Quotes I Live By

Quotes I Live By

WRITING PROMPT - What is a quote you try to live by? What does that resonate with you? How hard is it to live by this quote? How have you changed your life?

BONUS CHALLENGE - What can you do to inspire the world with what living by these words has taught you?

Most humans have a tendency to search the world for inspiration and guidance. Our needs change throughout the years, which affects the types of inspiration necessary to help you through.

Like most humans, I have found many quotes that guided me to the place I am today. But the quote that got me through my teenage years and into adulthood was taught to me by my French teacher.

The quote was, “Qui ne riske rien n’a rien.” Say it out loud. Isn’t that one of the most beautiful things you’ve ever heard?

What does it mean? In English, this is simply, “nothing ventured nothing gained.” But why were those the words I chose to live by?

Well, believe it or not, I was a very shy person. If I didn’t know someone very well – and until I was very comfortable around them, I didn’t speak to them. I also shied away from even being around a crowd, especially if they were not close friends or family.

I wasn’t always shy. That was a learned behavior caused by years of many nuns telling me that boys don’t wanna marry smart girls. They used to tell us that our purpose in life was to get married and re-populate the Earth. They told us that we needed to dumb ourselves down, don’t initiate conversations, and never ever talk about who you are or what you want. Nope, no damage was done here!

When I heard this phrase, I had a conversation with my French teacher about what it means for boys versus what it means for girls. The woman was furious! She told me that we should never dumb ourselves down for anyone! She asked me this question, “ If we don’t talk about ourselves, how can we expect anyone to know who we really are?“ She also explained that these women who told me that my place was to be married and have children chose not to do so themselves. Why would I allow them to tell me what to do if they weren’t willing to do it themselves? Good point!

We had a long discussion about my dreams and my realities. We talked about the fact that you cannot succeed in life if you are not actually trying to live life. We got really deep in this conversation. It changed my life!

I decided to stop worrying about looking too intelligent or sounding stupid. I learned that nothing is going to happen in my life if I don’t get off my ass and do it myself! So I adopted these words. I repeat them often and still try to live by them every day. To me, these words remind me to be the person I am and to stop hiding behind the shame of women who weren’t willing to do the things they insisted for me.

As a woman in her midlife years, I happened upon the words of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that resonated with me and reflects my newest approach to the life. These words are, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.”

When I first heard these words, I laughed. I thought it was hilarious and even joked that it would be my new mantra.

Then I thought about the gravity of those words and what they mean in the life I’m leading now.

I have been suffering with chronic illness most of my life. I found that traveling from doctor to doctor and going for a test after test left me exhausted. I was so focused on my symptoms, my treatments, and my recovery that I forgot that life was supposed to be fun. It’s easy to get so caught up in the day to day issues that you forget to enjoy the life you are working so hard to live 

To me, “Well-behaved women rarely make history” is not only a reminder to have a little fun every day of my life, but it also is a reminder that I am an individual with my own needs. It tells me to be myself, to have fun, and not to worry about how others see me.

I became a life coach to help other women remember to live their life, and to remembers to have fun every day. I’m hoping to help other women learn how to make life a little bit easier-even on the bad days!