70 Rare Quotes About Change And Growth

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Here are 70 of the best quotes about change and growth.

Why did I collect all these quotes?

Because over the years I’ve learned that people willing to change are the only ones happy.

So I had to habituate myself to detach from the old.

And adapt fast.

Otherwise, I would stay in misery all my life.

I hope you’ll find a few wise words to inspire you too.

And don’t worry: you’re in good hands with authors like Einstein, Thoreau, Gandhi, Confucius, Socrates, Viktor Frankl, Emerson, etc.

Enjoy!

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. Confucius

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank

One day or day one. You decide. Unknown

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Dr. Seuss

Let him that would move the world first move himself. Socrates

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Viktor Frankl

To live is to change. To change is to suffer. Maxime Lagacé

Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

All great changes are preceded by chaos. Deepak Chopra

quotes about change growth love fear staying maxime lagace wisdom

Love change, fear staying the same. Maxime Lagacé

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills. Chinese proverb

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. Anaïs Nin

Change your thoughts and you change your world. Norman Vincent Peale

Nothing happens unless something is moved. Albert Einstein

Lack of emotion causes lack of progress and lack of motivation. Tony Robbins

If I am an advocate for anything, it is to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Anthony Bourdain

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. Carol Burnett

quotes about change growth intelligence ability adapt stephen hawking wisdom

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. Stephen Hawking

Do not waste time on things you cannot change or influence. Robert Greene

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Socrates (Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior)

Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right. Tony Robbins

The most beautiful and profound way to change yourself is to accept yourself completely, as imperfect as you are. Maxime Lagacé

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. William Arthur Ward

After you’ve done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after ten years, throw it away and start all over. Alfred Edward Perlman

quotes about change growth improve perfect often winston churchill wisdom

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill

If you want to make enemies, try to change something. Woodrow Wilson

Sometimes the winds of change are a hurricane. Derek Sivers

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Maya Angelou

Things do not change; we change. Henry David Thoreau

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples. Mother Teresa

Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values. 14th Dalai Lama

Related

If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living. Gail Sheehy

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. Abraham Lincoln (Annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862)

The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Steve Jobs

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Henry Ford

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. Confucius

Order is not enough. You can’t just be stable, and secure, and unchanging, because there are still vital and important new things to be learned. Jordan Peterson

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

You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea. Pearl S. Buck

quotes about change growth everything faced james baldwin wisdom

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin

I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it. Niccolo Machiavelli

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. Robert F. Kennedy

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. Barack Obama

The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging. Warren Buffett

Our only security is our ability to change. John Lilly

Think progress, not perfection. Ryan Holiday

The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it. Marcus Aurelius

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change. Wayne Dyer

Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Benjamin Disraeli

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. Tim Ferriss

The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists. Japanese proverb

Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant. Anthony J. D’Angelo

Change is the end result of all true learning. Leo Buscaglia

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal. Arthur Schopenhauer

quotes about change growth art life constant readjustment kakuzo okakura wisdom

The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surrounding. Kakuzo Okakura (The Book Of Tea)

We made the world we’re living in and we have to make it over. James Baldwin

You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or even a day ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously. Richard Feynman

Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change. Jim Rohn

To make a change, you need to be aware and acknowledge that something isn’t working first. Justin Kan (Source)

What you must do now is to adapt. The world belongs to those who can change fast. Maxime Lagacé

We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves. Lynn Hall

Growth is uncomfortable. Not growing is worse. Sahil Lavingia (Source)

People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them. Ralph Waldo Emerson

You always have the choice between comfort and discomfort, mediocrity and growth, fitting in and standing out. Maxime Lagacé

Those who can endure discomfort will change the world. Those who are having fun too. Maxime Lagacé

Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference. Mignon McLaughlin

The more you adapt, the more interesting you are. Martha Stewart

The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become. W.E.B. Du Bois

People think they can’t change themselves, but they can. People think they can change others, but they can’t. Naval Ravikant (Source)

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. Ivy Baker Priest

Related: 21 Simple Ways to Change Your Life (Starting Right Now) (soulsalt.com)

In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety. Abraham Maslow

Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won’t have a title until much later. Bob Goff

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction can be the biggest step of your life. Naeem Callaway

The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself. C. JoyBell C.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. Richard Bach

A few thoughts on change…

What does your MIND want more than anything else?

Feeling safe and certain.

It wants to predict the future.

That’s its job. It’s a survival machine.

Now,

what does LIFE want more than anything else?

Change.

Thus, it means we are screwed with our scared minds and this ever-changing life.

So what can we do?

First, we must practice being more comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We must voluntarily place ourselves in situations where we feel like beginners.

We must feel comfortable looking like idiots.

After all,

learning and growing are more important than what people say about you.

Key Takeaways

Change. Today. Every day. Otherwise, you’ll become obsolete.
Remember: wanting certainty (order) and uncertainty (variety) is human nature.
Fools avoid change at all costs. The wise embrace it. They know it’s part of life.
If you can’t change a situation, change yourself. Don’t complain.
Want to change the world? Change yourself. And how can you change yourself? Meditate daily.