Good day to you mates, you are wise to be here. I applaud your effort to sprinkle your life with goodness, optimism, positivity, and tools that I guarantee will help you to experience more confidence, success, and more happiness. I’m so unbelievably happy that you would ask "what the best quotes for teens are". I love quotes. They’re like these tiny little nuggets of truth… these little treasures that can inspire, motivate, and give our lives some guidance. Thank you for chatting with us and for asking us these awesome questions. Well… no better time than right now… let’s get right to it, actually before I do, I just briefly want to say that these are my favorite quotes for teens. I’m sure you and other people would respond differently, and that’s totally fine, but after visiting, treating, and working with teens from all over the world, I think these 5 quotes can lead teens to living fun, adventurous, courageous, successful, and very happy lives. I don’t know, I would love to hear your favorite ones, so share them.
- "You must do the thing you think you cannot do" Eleanor Rosevelt said that brilliant quote. Look, in Psychology we often talk about "limiting beliefs, or limiting ideas" that we have about ourselves. It's important that you realize that there is something magical and miraculous about you. Your brain and body are the most sophisticated piece of software and hardware in the universe. Your potential to learn, to create, to imagine, and to master almost anything is off the charts. At times, we are really quick to put ourselves in boxes. "I’m this or that", or "I’m just not good at this, or good at that." Yes, it may be true that we may have some physical or psychological strengths and aptitudes, but we can also develop anything we wish. One of my fave quotes is the truth that "your brain and body can learn to do anything we consistently ask them to do." You are a walking piece of artwork and sophistication! You are simply amazing, and if you don’t recognize that, you haven’t looked close enough, or with the right perspective. But I’m getting off topic, the idea here is simple, you must decide… please decide right here and right now, that you will not get bullied by your fears, your insecurities, or by the ignorance of others. You must become what you are meant to become… you must do the things you think you cannot do. You have to exit the safety zone, and repeatedly enter the courage and growth zone. You have to get out of the stands and get into the ring… you absolutely have to… no excuses. Your happiness, success, and positive pride depends on that! So get out there and do!
- "Happiness is the Ultimate Discipline." This is a really important quote. I think most of us look at happiness as just something that we feel or don’t feel. We think happiness is happy feelings… feeling excitement, awe, surprise, humor, etc… and yes, those positive feelings are a key part to you living a happier life… in fact, you should continuously invest in doing things that inspire those feelings inside of you. But I also want you to think about happiness as something that you engage in, something you try, skills you learn, strategies you use, relationships you build, living a life that matters and is meaningful, and looking to build and practice skills that help you to achieve in this life. Russel Nelson said "happiness in life has little to do with the circumstances of our life, and everything to do with the focus of our lives." So part of your happiness depends upon your focus… or the things you spend your time focusing and engaged with. So be patient, be kind, be gentle, be compassionate, and inspire yourself as you seek to build the types of skills, strategies, and focus that will lead to a happier and exciting life.
- "Become a giver, and you’ll never be alone." My dear friend, the quality of your friendships and relationships is the most important factor in your overall happiness in life. Becoming better and better at being a friend, a partner, a boyfriend, a girlfriend is the most essential skill you will learn in this life. This is something you can practice at. This is something you can learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others. You have to invest time in becoming better at relationships, because so much of your success, meaning, and happiness will originate from this place… it’s absolutely true. Learning to become a giver of enthusiasm, kindness, friendship, love, respect, forgiveness, understanding, compassion, and inspiration is the most important set of skills you will learn. Your heart is big enough, and choosing to become this kind of individual is the single best decision you will make. Sometimes you’ll realize that people will take advantage of this gift. Sometimes people are really good at taking, and not very good at giving… these people need time to grow, to experience, and to recognize this in themselves and transform… this isn’t particularly your job… you can influence that, invite people to change, but ultimately they must choose it themselves. If it’s harming you, you may have to separate yourself from these people, and find those that will willingly give of themselves to you as well. Kalhil Gibran wisely said "There are those who give with joy, and joy is their reward." Give without expectation. Jesus said "don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing," the Buddha said "give it and forget it." Your happiness depends upon your ability to give freely… to simply give because you believe it’s freaking awesome to give. Try it.
- "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is your ability to choose your response. In your response lies your growth, happiness, and freedom." Viktor Frankl said that one. Let me break that one down for you or simplify it a bit. "Between what happens to you, and how you respond to what happens to you is a powerful space. In that powerful space is your ability to choose how you will respond… and everything depends on what you do with that space." My brilliant, intelligent and amazing friend. The quicker you decide to take ownership of your life… of your attitude… of your behavior… of your ability to impact and influence any outcome… the quicker you decide to stop blaming others, circumstances… in short, the quicker you stop seeing yourself as a hopeless victim, and instead as a powerful creator, someone who is able to transform, to grow, and to inspire, the happier you will be. You will feel more inspired, motivated, optimistic, and in the end, you will be more successful than others, simply because you know and believe that you can work that space… that you can become better at choosing wisely, at choosing more intelligently, and learning line upon line, principle upon principle. Either you take control of your life, or you’ll be blown about like a boat in the middle of a storm, with no rudder or sail, blown about by other people’s opinions, by circumstances, etc. Own that space. Own your choices. See your successes and strengths. See your weaknesses and shortcomings and go to work repairing them. Work and own that space of power, which is your ability to change and influence the world around you. Don’t you realize that the moment you walk into any room or any space, that you transform the feeling in that room! You are powerful, don’t ever convince yourself that you are not because that is a lie.
- "Trust the process" Yo, in life, everything is a process. Whether you’re learning how to play the guitar, or singing in choir, or learning math, or passing the ACT, or social skills, or reading, writing, anything you can imagine is a process. Trust that process… tattoo that idea in your cranium, settle in, and commit to that process. Stick with things that are important and valuable. Be wise. Work through a problem. If you fail, fail with style and remember that your mistakes, shortcomings, errors, failings are all part of the most important process in the universe… and that process is evolution, it’s growth. You are made to grow, you are made to evolve… everything about your brain and body are made to expand and develop, but things take a little time. Whether your learning how to play rocket league, or learning to cook spaghetti, or learning how to play chess… give your brain and body time to learn the patterns, the skills, to gain the vision… trust the process. Stay positive, stay optimistic, stay hopeful, stay hyped, because you simply know the truth, and what is that truth? That there is a process to things, and you are fully committed to trusting the process of things. Go into life confidently. Believe that when challenges are in front of you, that in the end you will learn, become more experienced, wiser, and that you can address anything with a little patience, time, and some effort. Sometimes you’ll need help, and that is totally reasonable isn’t it? Say it to yourself all the time when you feel discouraged, or you feel like you’ll never get it, or like you’re just not good enough to do something… say to yourself "there’s a process here, trust this process… don’t trust your ability, or your gifts, or born tendencies, instead trust in your effort, and then go put in the work."
My awesome friend, I hope these have been powerful for you. I probably need to do a part 2 to this podcast, maybe even a part 3 or 4. I love quotes. Thanks for being incredible, for being humble and open. Now get out there, get in the ring, and become the architect of your life. See you next week.
Next
