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.
Thought of the day
Top 15 Thoughts of the Day With Images
Everything happens for me, not to me. Byron Katie
There are two ways to be. One is at war with reality and the other is at peace. Byron Katie
We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. Swami Vivekananda
A good life is a surprising life. A surprising life is one with few expectations. James Clear
Thoughts are overrated. Intuition is underrated. Maxime Lagacé
You’re never too important to be nice to people. Jon Batiste
If life is a video game, the graphics are great, but the plot is confusing and the tutorial is way too long. Elon Musk
In a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The most important thing is to find out what is the most important thing. Shunryu Suzuki
The game is to be where you are. Be it honestly and as consciously as you know how. Ram Dass
When there is no desire, all things are at peace. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching, Amazon book)
We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves. Buddha
We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking. Santosh Kalwar
The mind without passions is a fortress. No place is more secure. Marcus Aurelius (Meditations, Amazon book)
That’s life: starting over, one breath at a time. Sharon Salzberg
The Best Thoughts of the Day
Who you think you are each day, completely determines the universe you live in. Ram Dass
Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well. Jack Kornfield
What you really value is what you miss, not what you have. Jorge Luis Borges
You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. Somerset Maugham
Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The most important thing for learning is doing. The most important thing for success is saying no. The most important thing for happiness is saying yes. Maxime Lagacé
Embrace discomfort. That’s how you’ll learn, grow, become strong, and ultimately, become free. Maxime Lagacé
The greatest effort is not concerned with results. Atisha
Your desire for pleasure or happiness makes you unhappy. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
One gains by losing and loses by gaining. Zen proverb
No matter how much you try to hold on to something, it will all be gone. Taoist proverb
If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. Buddhist proverb
Drop the idea of becoming someone, because you are already a masterpiece. You cannot be improved. You have only to come to it, to know it, to realize it. Osho
If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people. Thich Nhat Hanh
Craziness is good. Crazy people are happy, free, they have no hindrance. But since you have many attachment, you are only a little crazy. This is not crazy enough. You must become completely crazy. Then you will understand. Seungsahn
Wisdom tells me I am nothing, love tells me I am everything. Between the two, my life flows. Nisargadatta
The key to everything: give yourself permission to be who you really are. Susan Cain
Part 2. Thoughts of the Day That Are…
The Most Famous Thoughts of the Day (Socrates, Voltaire, Einstein, etc.)
We think too much and feel too little. Charlie Chaplin
Where does a thought go when it’s forgotten? Sigmund Freud
He who is untrue to his own cause cannot command the respect of others. Albert Einstein
We experience ourselves our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Albert Einstein
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. Oscar Wilde
Presence is when you’re no longer waiting for the next moment, believing that the next moment will be more fulfilling than this one. Eckhart Tolle
As human beings, all 7 billion of us are born the same way and die the same way. Physically, mentally and emotionally we are the same. We all want to live a happy life and avoid problems, but in a materialistic culture we overlook the importance of love and affection. 14th Dalai Lama
Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Be a loner. That gives you time to wonder, to search for the truth. Have holy curiosity. Make your life worth living. Albert Einstein
I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think. Socrates
We have never arrived. We are in a constant state of becoming. Bob Dylan
God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. Voltaire
The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large. Confucius
Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so. Bertrand Russell
I never learned anything when I was talking. Larry King
A clear rejection is always better than a fake promise. Zig Ziglar
In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion. Albert Camus
The only shame is to have none. Blaise Pascal
Don’t push the river; let the river flow. Arianna Huffington
Related: 100+ Most Famous Quotes Of All Time
Short Thoughts of the Day
One-liners, short thoughts of the day, quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
Act without expectation. Lao Tzu
Ignorance is bold. Thucydides
No clinging, no seeking. Zen proverb
To think for yourself, question yourself. Maxime Lagacé
Direction matters more than speed. Shane Parrish
Recognize and honor your uniqueness. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You are still guided by your expectations. Chuang Tzu
A meditator is both an artist and a warrior. Thich Nhat Hanh
Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose. Lao Tzu
There is no quick pathway from smart to wise. Jordan Peterson
Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. Alexander Hamilton
Talking is overrated. Listening is underrated. Maxime Lagacé
To find yourself, think for yourself. Socrates
Remember: eventually, no one will remember you. Jack Butcher
Where all think alike, no one thinks very much. Walter Lippmann
You always admire what you really don’t understand. Blaise Pascal
The really important thing is not to reject anything. Susan Sontag
Growth is the art of failing without self-destructing. @orangebook_
Think long term. Execute short term. Appreciate the present. @TheStoicEmperor
Inspirational Thoughts of the Day
A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us. Friedrich Nietzsche
If you want to cure the world, don’t emanate fear – emanate love. Ram Dass
The fool has many thoughts, dramatize them and becomes agitated. The wise has many thoughts, ignore most of them and stay cool-headed. Maxime Lagacé
A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. James Allen (As a Man Thinketh, Amazon book)
Look at the moon. It travels in the sky completely free, and this freedom produces beauty and happiness. Thich Nhat Hanh
The most important things in life are so simple: be good to people, cherish your friends and family, do what makes you happy, be present. Jack Altman
The present moment. It’s where high performance is expressed and wisdom is revealed. Michael Gervais
The power is in you. The answer is in you. And you are the answer to all your searches: you are the goal. You are the answer. It’s never outside. Eckhart Tolle
Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it. Ram Dass
Life’s meaning is not in following someone else, it is in the unfolding of one’s own self. It is not a process of becoming like someone else, it is to be oneself. Osho
No one is born with self-confidence. No one is born with a clear mind. No one is born with courage. They are all acquired. Decades of efforts. Just keep going. @orangebook_
Most people feel that they become more and more authentic over the course of their lives. I think that the older we get, the less we give a damn who we’re “supposed” to be. Susan Cain
Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you, your feelings need you, your perceptions need you. Thich Nhat Hanh
Our practice is to cultivate good seeds in the soil of our mind, knowing that they will mature and bloom in their own time. Thich Nhat Hanh
Our quality of being determines our quality of doing. Thich Nhat Hanh
There are years that ask questions, and years that answer. Zora Neale Hurston
Our deepest nature is to awaken and flower. Tara Brach
Related: 79 Positive Quotes To Uplift Yourself
Funny Thoughts of the Day
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day. Winnie the Pooh (A. A. Milne)
To err is human; to admit it, superhuman. Doug Larson
If you want your children to listen, try talking softly to someone else. Ann Landers
I have a lot of growing up to do. I realized that the other day inside my fort. Zach Galifianakis
Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both disappointed. Albert Einstein
As you get older, three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can’t remember the other two. Sir Norman Wisdom
“That’s funny” is a nice way of letting someone know it really wasn’t. Sammy Rhodes
How many people here have telekenetic powers? Raise my hand. Emo Philips
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. Groucho Marx
Fools laugh at others. The wise laugh with others. The wisest laugh at themselves. Maxime Lagacé
Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use. Wendell Johnson
The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing. Oscar Wilde
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society. Mark Twain
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company. Mark Twain
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. Steve Martin
Deep Thoughts of the Day
Comfort is no test of truth. Truth is often far from being comfortable. Swami Vivekananda
It’s okay to be alone, to be sad, to rest and repair. Really. Susan Cain
If only humanity made its loving as frequent and as detailed as its complaining. Philip Arnold
Brief is man’s life and small the nook of the Earth where he lives; brief, too, is the longest posthumous fame, buoyed only by a succession of poor human beings who will very soon die and who know little of themselves, much less of someone who died long ago. Marcus Aurelius
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see. Lao Tzu
The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable. H.L. Mencken (Prejudices: Third Series)
Money isn’t the goal. Freedom is. Kids aren’t the goal. Loving is. Talent isn’t the goal. Growth is. The goal isn’t the goal. Meaning is. @orangebook_
Little things console us because little things afflict us. Blaise Pascal
There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who think they are sinners and the sinners who think they are righteous. Blaise Pascal
Modern medicine is more about money than about health. Modern education is more about credentials than about learning. Modern traveling is more about social signaling than about discovery. @orangebook_
Abundance is harder for us to handle than scarcity. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
If you don’t crave for joy, misery won’t touch you. If you don’t crave for peace, nothing will disturb you. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
What makes you ‘you’? If you find this out, your life becomes an eternal celebration. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not other, it is your own mind. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
We are prisoners of the present, in perpetual transition from an inaccessible past to an unknowable future. Neil deGrasse Tyson
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth – only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. C.S. Lewis
To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting. E.E. Cummings
In a society that profits from your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act. Caroline Caldwell
Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in. Shannon L. Alder
Wise Thoughts of the Day
The more you meditate, the more you understand yourself, the more peaceful you can be. Maxime Lagacé
What you are aware of, you are in control of; what you are not aware of, is in control of you. Anthony de Mello
The foolish reject what they see, not what they think; the wise reject what they think, not what they see. Huang Po
The fools have busy minds and busy calendars. The wise have quiet minds and quiet calendars. The wiser have fulfilled minds and no calendar. Maxime Lagacé
You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results. James Clear (Atomic Habits, Amazon book)
Conquer the angry man by love. Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness. Conquer the liar with truth. The Dhammapada
He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can’t know who he really is. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
Three treasures I cherish: The first is fathomless love, the second is frugality, and the third is reluctance to lead. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
When people do not ignore what they should ignore, but ignore what they should not ignore, this is ignorance. Zhuangzi
Related: The Best Advice These 11 Successful People Ever Received (success.com)
The way of the sage is to act but not to compete. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching, Amazon book)
The future is being made out of the present, so the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. This is logical and clear. Thich Nhat Hanh
If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. Thich Nhat Hanh
There is the mud, and there is the lotus that grows out of the mud. We need the mud in order to make the lotus. Thich Nhat Hanh
If you follow wisdom, fun follows you. If you follow fun, misery follows you. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Food fasting fixes the body. Thought fasting fixes the mind. Judgment fasting fixes relationships. Have the courage to get less: you will get more. @orangebook_
Never assume it’s too late, but remember you don’t have forever. Johnny Uzan
Darkness is an absence of light. Ego is an absence of awareness. Osho
The power of man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doings. Blaise Pascal
A man who is never foolish is not as wise as he thinks. François de La Rochefoucauld
Conclusion
It might sound pessimistic, but I remember one teacher saying to always live life with death on the side, the idea of remembering how precious life is. I think about it every day, like, “Wow, life will end for all of us.” Andy Puddicombe (Headspace)
Thoughts on using words and quotes…
I’ve been *using* quotes and beautiful words since 2004 after I lost my girlfriend in a car accident.
Because I was depressed and confused, it seemed like words had the power to guide and inspire me to attain better days.
After a couple of years of reading blogs, books, and quotes, I realized I was now on another path. A path of healing, inner peace, and acceptance.
I owe so much to people who can write beautifully.
In sum,
starting each day with a beautiful thought has helped me reflect, change and eventually live a better life.
Hope those thoughts will do the same for you.
Further Readings
- Topic: Life
- 87 Deep Quotes That Will Make You Think
- 100 Short Quotes That Will Inspire You (Fast)
- 100 One Word Quotes (For Quick Inspiration)
- 101 Two Word Quotes (Find Motivation And Inspiration)
- 130 Inspirational Quotes For Men
- 120 Inspirational Quotes For Teens To Cheer Yourself Up
- 100 Inspirational Quotes For Women To Empower You
- 75 Words of Wisdom From The Best Minds (Ever)
- Simple Living: 30 Ways To Simplify Your Life
- The Power Of Words – 3 Ways They Can Change Your Life
What’s your favorite thought of the day? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Thoughts of the Day
Part 2
Thoughts of the Day That ARE
Famous
Short
Inspirational
Funny
Deep
Wise
Part 3
Conclusion
