Most Motivational Quotes for Students to Stay Motivated in Life

What I love about Motivational Quotes is that they are universal. A person’s wise set of words can confidently be applied across the globe in any situation, on anyone. Because deep down we’re all the same wise animals. Our successes and struggles, though apparently different, are all uniform at the core. Then the power, motivation and the instant enlightenment that quotes bring are so vital that the need for it is undeniable. Quotes are a writer’s best words, a struggler’s inspiration, a failure’s lesson, and a successor’s wisdom.
The sayers of these amazing motivational quotes have truly lived through life and all its complexities, and have been mindful enough to know what life taught them along the way. But they say for who? For us: the toddlers on this long journey, the learners, the students. For we have so much more to learn, so much more to fail at, and so many times to pick ourselves up; quotations are then our little windows through which we could see the other side of our failures.

But since so many quotations have really inspired me to my guts and helped me move on, I wouldn’t be able to list them all down in this single article. So here is the first set of Most Motivational Quotes for Students to Stay Motivated in Life.

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Most Motivational Quotes for Students to Stay Motivated in Life

1. “What you seek, is seeking you.”(Maulana Rumi)

Rumi is our beloved poet of ancient times and his words have inspired generations throughout history; amongst his sea of wisdom, this one is one of the most reaching yet powerful. The interpretation of this goes like this: keep struggling, keep failing, keep living for if you’re honest and determined inside, the universe, God, however you want to name it, is putting the pieces together and the thing you striving for, is already on its way towards you. So be full of hope and never give up.

2. “There are two ways to live in this world: one as if nothing is a miracle; second as if everything is a miracle.”(Albert Einstein)

Miracles do happen, we just don’t have the eyes to see it. Gone are the days when giants moved mountains or water came spilling out of a stone, with this awareness we must learn to see the realistic miracles – miracles that happen every day. A miracle might seem like a big word here, what Einstein wanted to say is that believe in the impossible, believe that whatever you put your mind onto, you can bring it into reality. There’s a lot of miracles yet to discover in this tiny world of ours; Newton, Einstein, Rumi, they have discovered great things and witnessed great miracles that they themselves made happen, but with a lot yet to be disclosed, we need to believe in ourselves then we can too bring miracles to life.

3. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” (Anonymous)

Complaining is as easy as taking responsibility is tough. We’d find many mouths talking about what’s wrong in the world, while they themselves, are being the wrong ones to complain in the first place. You matter! And you can bring that change that you believe can turn our lives towards better tomorrows. We may not be responsible for the mess our world has become, but we are solely responsible for our contributions to that mess; believe me, you and I have been wrong multiple times.

I’ll finish this one with an anecdote: a man, with an umbrella upon his head, was passing through a street on a very cold evening with rains pouring out of the sky. He then saw a kid, his clothes torn, shivering in that cold weather under the unforgiving rain. He instantly asked God, feeling angry, that why don’t you do something about this creature of yours? How cruel! God didn’t answer then, but He did later that night when he was about to sleep. God answered: “I certainly did something; I made you.”

4. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” (Alice Walker)

Comparing ourselves to others is such a defeating habit; you are never going to win or lose, overpower and degrade yourself based on the conclusions you derived as you compared yourself to someone else. That is because each one of us is different and has unique qualities. So if this is true, then the one you’re envious of has something special and so does YOU!

But because you desire for the qualities he has, you’re instantly down. Rather, try to discover yourself and what you are GOOD at, and work hard on that. And believe me, after some time, you’ve beaten your old, jealous, self and have become a person who knows that he has skills and has accepted his shortcomings as well. We can’t be everything, but each of us can be something! So believe you have that power in you and try to find, and work on that.

5. “It always seems impossible until it is done.” (Nelson Mandella)

Mandella changed the fate of all the Africans; now that must have felt impossible at some point in his long run struggles, but it did happen right? Our minds are not our best friends unless we know how it functions. So whatever big thing we want to achieve, the obstacles on the way would always seem bigger (thanks to our minds). But we must be smarter than our lazy, thinking minds; we must listen to what Mandella has said that it is possible in the end – it just seems like it’s not. So hang in there because there’s always a tomorrow after each dark night.

6. “Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t, you are right.” (Henry Ford)

I really like this one because it has that power to kill the doubt in the person’s mindset right there and then. We all must know that there is nothing that a man cannot do, we’ve seen endless examples, so then it is all about whether we want to do it or no.

Most of the time, my friends wish they could do certain things, but they don’t realize that they can do them, but rather their wishes to do those things, take their power away from them to actually do them. Their mind forces them to think that they are insufficient to do what they are eager to do.

But following this quotation, we can see that if you once take the control of your mind and tell it that we can do it – it is then just a matter of going out and doing it. This quotation also makes you independent of the situation and the people around you, so whatever the situation is, it doesn’t matter – you and your will matters only.

7. “If you tell people that they have what it takes to succeed, they will prove you right.” (Charles Duhigg)

This quotation highlights the power of belief and the power of the right people with a positive attitude around us. I have felt this line because there as always been someone to tell me that I am good enough to move along and do what I wanted to do. There are some people who don’t believe that they have the powers unless someone tells them to, I might be one of them.

So it is very important for us to surround ourselves with the right people, friends, family, teachers, mentors, who have a positive attitude to them and thus would transfer some to you, just to give you that extra push to keep moving forward.

Thomas Edison’s story about the school letter just approves of this quotation and its impact. “Edison was very weak at his studies during school so one day the school sent a letter to his mom saying that they are discharging Edison of their school, that he is not capable enough to go to school. His mom, however, told Edison a different version of the letter which made all the difference. She told him, the letter says that you are too good to study here, thus you shall go abroad to continue your studies. He went on and made wonders happen.” The power of belief!

8. “The defining factor is never the resources, it is resourcefulness.” (Tony Robbins)

(Resourcefulness (n.) the ability to cope with difficult situations or unusual problems.)

This quotation is about becoming independent of the facilities and all the things that you feel like you either need or deserve to do what you wanted to do. It is about becoming self-sufficient and doing things on your own with the help of your skills and a positive attitude. Suppose you don’t have the money (resource) to do something, but if you desperately want that thing to happen, you will most definitely find a way (resourcefulness). So start trusting yourself and your instincts more than you trust or depend upon the resources or the outside world.

Check out Tony Robbins TED Talk “Why We Do What We Do”. It is my all-time favorite TED talk – you will have a lot to learn from it. And follow Tony, he can be your next mentor.

9. “Mind unemployed is mind unenjoyed.” (Christian Nestell Bovee)

It may seem like our mind is always doing something, thinking about something, but it is doing whatever the hell it wants to do – you have no control over it. And that is a really scary thing for us all. Your mind decides how you live, how you feel, how you act, how to talk, and basically controls everything that makes you, you.

But you are not you, because it is all your mind telling you stuff and making an image of who you are supposed to be. But once you take the wheel of your mind, and employ it to do things that you want to get done – it is then a joy ride! There’s so much more to see, learn and achieve that could only be accomplished once you take the hold of your mind and not be controlled by it. And let this quote be a reminder of that.

9. “Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, it is also the cause of it.” (Mark Manson)

This line highlights what Mark Manson, the author of the bestselling book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, calls the Do Something principle. As the quote says, that action should not only be done when you are motivated, actions should be taken in order to get the motivation as well.

And it is a very interesting and understandable concept. All our lives we wait for something to motivate us and then we would get started on our journey, but let that something be any action, doing something. By doing something, it is meant that try and start with what you have. You may fail or succeed, but that’s not the point, the point is to learn something and believe that I have everything available to do what I have waited to do till now. And it holds true, as you start doing something, possibilities start emerging and life doesn’t seem so trapped anymore.

10. “Now is the right time to do the right thing.”

We are obsessed with the idea of the right time for everything. So obsessed that our whole life passes us by and we still wait for that right time which never actually arrives – because you know why? There is no such thing as the right time. Try thinking about, the right time that you are waiting for doesn’t actually exist.

You may think it is when I have money; when I am grown up; when I am educated enough; when I am capable, but the thing is, what about all the time you’re wasting while waiting for that time, which possibly might never see the light of the day. So now is the right time. Start with where you are and what you have, and with a positive attitude, you’ll most certainly go a long way. But if you keep waiting for all the traffic lights to get green at once and then you’d leave home for your destination, then it is never happening.

11. “Personality begins where the comparison ends.” (Karl Lagerfeld)

Especially in our teenage years, we are obsessed with being better than that other person in almost every way – looks, grades, charm, peer groups and in every way we could compete and make comparisons. That is because we haven’t developed a sense of our own self, or in other words, we haven’t yet developed a personality for ourselves.

Personality is knowing yourself and then accepting who you are without spoiling yourself by unfair comparisons. Because let’s be honest, you can never be that person to whom you compare yourself – but you can always be yourself at fullest potential. The comparison is just another form of insulting yourself because what the next person is good at, you might not be, but when you compare yourself, you actually degrade and insult yourself. So start discovering who you are, and then, accept who you are and play to your strengths.

12. “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” (Margaret Mead)

Every other human being is different than the next one – that’s why there is no such diversity in our world, and look where this diversity has taken us to: we have succeeded so much and in so many fields. Because the greats of the past played with their strength and worked on what made them unique.

And so are you, so am I, and so is the person sitting across the table in this library where I am writing, every one of us is gifted with something, and that’s what Margaret is trying to tell us that we are unique and so is everyone else.

The second phase of this quote neutralizes the first one perfectly as we don’t just us see ourselves as the unique ones, but also see the uniqueness and raw power in others. And only when we enhance our powers and help other carve theirs, could our world become an even better place to live.

13. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” (Winston Churchill)

For someone taking this quotation literally, it might seem like a dumb thing – from failure to failure, where is the success in there? But Winston speaks out of wisdom here. Whatever it is that you are trying to do here, it will bear you sweet fruit eventually, but most of us never reach there.

It is really heartbreaking when someone gives up just as they were about to win it. So keep going and maybe the next time, you’ll come out victorious. And whenever you feel like giving up, try to remember why you started it in the first place. You are in it to win it.

14. “Women who think they are equal to men are so stupid. Because they are far greater than men.”

This one to teach us all some respect which is very important. This exact quote changed the way I perceived women and treated them. Women are so important in a society and in our lives and we better start recognizing their value and worth and treat them as they deserve to be treated.

Whether a sister, a daughter, a wife, a mother, women are always many steps ahead over men and it is for a reason – they are more special than men. If men were stones, women would be the jewels amongst them. So next time you see a woman, greet one, respect them more than you did before. She could be a classmate, your sister, a friend, your mother – remember their worth and place at all the times.

15. “Along the way, there will be people who would treat you wrong and underwhelmingly; remember that it doesn’t at all affect who you are.”

Living in a society or working along with other human beings all our lives, we are always open to suggestions and comments, and the reality is that we don’t always get the right responses for our deeds. Quite often we end up with people who treat us way below the line and make us feel almost miserable. It might be in our job environment, in a relationship, in our peer groups or even in our own family circle.

But what we need to make sure is that how they treat us, that in a wrong way, is irrespective of who we are. Their mean comments don’t have the power to make feel bad about ourselves. We are great regardless of their opinions because only we best know what we have been through and where we stand.

16. “A heart that gives, gathers.” -Tao Te Ching

Always be a giver folk. I won’t say don’t receive as well, but make sure you always give first. The more the number of givers out there the more there will be to receive. And once you’ve felt the emotion, the sheer joy of sharing something that you think most worthy with others, you would know that this is the ultimate goal.

Sharing is caring, and we have to look after each other now more than ever. And if it ever occurs to you that where would I receive from? Know that whatever you give out has a funny way of getting back to you; a heart that gives, gathers. So give out smiles, charities, kindnesses, praises, and most all love.

17. “Giving up is a luxury I cannot afford.

Giving up’ indeed is a luxury. To give up and rest, to give up and not bother, to give up and not care, to give and not think, to give up and get busy living your life – it is an easy way out from the tough situations of life, but such a luxury isn’t made for us, the seekers. There will be certain setbacks, failures, and hopelessness, amongst which persevering is as hard as easy giving up is. But those who do persevere make wonders happen.

It is not always being famous of making a lot of money, but feeling that you did it and knowing in your heart that you fought to get here, that’s all you need for an assurance of your success. So next time when you are thinking of letting yourself down, remember such luxuries aren’t made for you.

18. “I want everyone to get rich and be famous one day, just to let them know that this isn’t what it’s all about.” – Jim Carry.

Nowadays where our pleasures are more expansive than ever, where money has become a measurement of our worth than just a means of exchange, and where being famous seems the only purposeful way of living, it is undeniable for most of us to deny such goals and dreams.

But they might not turn out to be the answers we always thought they would be. Maybe money won’t shoo away our loneliness and make us some intimate friends, maybe being famous is way more tiresome than what it appears on screen, and maybe a life spent in luxuries might end up being a hallow life. That’s what Carry is talking about here, that it’s not always these false luxuries of life that would give you comfort, but maybe a bunch of close friends, a lovely partner, a thinking mind, a big giving heart, and a humble personality. That’s what we should be seeking instead.

19. “We are not the characters we are supposed to be, we are the characters we are.” – Thomas Wolfe

As teenagers, we are always obsessed with becoming something great in the future. And as we grow up, those childhood dreams mixed up with our parents’ expectations become a sort of burden that we are supposed to carry to that destination. We then start thinking of ourselves as the ‘becoming’ of those characters that either our mind tells us to be or the society’s expectations. Living in such a state of mind, it is easy to lose the true identity of our present selves and look over what we truly are or what we already have become – because most certainly, we were never here from the beginning; we have worked for this.

It is great to have goals and ambitions but it’s never wise to get lost in the becoming of those characters that we lose the current image of ours. We are always told be different kinds people, successful, earning, mannered, obedient etc. by our family, friends, and society, but let this quote be a reminder that we need to be original and not the supposed characters we are taught to be.

20. “Give me an ear and I will give you a voice.” – Khalil Gibran.

It is quite fascinating how a child learns to speak without any rules or skills of the language being taught, but by just listening to us speak. And it is also fascinating that how quickly after he speaks well, forgets to use their ears anymore. As we keep growing, we stop listening as much as we start talking, which only makes us repeat the half-learned or not-learned concepts time and again, until we become so sure in the faulty of what we think how things are.

Unless we listen, we could never learn anything new or more about what we know already. Having an ear means being flexible and open to new ideas and thoughts, through which we would then find our own voice that would be worthy of speaking and being heard.

21. “For they can conquer who believe they can.” – John Dryden.

Belief is the very first step that starts us on our journey. Without a picture of the end result, we can never get started on a project, mission or work. It is that mere, stubborn thought that says ‘I can’ which makes wonders happen. But the thing is, this belief works everywhere, about everything. Those with strong beliefs made things possible that no one thought of, but they only they did.

When someone laughs at your ideas, and you smile back at their ignorance, it is that belief that makes so confident and even a step beyond – it makes certain. But the motive of a strong belief is to get you started on your journey. It is not to give you an assurance that you can, but to push with such enthusiasm that you start on the journey right then and there, and never those that spark. Otherwise, almost all of us think that we can, yet we never do.

22. “Whenever you feel like quitting, think back to why you started in the first place.”

That ‘why’ is so important, to first get us started, and then to keep us pushing all the way to the end. So whenever you want to get started on something, be sure of your full determination and your destiny. Starting this website, we knew we were determined enough to take this site all the way where we can have a million visits a day.

Our “Why” was to make a difference by letting others know what we have to share, and to help others live a better version of their lives. And our this why would keep us motivated through this tough early stages, through the dying middle stages, all the way to the dream-realizing stages, and even then keep us motivated to keep our job up. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to quit after all these struggles. The night is the darkest just before dawn.

23. “It is not the load that breaks you down, it is the way you carry it.” –Lou Holtz

All our struggles seem monumental to us, to which no solutions could be offered, but we can always find ourselves giving solutions to other’s mediocre looking suffrage. It is that change of perspective that makes us differentiate between the sizes of our struggles and theirs. Because we always live with our problems, we become overwhelmed by them, while others’ seem lighter to handle.

A load of our problems may be the same in a margin, but how we think about them and seek their solutions, is what matters. A new perspective, a new idea, or at least an indifferent attitude that “it’s not that big of a deal” is all you need to cut loose from the chains that have kept you grounded so far. So be smart in handling your problems and think what solutions would you offer if your friend were going through the same problems.

24. “Once you choose hope, anything is possible.” – Christopher Reeve

When you come to think of, hope is what makes us alive. Without it, we wouldn’t even bother living. But hope in the times of despair is really vital. When we hit the rock bottom or meet a fiasco, all our lives seem to stop, and we lose hope. But if we find hope in that time of hopelessness and keep going, a better tomorrow awaits us.

Yet to start with hope and keep living with hope, on the other hand, is the ultimate way to success. Our lives move up and down, and we stumble along with it, but the hope is that strong string that if we hold on to, we might as well make it out successful and triumphant on the other end.

25. “Get with it or get lost.” –Lil Wayne

It is understandable that all of us would feel a bit entitled at some point in our lives. That may be because of how we were brought up, how things were promised to us, or how easily we were offered the blessing and facilities of life. But the sad reality is, it doesn’t stay that way.

There will be times in your life when you will be treated unfairly, according to your definition of fairness. You will be bamboozled about how horrifying a thing can happen to me, but you’ve got to move on with it. You can’t always make a sense out of everything; you just have to get with it. Or else, life would move ahead and you’ll be so left behind – so better push with it and accept life’s bitter realities.

26. “If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.” – Ben Hogan

Since everyone is unique, there are specific qualities attached to everyone – but one thing that could be acquired by everybody is results through hard work. Sometimes we have people in the competition who are better at doing things than we are, but still, we keep trying to outsmart them somehow, which is a very false strategy.

You might have to spend endless energy on trying to become who they naturally are, which is a waste. But if you work hard, there is no such thing as talent. Talent may make its owner lazy and overconfident, but hard work always keeps you sharp. And whatever the field is, hard work always gives you an edge and a solid chance of winning. So yeah, outwork them!

27. “Everything you imagine is real.” – Pablo Picasso

Growing up, our minds glow with endless ideas and dreams. The passion that we feel with dreaming those dreams, makes all the impossibilities possible. But the more we age, the more corrupted our minds become. We only then focus on our ever-increasing problems and make them worse.

Eventually, a time comes when we have lost that capacity for dreaming big or having thoughts of achievements that might even scare us away, and with it, the belief of realizing them too. But as Picasso says here, we can bring our imagination to life. Our mind is capable of doing anything once it has a thought or picture of it. So how far can you imagine?

28. “You can do anything you set your mind to, man!” – Eminem

Another quote from another great rapper. Here, I want to emphasize more on the concept of harnessing the power of our mind. Look, the mind could well be the most capable organ of your body. It is not your arm, leg, head, but your mind that runs the whole thing.

Once you convince the mind to do what you want to accomplish, it’s then just the matter of time. It will find out ways for you where you feel stuck, it will motivate you when you feel down, it will gather all your energy in one place to get that thing – then, the question remains, are you determined and willed enough to set your mind to it? Because it is possible, always.

29. “Calm is the superpower.” –Anonymous.

And with all the determination that you’ve got, you need one more thing, patience. Calm really is a superpower. It is nothing short of a superpower to have a calm nature even in the chaotic of situations. Because life is uneven, and anything could happen anytime, but if we have the power to keep calm and cool, we can then analyze everything more fairly and live a better life.

A calm personality means a happy life, a life where everything is not equipped with the power of changing your mood or decisions, a life that you choose how to live. So next time when you’re visited with anger or any of his siblings, remember to use that superpower of yours.

Conclusion

So that does it for the second round of Most Motivational Quotes for students to Stay Motivated in Life. Don’t just read them, feel them inside you, experiment with it, apply it in your daily lives only then could they be found valuable and worthy. Pass them on as well, and let others get the benefits of the shared wisdom of human beings.

Lastly, don’t forget to give your feedback about these motivational quotes and tell us which one is your favorite.