30 Inspiring Quotes About Change

By Hilary White
POPSUGAR Photography | Mark Popovich
POPSUGAR Photography | Mark Popovich

I kind of hate change. I'm pretty stuck in my ways, and the idea of shaking things up has always stressed me out. But, as I've changed more and more, I've realized through experience (and trial and error) that change isn't always terrible. In fact, it sometimes leads to even better things I never would have known existed if I hadn't let go a little. These quotes will inspire you to embrace change — both in your life and in yourself — with open arms. Because sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

  1. "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." ― Eleanor Roosevelt
  2. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." ― Dr. Seuss
  3. "She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but she did." ― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
  4. "The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are." ― J.P. Morgan
  5. "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." ― Rumi
  6. "The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind." ― Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss
  7. "Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." — Marilyn Monroe
  8. "Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody." — Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  9. "The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind." ― Friedrich Nietzsche
  10. "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." ― Lao Tzu
  11. "When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny." ― Paulo Coelho
  12. "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." ― Barack Obama
  13. "For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit; stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it." ― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay
  14. "They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
  15. "The only way that we can live is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself." ― C. JoyBell C.
  16. "Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman." ― Maya Angelou
  17. "To be loyal to myself is to allow myself to grow and change, and challenge who I am and what I think. The only thing I am for sure is unsure, and this means I'm growing, and not stagnant or shrinking." ― Jarod Kintz
  18. "By changing nothing, nothing changes." — Tony Robbins
  19. "You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it." ― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
  20. "Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most." ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  21. "Change, like healing, takes time." ― Veronica Roth, Allegiant
  22. "Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
  23. "Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward." — C.S. Lewis
  24. "To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often." — Winston Churchill
  25. "Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  26. "You cannot change what you are, only what you do." — Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass
  27. "True life is lived when tiny changes occur." — Leo Tolstoy
  28. "It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on." ― Nicholas Sparks
  29. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." ― Albert Einstein
  30. "Don't be afraid of change. You may lose out on something good, but you might gain something even better." — Unknown