By Maxime Lagacé
Maxime is the founder and chief editor of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm, powerful, and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.
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Here are 79 of the best life is short quotes I’ve collected over the years.
The goal?
To remind you of one crucial thing: you only live once, and it’s very short.
You’ll discover quotes by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Socrates, and many more.
Enjoy!
We live but for a moment. Marcus Aurelius
Life’s too short not to let go. Joshua Fields Millburn
Life is too short to waste any amount of time on wondering what other people think about you. C. JoyBell C.
Enjoy yourself – it’s later than you think. Socrates
Look after each other. Life is short – the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good. Marcus Aurelius
Life is too short to be little. Benjamin Disraeli
Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time. Victor Hugo
All our sweetest hours fly fastest. Virgil
So make haste to live, my dear Lucilius and think of each single day as a single life. Seneca
Life is a blink. Hoda Kotb
People look for ways to pass the time, and later complain that life moves too quickly. James Pierce
Life is far too short to pursue things that do not genuinely interest you. James Pierce
You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. Walter Hagen
The wiser you get, the luckier you feel. Maxime Lagacé
One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching. Gerard Way
Related
- 75 Words of Wisdom From The Best Minds (Ever)
- 77 Life Lessons Quotes (To Learn And Grow)
- 91 Of The Best Stoic Quotes (For A Better Life)
A few thoughts on life being short…
There are great benefits to remembering that life is short.
- You’ll worry less
- You’ll laugh more
- You’ll ignore the little stuff
- You’ll do less of what you hate
- You’ll do more of what you truly love
- You’ll be more generous and kind
- You’ll forgive people more easily
- You’ll spend more time outside
- You’ll watch the sky more often
- You’ll observe the birds more often
- You’ll spend more time with your friends and family
- You’ll appreciate the little things more (chocolate and ice cream are good for mental health, right?)
- You’ll feel more grateful to be alive
Check out this related article for more benefits: Eight Reasons Why Awe Makes Your Life Better (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
On the flip side,
you should never forget to be responsible, disciplined, and rational human beings too.
If you can learn to turn the switch on and off, you’ll live a good and satisfying life.
The Best Life Is Short Quotes
Life is short. That’s all there is to say. Get what you can from the present – thoughtfully, justly. Unrestrained moderation. Marcus Aurelius
Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Stephen King
There’s no refund on time poorly spent. Joshua Fields Millburn
Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs. Charlotte Brontë
There is a limit to the time assigned you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return. Marcus Aurelius
Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. Dolly Parton
Life is so short, so beautiful. Don’t be so serious about the work. Enjoy the life. Jack Ma
Quit saying you don’t have time. You have time for what you make time for in life. Bryant H. McGill
Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings. Jane Austen
We do not appreciate how brief and fleeting our lives will be. It is always later than you think. Time is always more precious than you realize. Realize it now and act! James Clear
If you understood how short life is you wouldn’t spend it on people who waste your time. Dan Go
You have been preoccupied while life hastens on. Meanwhile death will arrive, and you have no choice in making yourself available for that. Seneca
People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy. Seneca (On the Shortness of Life)
We are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-supplied but wasteful of it. Seneca
Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. Hilary Clinton
Eventually, all of us will pass away and slowly be forgotten. We should enjoy this brief time we have on earth — not be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied. Ryan Holiday
Cut the crap. Literally, cut the unnecessary distractions out of your life — delete apps, unfriend and unfollow toxic people, stop committing to activities you don’t care about. Life is too short. Mark Manson (Source)
At some point we all must admit the inevitable: life is short, not all of our dreams can come true, so we should carefully pick and choose what we have the best shot at and then commit to it. Mark Manson
Distracted by the obligations of everyday activities, we are no longer aware of ourselves… Everything is done all at once, faster and faster, yet no personal balance or meaning can be found. Marc Wittmann
How do you suppose time works? A slippery succession of long hours adding up to ever-shorter days and years that disappear like falling dominoes? Dani Shapiro
The days are long but the decades are short. Sam Altman
Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings. John Updike
Ordinary people merely think how they shall ‘spend’ their time; a man of talent tries to ‘use’ it. Arthur Schopenhauer
The shortness of life, so often lamented, may be the best thing about it. Arthur Schopenhauer
Part 2. Life Is Short That Are…
Life Is Short One-Liners
Life is short and death is long. Fritz Shoulder
Life is short, art is long. Hippocrates
Life is too short to be miserable. Rita Mae Brown
Life is short and progress is slow. Gabriel Lippmann
There’s time enough, but none to spare. Charles W. Chesnutt
Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.
Life is very short… One should have no time to dally. Jack London
Life isn’t short, you just waste a lot of it. Paul Domenick
Expect an early death – it will keep you busier. Martin H. Fischer
Be impatient with progress but patient with people. Shane Parrish
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Life is so, so short. Bible says it’s like a vapor. Muhammad Ali
Life is too short to harbor any hostilities towards anybody. Peabo Bryson
Life is very short and what we have to do must be done in the now. Audre Lorde
Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious. Phillips Brooks
If you want something, don’t wish for it. Life is too short to wait. Stephen Hines
Life is short, and truth works far and lives long: let us speak the truth. Arthur Schopenhauer
Let no one rob me of a single day who is not going to make me an adequate return for such a loss. Seneca
But life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future. Seneca
Inspirational Life Is Short Quotes
Life’s too short to deal with people who don’t fit your vibe. Dan Go
Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. Wayne Dyer
Wasted time is worse than wasted money. Paulo Coelho
Life is short, so remember to be super serious, take everything personally and be outraged on a daily basis. Chad Hurley (Source)
Wake up and see that life is too short. The realization that life is short will bring dynamism to your life. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Enjoy every moment you have. Because in life, there are no rewinds, only flashbacks. Anmol Andore
The greatest obstacle to having a meaningful life is the sense one has too much life left. Alain de Botton
No man can have a peaceful life who thinks too much about lengthening it. Seneca
Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. Eddie Cantor
Life is too short not to feel and express genuine love and gratitude as often as you possibly can. @dailyzen
The clock is ticking. If something is really important to you, do it now. Or it may never get done. The illusion of a tomorrow is the biggest waster of lives. @TheAncientSage
Right now your life is passing away. This is your life, right here right now. Not at some other time in the future. Seize it now. Don’t let it slip away unnoticed. @TheAncientSage
Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake. Francis Bacon
Time flies, whether you’re wasting it or not. Crystal Woods
Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. Seneca
Pray for your parents every day and spend as much time with them as you can. Gal Shapira
Life is short. You have to be able to laugh at our pain or we never move on. Jeff Ross
Life is short, and your time for learning and creativity is limited. Robert Greene (Mastery)
The irony of life is realizing that a lifetime is barely long enough to figure out how it should have been lived. Thibaut
Life is short, and we should respect every moment of it. Orhan Pamuk
You know, some people say life is short and that you could get hit by a bus at any moment and that you have to live each day like it’s your last. Bullshit. Life is long. You’re probably not gonna get hit by a bus. And you’re gonna have to live with the choices you make for the next fifty years. Chris Rock
One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now. Paulo Coelho (Source)
We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it. Roald Dahl
If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves. Maria Edgeworth
Related: How to Live Life to the Fullest and Enjoy Each Day (lifehack.org)
Conclusion
And then, one day, you look in the mirror — you’re old — and you say, “Where does the time go?” Nina Simone
Relentlessly prune bullshit, don’t wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have. That’s what you do when life is short. Paul Graham
Further Readings
- Topic: Life
- 83 Life Quotes To Transform Your Life Today
- 117 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (Fast)
- 100 One Word Quotes (For Quick Inspiration)
- 101 Two Word Quotes (Find Motivation And Inspiration)
- 79 Positive Quotes To Uplift Yourself
- 87 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think
- 57 Life Goes On Quotes That Will Move You
- 120 Inspirational Quotes For Teens To Cheer Yourself Up
- 100 Inspirational Quotes For Women To Empower You
- 130 Inspirational Quotes For Men
- 115 Philosophy Quotes From The Best Philosophers
- 100 Time Quotes (Profound, Important, Inspiring)
- 73 Life Tips To Live Your Best Life
- 21 Life-Changing Questions To Ask Yourself Today
- This Is How Short Your Life Is. (6-minute animated YouTube video)
Hope you enjoyed these beautiful life is short quotes.
And remember: the only life you’ll ever have is this one. Don’t take things too seriously. Learn to let go. Learn to move forward.
Now, if you did enjoy the quotes, please share them with a friend today!
What’s your favorite “life is short” quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Quotes
Part 2
Quotes That ARE
One-Liners
Inspirational
Part 3
Conclusion