Recently, my older sister told me that being in your 40s feels like being in your 20s, minus all the insecurities.
“Nice!” I thought. “Something to look forward to.”
But I don’t think she knew how much difference her advice really made for me. It soothed my anxiety about approaching the big 4-0. It caused me to shift my thinking about getting older. It also got me excited about reaching that particular milestone because I knew exactly what she was talking about.
I wanted to engrave the words into my brain. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I stop to think about my age and how it makes me feel. I’ve since enlightened at least a handful of people with my sister’s brilliant observation.
You never know when you’ll hear something like this that will make you stop in your tracks and think about the world in a new way. It could be something your boss says in passing, or a motto a family member lives by, or even something a stranger casually — and randomly — mentions in passing.
In fact, one Redditor posed a simple yet powerful question about this: “What has someone said to you that you can never forget?”
Here are 25 of the most inspiring and thought-provoking responses:
1. Simple yet profound.
“The quieter you become the more you can hear.”
2. On being patient and taking a leap of faith.
“You will never be good at something in the beginning.”
3. On making mistakes.
“The only person to never make a mistake, is the one who never tried anything.”
4. See this, professors? You never know whose life you’re touching.
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
5. On first judgments.
“The weirdest people always have the darkest stories.”
6. This one is applicable to most things in life.
“I can teach it to you but I can’t learn it for you.”
7. Remember this next time you have a bad day.
“It’s a bad day, not a bad life.”
8. Note to beginners everywhere.
“The Master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried.”
9. On mental health.
“We take the time to treat sprained ankles. It’s the same way with minds.”
10. Even using chess as a metaphor for life.
“When the game is over the king and the pawn go in the same box.”
11. A testament to the phrase “practice makes perfect.”
“Don’t practice until you do it right — practice until you can’t do it wrong.”
12. Yep. It’s that simple.
“You deserve to be happy.”
13. On dealing with grief
“Grief is just love without a home.”
14. One mother’s humble financial advice.
“If you live like you’re rich when you’re not rich, you’ll never be rich. But if you live like you’re poor when you aren’t poor, you’ll never be poor.”
15. On meeting new people.
“Everybody knows something you don’t, so treat them like it.”
16. One grandma’s skeptical advice on life.
“Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see.”
17. Preach!
“Live as if you’ll die tomorrow, study as if you’ll live forever.”
18. Ain’t that the truth.
“Love isn’t how you feel about someone else. It’s about how they make you feel about yourself.”
19. Putting it all in perspective.
“Someday, someone you love is going to die. Then you’ll realize that none of this matters.”
20. This is something to think about if you’re feeling insecure about your appearance.
“Don’t worry about what you look like. Nobody cares; they’re too busy worrying about what they look like.”
21. On toxic relationships.
“Sometimes you just have to let a ship sink.”
22. A little encouragement to get through a difficult situation.
“If you turn your back now you will regret about this your whole life. If you push further you will look back and just laugh about this moment.”
23. YOLO!
“It’s better to regret something you have done, than to regret something you haven’t done.”
24. True story.
“Surround yourself with people who inspire you.”
25. On controlling your temper.
“Those you anger you, control you.”
While these are certainly not one-size-fits-all remedies for life, I imagine we can all relate to most of these musings.
Life can be tough and weird and wonderful and glorious and sad and crazy. So if you’re feeling lost, confused, or uninspired, turn to this list and remember: You’re not alone.