100 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think (Hard)

Here are 100 of the best deep quotes I could find. And they will make you think (hard!). You’ll discover quotes and thoughts by deep thinkers like Voltaire, Lao Tzu, Rumi, Mary Oliver, Einstein, and lots more. Enjoy!

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. Oscar Wilde

Never to suffer would never to have been blessed. Edgar Allan Poe

The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give. William Arthur Ward

The average men consume. The wise create. Maxime Lagacé

I rebel; therefore I exist. Albert Camus

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. Oscar Wilde

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work. Gustave Flaubert

To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. Mary Oliver

If I love myself I love you. If I love you I love myself. Rumi

Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy. Robert A. Heinlein

Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Kahlil Gibran

Time is a created thing. To say “I don’t have time”, is like saying, “I don’t want to”. Lao Tzu

Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one. Voltaire

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. Martin Luther

What you deeply need is not stuff, comfort or beauty, it’s meaning. Maxime Lagacé

Maybe you are searching among the branches, for what only appears in the roots. Rumi

Related quote topics: stoic, learning, education, time, mental health, intelligence

 

A few thoughts on deep thinking…

I’ve always loved words that inspire and make me think.

In fact, I started collecting quotes and journaling back in 2004 after I lost my girlfriend in a car accident.

I was in search of answers and I felt reading thoughts by people like Confucius, Plato, Einstein, Bruce Lee was helping me in this process.

Then, I discovered more modern thinkers and writers like Leo Babauta, Shane Parrish, Tim Ferriss and more recently Naval Ravikant.

Through their words, I found some guidance for dealing with my own problems and making better decisions.

In sum,

collecting quotes, journaling, reflecting and meditating have had a tremendous positive effect on my life and my mental health.

I still practice today and I can’t imagine my life without those anchors.

What is your process to reflect?

The Best Deep Quotes And Thoughts

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Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. Bertrand Russell

To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself. Søren Kierkegaard

He who is untrue to his own cause cannot command the respect of others. Albert Einstein

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Mark Twain

What matters isn’t what a person has or doesn’t have; it is what he or she is afraid of losing. Nicholas Nassim Taleb

Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Oscar Wilde

We can see through others only when we can see through ourselves. Bruce Lee

As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning. Criss Jami Click to tweet

Never make fun of someone who mispronounces a word. It means they learned it by reading. Unknown

Genius is the recovery of childhood at will. Arthur Rimbaud

Love is the foolishness of men, and the wisdom of God. Victor Hugo

Sometimes you have to shut your eyes, so you can see the real beauty. Kilian Jornet

The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Japanese proverb

To be truly positive in the eyes of some, you have to risk appearing negative in the eyes of others. Criss Jami

Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real. Neils Bohr

Take time like the river that never grows stale. Keep going and steady. No hurry, no rush. Rumi

God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Voltaire

I don’t care that they stole my idea. I care that they don’t have any of their own. Nikola Tesla

You who suffer because you love, love still more. To die of love, is to live by it. Victor Hugo

What makes night within us may leave stars. Victor Hugo

Are you afraid of the good you might do? Victor Hugo Click to tweet

Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely. William Faulkner

Stupidity lies in wanting to draw conclusions. Gustave Flaubert

A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory. Mark Twain

Part 2. Deep Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Deep Quotes And Thoughts

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Searching for a famous deep quote? Check out those by Lao Tzu, Rumi, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, etc.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers. Voltaire

The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. Rumi

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. Rumi

Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters. Victor Hugo Click to tweet

He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know. Lao Tzu

Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough. Gustave Flaubert

All generalizations are dangerous, even this one. Alexandre Dumas

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The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. William Faulkner

I can resist anything except temptation. Oscar Wilde

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit. Kahlil Gibran

I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Euripides Click to tweet

Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast. William Shakespeare

We suffer more often in imagination than in reality. Seneca

Always go too far, because that’s where you’ll find the truth. Albert Camus

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect). Mark Twain

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao Tzu

Related: famous quotes, Buddha quotes

Short Deep Quotes And Thoughts

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One-liners, short deep quotes, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

Don’t settle, and don’t struggle. Naval Ravikant Click to tweet

Conscience doth make cowards of us all. William Shakespeare

People do not lack strength; they lack will. Victor Hugo

What labels me, negates me. Søren Kierkegaard

Average people know how. Wise people know why. Maxime Lagacé

The merit of all things lies in their difficulty. Alexandre Dumas

Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion. Edward Abbey Click to tweet

You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. Carl Jung

To do two things at once is to do neither. Publilius Syrus

Success is an iceberg. Unknown

The prettiest eyes have cried the most. Unknown

Passion is born deaf and dumb. Honoré de Balzac

Close both eyes to see with the other eye. Rumi

“I” is another. Arthur Rimbaud

The deeper thought is, the taller it becomes. Dejan Stojanovic

Of all lies, art is the least untrue. Gustave Flaubert

Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. Bertrand Russell

The darker the night, the brighter the stars. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education. Victor Hugo

Nothing has more strength than dire necessity. Euripides

The past is never dead. It’s not even past. William Faulkner

Don’t be ‘a writer’. Be writing. William Faulkner

Whatever you feel, you become. It is your responsibility. Osho

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Very Deep Sayings (Some Are Dark, Philosophical, Cryptic)

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I stick my finger into existence and it smells of nothing. Søren Kierkegaard

They muddy the water, to make it seem deep. Friedrich Nietzsche

No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell. Carl Jung Click to tweet

If it is not necessary to decide, it is necessary not to decide. Lord Acton

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality. Edgar Allan Poe

Arm yourself, my heart: the thing that you must do is fearful, yet inevitable. Euripides

There is no truth. There is only perception. Gustave Flaubert

What if everything in the world were a misunderstanding, what if laughter were really tears? Søren Kierkegaard

All the problems of older times were scarcity… now they’re all abundance based. Naval Ravikant

Battle not with monsters, lest you become one and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you. Friedrich Nietzsche

Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. Arthur C. Clarke

Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality. Bertrand Russell

A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants. Arthur Schopenhauer

To be sane in a world of madman is in itself madness. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. Victor Hugo Click to tweet

Civilization is a hopeless race to discover remedies for the evils it produces. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing. Euripides (See also: How to Ask the Right Question in the Right Way, entrepreneur.com)

The problem is not to find the answer, it’s to face the answer. Terence McKenna

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. Albert Camus

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. Ernest Hemingway

The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. Oscar Wilde

I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde

Related quote topic: philosophy

Part 3. Conclusion

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People spend too much time doing and not enough time thinking about what they should be doing. Naval Ravikant

Let’s recap:

• Life is change. But your ego wants certainty. So remember: discomfort is your friend.
• Conforming is dying. Rebelling is living. Be you.
• Pain is a gift. It’s a springboard to a better life.
• Fools have answers. The wise have questions.
• If you’re bored, you’re insulting life.

 

Call to action: Read Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions (fs.blog)

or Maturity Quotes To Make You Steady And Calm

or Responsibility Quotes To Take Back Your Power

 

Hope you liked these deep quotes and that they made you think deeply.

If you’re like me, you’ll come back here from time to time to reflect, learn and grow.

What was your favorite deep quote? Please let us know in the comment section below!