consequences. Some people may not agree. Some people will be quiet about it. Some people will not. It is up to you to be confident in your actions.
7. “There’s no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”
-Unknown
It’s not easy getting where we want to go. There will always be something pulling us the other way, some new hurdle to jump over. It’s ok to look backwards or check things out in the background, but don’t let yourself set up camp there. No one can promise an easy route. Keep your eye on the prize and you can be amazed by what you can achieve.
