Change is constant. Whether across relationships, career, health, identity or the world around us, things are always changing. Sometimes we choose it. Other times, it barrels in without warning. Either way, change challenges us to adapt, grow, build resilience and keep moving forward. Quotes about change can help us consider the transitions.
After all, facing change isn’t always easy. It can be disorienting and even overwhelming. That’s when the right words can matter most. They remind us that we’re not stuck. They can also speak into our lives that change, while hard, can also be powerful, freeing and positive.
These quotes about change offer comfort, motivation and the occasional push when we need it. This collection includes powerful, uplifting change quotes, along with self-change quotes that reflect inner growth. Whether you’re adjusting to something new or working toward a fresh start, these words can help guide and strengthen you.
Powerful Quotes About Embracing Change in Life
When life doesn’t go as planned, we often resist. But embracing change can help us find peace and sometimes even unexpected joy. These quotes reflect on how life changes and how we can come to accept, adapt and move forward.
- “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them—that only creates sorrow.” —Lao Tzu
- “Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” —Maya Angelou
- “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” —Jim Rohn
- “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” —Wayne W. Dyer
- “Words are where most change begins.” —Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance
- “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” —Leo Tolstoy
- “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” —Albert Einstein
- “If you do not change direction, you might end up where you are heading.” —Lao Tzu
- “The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” —Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea
Related: If You Want to Change Your Life, Change What You Think
Inspirational Quotes About Change and Growth to Move in the Right Direction
Change isn’t just something that happens to us. It can be a starting point for growth. Whether you’re building a new habit, starting over or healing from loss, these quotes offer inspiration to keep going.
- “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” —Viktor E. Frankl
- “I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.” —Georg C. Lichtenberg
- “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” —Deborah Day
- “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” —Marilyn Monroe
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” —Amelia Earhart
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” —Angela Davis
- “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall
- “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude.” —Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
- “Change is made of choices, and choices are made of character.” —Amanda Gorman
- “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” —Rumi
Related: Perseverance Quotes to Help You Find Strength
Motivational Sayings About Change to Spur Us to Action
Change often starts with discomfort. These motivational quotes are for those moments when you know it’s time to act, whether that’s leaving a job, having a hard conversation or choosing a different path in life.
- “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” —Henry Ford
- “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” —Socrates
- “By changing nothing, nothing changes.” —Tony Robbins
- “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” —Andy Warhol
- “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” —Robert F. Kennedy
- “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” —John F. Kennedy
- “The biggest risk is not taking any risk…. The only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” —Mark Zuckerberg
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” —Wayne Gretzky
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” —John Wooden
Short Phrases About Change to Shift to a More Positive Perspective
A shift in mindset can change everything. These short, uplifting sayings act like affirmations, helping us feel a little braver, calmer and more grounded when life feels uncertain.
- “Change feels risky until staying the same feels worse.”
- “Growth doesn’t shout. It whispers, then stretches you.”
- “You’re not starting over. You’re starting wiser.”
- “Fear resists change. Hope makes room for it.”
- “Change isn’t chaos. It’s a new shape waiting to be named.”
- “Let go of what you outgrew, not what you outloved.”
- “Some changes break you open so light can get in.”
- “You’re allowed to be scared and still move forward.”
- “Nothing changes if you wait for permission.”
- “Change rarely arrives with comfort. It arrives with truth.”
Famous Quotes About Change That Still Ring True Today
There’s a reason some sayings stick. These famous quotes about change have lasted through time for good reason because they’re clear, honest and speak to the core of what it means to move forward in life.
- “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” —Norman Vincent Peale
- “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” —Winston Churchill
- “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” —William James
- “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” —John F. Kennedy
- “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” —George Bernard Shaw
Change Is Hard, but It Can Make Us Better
Change isn’t always welcome, but it is always possible. These positive quotes about change encourage optimism during hard transitions. If you’re facing something uncertain, start with one thought, one action, one step. Whether it’s a change you chose or one life handed you, you get to decide how you respond.
Think about the area of life where you’re resisting change right now. Could you take a small action today? Could you rethink the story you’re telling yourself about it?
Even if it’s hard, it might just be the thing that helps you grow.
Photo courtesy of tonkid/Shutterstock
