"Being proactive about your life (rather than reacting to things that happen) means examining what you are you are doing with your time and asking yourself whether this is the life that you want."

"Making the most of your life means investing some time and effort into thinking and planning and doing. It is your life and you are the person who can influence its outcome."

"A rich and fulfilling life usually includes job satisfaction and close personal relationships and these are interdependent. If you are not happy in your personal life, it is difficult to succeed at work; if you are unhappy at work, then you are likely to bring your misery home."

"If you think of people you admire, they are usually people with a passion: people who have discovered what they enjoy doing and then perfected their sport or their craft and pursued it to its limits."

"Whatever age you are now and wherever you are in terms of career, or relationships, or family, you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Don't squander them by letting the days go by, doing things you don't enjoy with people you don't want to be with. These are the best years of your life and it is possible to make a living doing something you enjoy, to spend more time with people you like and to live a happy and fulfilled life. Lots of people do it and there has never been a better time to start."

"But your benchmark of success is unique to you, and when you define your own values and goals you are able to strive for a sense of satisfaction and happiness that comes from accomplishing what you really want to do. "

"Learning from the regrets of others, and making sure that you have no regrets as you get old, is possible – by choosing to live your life in the best way you can: the life you want to lead and not one that others expect of you. "

"If you are finding it difficult to define your values, it can be useful to think about recent times when you were happy. Try to identify what factors contributed to your happiness: who you were with; being outdoors; being engaged in an activity; or doing some good for someone else. It may also be helpful to think about what makes you feel proud of yourself: earning money; looking after your family; completing a project; being fit and active; or making something. You may then realize that what you value most in life are things to do with helping others, your personal development or having meaningful work."

"To lead a truly happy life we need to have purpose and challenge as well as pleasure. Money and fame can provide pleasure in the form of instant gratification but, as many rich and famous people have found to their cost, it can ultimately be short-lived and unsatisfying without purpose and challenge in your life."

"A successful life can simply mean fulfilling your own potential."

"Sitting in front of the television is the most common way people relax. But watching anything and everything night after night can make us lethargic and often mindless."

"Sharing your goals – whether it is downsizing, or becoming self-employed, or even changing your diet and your lifestyle – is vital to your success."

"Persevering through the difficult times means having a shared desire to want it to work, if you are in a relationship. It means making the change from only seeing the negative and moaning about that the things that are left undone to being appreciative and praising the things that are done."

"It is impossible to go through life without suffering, but it is also part of life to experience great joy and happiness. Nobody remains the same person after a traumatic or an amazing experience; we have to accept and learn from the things that happen to us."

"Indecisive people can spend the whole of their life asking themselves, “What will hap­pen if I do this …?” or “If only I was able to …”. But once you get rid of the fear of making a mistake you are free to do what you know you want to do (and probably should have done years ago)."

"A perfectionist sets impossibly high standards and then, if they do not reach their goals, they can become depressed. When faced with a number of choices, perfectionists find it difficult to operate because they are concerned about choosing the very best."

"Only you can decide if you would like to change something in your life. Don't be afraid of tackling something that has been worrying you for some time: the unresolved problem that keeps you awake at night."

Contributed by Sue Hadfield
Make One Change and Embrace a Happier, More Successful You

Motivating Quotes

More Motivational Quotes:

• Richard Newton and Ciprian Adrian Ruse

The reason that some people seem to achieve a lot isn't because they have no problems themselves, but because they are willing to do the work to solve them.
 
• Barry Parker

Hope gives you strength and is essential for happiness.  Holding on to it is critical.  Without it all is lost.  Hope is good for the soul; it makes you feel good, and it makes life worth living.
 
• Lynn Williams

Accept that everybody, including you makes mistakes.  Looking at them in a positive light and learning from them puts you in a stronger, more positive position than just trying to avoid any situation where you might make mistakes in future.
 
• Chade-Meng Tan

The more you are aware of and comfortable with your own strength and weakness, the more confident you become and the more effectively you can influence people.