To ask what the most inspirational book/person/thing/quote etc was in your life?

[Fishface77]

My most inspirational quote actually came from mumsnet.
Not my circus not my monkeys.
It has stopped my over involvement in things which were affecting my life.

"If you find yourself in hell, just keep walking" I found this one quite a good one if times are really tough.
I also like " no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent" it helps me not to be so sensitive to what seems to be little digs people may throw at me.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

Face the sun and th shadows will fall behind you (Helen Keller)

Lead me, follow me or get out of my way (General Paton)

There is a crack in everything.......that is how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen (I think)

Reminds me that nobody is perfect and that's ok!

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.

Marcus Aurelius.

@lelapaletute

That's a beautiful passage, thank you for sharing it...

I can't remember the exact quote from Hamlet, but it's from the speech when the politician person is giving his son life advise before he goes off into the big wide world - 'to thine own self be true'.

When things are going on around me and I'm being pushed in a direction I remind myself that I have my own personal code of conduct and I have to live with my decisions afterwards when everybody else has fallen away.

It's my conscience that I have to listen to at 2am! So listen to my own instincts.

Cloud Atlas 'Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness we birth our future'

Also 'my life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is an ocean but a multitude of drops'

Mentioned upthread already CS Lewis 'I can't go back to yesterday as I was a different person then'.

The song Que Sera Sera does it for me. Especially in the Royale Family episode where Barbara is doing her elderly mums hair. I found it so poignant that their roles were reversed and it never fails to remind me of my Nan who spent hours doing my hair.

A quote from Lord of the Rings ( practically all of them actually) 'I will not say 'do not weep', for not all tears are an evil.' I had that one tattooed and I get lots of comments on it.

They both help me through tough times.

One more silly one. The first Sex and the City film, where Carrie is leaving her wedding after Big doesn't show, and flings herself at him when they meet. The look on Charlotte's face as she holds Carrie and tells Big 'NO' when he tries to comfort her after all the hurt he caused. It always represents true friendship to me, I truly believe her performance and it inspires me to be that friend.

Fishface I believe it was me who said not my monkeys not my circus! One of my favourite sayings (although I NC since then!)
Glad it's helped you though! Xx

Laura Marling; "But if I sit here and weep, I'll be blown over by the slightest of breeze"

Let he without sin cast the first stone. I'm sure this is biblical but it's also Wycliffe jean. Helps me to remember to hold back on judging.

These are great, great idea Op.
This one helped me a lot with regards to not dwelling on negative tboughts..
"You can't always stop them coming in but you don't need to give them a chair"
No idea of provenance and I've probably mangled it but hey ho

Aim for the stars and you might hit the trees , aim for the trees and you might hit the ground !!

'Learn to want what you have, rather than have what you want'.

'Be grateful, be happy, be kind.'

"You can't reason with unreasonable people"

Something I heard when DD was a toddler in regard to tantrums and it has been useful ever since.

Another long time favourite quote is actually from the Bible (Hebrews 11:1)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

I'm not Christian, but it is so meaningful for me even when it comes to my own faith. And reminds me in my darkest moments that faith involves believing when there is no evidence, no reason why something happened, no explanation that makes sense. Now religion isn't for everyone but it's helped me through some difficult times.

Sounds silly but in the speech my headmaster gave when we left sixth form he said (to much hilarity) that his piece of advice for life would be : "if it comes up, do it", and for some reason this had aneffect on me and I still remember it and try to live by it over 20 years later

@FishFace The circus / monkeys saying is the reason I haven't quit my job lately, ha!

@affectionincoldclimate it's really cool to hear the Polish origins. Pure brilliance!

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

I have many more great sayings ( my grandmother was always coming out with something) must have a ponder!

Richard Feynman (20th century physicist) said 'The first principle is that you must not fool yourself. And you are the easiest person to fool'.

He originally meant it about scientific method, I think - not believing your own hypothesis in the absence of objective evidence. But I like to think of it as more of a psychological / spiritual thing... not lying to yourself about your values/likes/dislikes/what's going on with your life, being honest with yourself even when it can be easier not to be. EG if someone is not treating you well, having the courage to deal with it rather than brush it under the carpet and pretend it's not happening. Or if you have made a mistake, having the courage to admit that to yourself.

It's so easy to lie to ourselves, pretend things don't matter when they do, to disregard our true feelings and values. So when I think of this quote, I remember the importance of not doing so.

Another Lord of the rings one:

When stuff has started to go badly wrong for the hobbits and they get to the prancing pony they decide to stay put and wait for Gandalf to come, after a while the wraiths attack and Aragorn turns to Frodo and says "you can't wait for a wizard Frodo"

Basically, nobody is going to turn up and magic away all your problems. I'm often heard saying to myself ' you can't wait for a wizard Frodo' when I need to hoik up my big girl pants and tackle problems head on.

The blurt foundation sent this card

If it's wrong then it's wrong - even if everyone is doing it.
If it's right then it's right - even if no one else is doing it.