35 Mottos to Live By

Having a motto to live by is a crucial step in creating a happy life. The right motto can help create a life filled with joy and purpose instead of one that leaves you feeling lost and directionless.

Of course, a life motto isn't everything—if you want to achieve your goals and dreams, you still have to put in the work. The purpose of a life motto is having a saying that you can return to again and again when you're feeling lost, frustrated, or defeated. It can serve as a strong foundation for your goals and dreams, it can ground you in the present moment, and you can journal on it or use it during meditations.

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Mottos are usually catchy, short phrases that you can easily memorize—if they're too long, it will be hard to remember them when you need them most. They can be famous quotes or general sayings, but the shorter the better—because that way, you can remember and access them any time you need them. Bonus points if you write or print out your motto in a beautiful way and frame it somewhere that you can easily see it!

Want to find the perfect life motto for you? Here are 35 ideas.

Mottos to Live By

1. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

2. Life every day like it's your last.

3. Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

4. Be the change you wish to see in the world.

5. Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are.

6. If you are not obsessed with your life, change it.

7. Set some goals, then demolish them.

8. A ship at harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for.

9. Take small steps every day.

10. If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up.

11. Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud.

12. Don't sweat the small stuff

13. Will this matter a year from now?

14. Always remember to fall asleep with a dream and wake up with a purpose.

15. If you are not wiling to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.

16. Always find a reason to laugh.

17. What's meant to be will always find a way.

18. If you can't stop thinking about it, don't stop working for it.

19. Life is a one time offer, use it well.

20. Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.

21. We have tomorrows for a reason.

22. Your soul knows when it's on to something.

23. Eat healthy, sleep well, breathe deeply, enjoy life.

24. Some of the best things in life are mistakes.

25. Everything in life that matters requires risk.

26. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

27. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

28. Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.

29. If for a while the harder you try the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been for the best people who ever lived.

30. Be happy with what you have while working for what you want.

31. Be who you needed when you were younger.

32. A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.

33. If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never was.

34. Nothing will make you feel better except doing the work.

35. What you choose to focus on becomes your reality.

How to Use a Life Motto

There's no "right" way to use a motto you want to live by, so feel free to get creative here. You can write your motto in the first page of your journal and reference it before each entry. As mentioned above, you can frame it or write it somewhere that you can easily see it. You can also repeat it to yourself while you meditate, while you're on a walk, the list goes on. The important thing is that you use your life motto (or mottos!) in a way that feels right and true to you.

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