Life isn't simple. But the beauty of it is, you can always start over. It'll get easier.

Alacia Bessette, Simply from Scratch, 2010

Life is indeed difficult, partly because of the real difficulties we must overcome in order to survive, and partly because of our own innate¹ desire to always do better, to overcome new challenges, to self-actualize. Happiness is experienced largely in striving towards a goal, not in having attained² things, because our nature is always to want to go on to the next endeavor.

Albert Ellis, Michael Abrams, Lidia Dengelegi, The Art & Science of Rational Eating, 1992

There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

Alfred Korzybski (1879 - 1950)

You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative³ was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.

Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.

Ben Stein

Man is born to live, not to prepare for life.

Boris Pasternak (1890 - 1960), Doctor Zhivago, 1958

Not a shred⁴ of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.

Brendan Gill

You don’t have to live your life so that your life is suitable for small talk. Life can be lived in ways that circumnavigate a myriad⁵ of colors and landscapes.

Cherie Ve Ard, Technomadia, 04-04-2013

Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.

Christopher Morley (1890 - 1957)

Life is full of surprises and and serendipity⁶. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. Just find your next adventure-do it well, enjoy it-and then, not now, think about what comes next.

Condoleeza Rice

In matters of self-control as we shall see again and again, speed kills. But a little friction⁷ really can save lives.

Daniel Akst, We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess, 2011

When we exercise self-control on a given occasion, we win for ourselves a little credibility we can rely on the next time around. Pretty soon we develop a reputation to ourselves that we want badly to uphold. With each test that we meet, our resolve gains momentum⁸, fueled by the fear that we may succumb⁹ and establish a damaging precedent¹⁰ for our own weakness.

Daniel Akst, We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess, 2011

Life is a thing that mutates without warning, not always in enviable ways. All part of the improbable adventure of being alive, of being a brainy biped with giant dreams on a crazy blue planet.

Diane Ackerman, One Hundred Names for Love: A Stroke, A Marriage, and the Language of Healing, 2011

The purpose of life is to fight maturity¹¹.

Dick Werthimer

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,

A medley¹² of extemporanea;

And love is a thing that can never go wrong;

And I am Marie of Romania.

Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), Not So Deep as a Well (1937), "Comment"

It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over.

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)

Life is just one damned thing after another.

Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

Life is like one big Mardi Gras. But instead of showing your boobs, show people your brain, and if they like what they'll, you'll have more beads¹³ than you know what to do with.

Ellen DeGeneres, Tulane Commencement Speech, 2009

Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep.

Fran Lebowitz (1950 - )

Life is not a spectacle or feast; it is a predicament.

George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

Life is something that everyone should try at least once.

Henry J. Tillman

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.

Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992)

Life is difficult and complicated and beyond anyone's total control, and the humility¹⁴ to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes¹⁵.

J. K. Rowling, Harvard Commencement Address, 2008

Life is a long lesson in humility.

James M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)

He only earns his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

John Lennon (1940 - 1980), "Beautiful Boy"

In real life, however, you don't react to what someone did; you react only to what you think she did, and the gap between action and perception is bridged by the art of impression management. If life itself is but what you deem it, then why not focus your efforts on persuading others to believe that you are a virtuous¹⁶ and trustworthy cooperator?

Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, 2005

The lessons this life has planted in my heart pertain¹⁷ more to caring than crops, more to Golden Rule than gold, more to the proper choice than to the popular choice.

Kirby Larson, Hattie Big Sky, 2006

Life ain't like books. Books got somebody writin' 'em and tryin' to entertain ya. Life is more like a set of Legos. Unless you take care of 'em, you lose a few pieces and you end up steppin' on 'em with bare feet. You gotta take care of your life.

Laura Moncur (1969 - ), Merriton: 35 Minutes Away From Home, 02-29-12