I used to wait for motivation to strike like lightning.
I thought it was some magical force that would one day hit me and suddenly I’d want to stop binge eating, quit gaming for hours, and start living a better life. But that day never came. The truth I had to learn the hard way is that motivation isn’t something you find. It’s something you build.
Action comes first. The feeling of motivation comes second.
I know how it feels to be stuck. I’ve been there. I was overweight, unhealthy, and stuck in a cycle of bad habits that felt impossible to break. Change felt like a mountain I couldn't climb. But my entire life started to shift when I stopped waiting to feel like it and started doing something. Anything. Even the smallest possible thing.
These quotes aren't magic words. But they are powerful reminders. They are sparks. My hope is that one of these will spark a small action for you today because that’s all it takes to begin.
For When You Just Need to Start
The hardest part is always that first step. Our brains will come up with a thousand reasons to stay right where we are. It’s comfortable in the rut. It’s predictable. Starting something new is scary.
When I was trying to break my gaming addiction, the thought of "never playing again" was overwhelming. So I didn't focus on that. I focused on just one small action: not turning on the console for one evening. I decided to go for a short walk instead. That one small choice was the first crack in a very bad habit.
Here are some words to help you take that first step.
- "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Mark Twain
- "A year from now you may wish you had started today." – Karen Lamb
- "Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking." – William Butler Yeats
- "The beginning is the most important part of the work." – Plato
- "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." – Zig Ziglar
- "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao Tzu
For Building Momentum with Small Wins
Big goals are great, but they can also be paralyzing. When I decided to lose weight, the number—110 pounds—felt impossible. If I had focused on the total amount, I would have given up on day one.
Instead, I learned to celebrate the small wins. Choosing water over soda was a win. Walking for 10 minutes was a win. Saying no to a late-night snack was a win. These little victories built on each other. They created momentum. Losing over 110 pounds wasn't one giant act of willpower. It was thousands of small, good decisions strung together over time.
Don't dismiss your small efforts. They are the building blocks of massive change.
- "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." – Robert Collier
- "Small progress is still progress." – Unknown
- "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." – Confucius
- "Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." – Vincent Van Gogh
- "Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most." – Abraham Lincoln
- "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." – Aristotle
For When Times Get Tough
There will be days you want to quit. You will mess up. You will feel like all your progress has been erased. This is normal. It’s part of the process.
For me, this is where my faith became my foundation. There were so many times my own strength wasn't enough. When temptation was strong or I felt hopeless, I learned to lean on God. Prayer wasn't a last resort; it became my first response. It reminded me that I wasn't in this fight alone. True strength isn't about never falling; it's about having the faith to get back up every single time.
When your own power runs out, find a deeper source of strength.
- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." – Philippians 4:13
- "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." – C.S. Lewis
- "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." – Confucius
- "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." – Friedrich Nietzsche
- "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts." – Psalm 28:7
- "Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength." – Theodore Roosevelt
- "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." – Margaret Thatcher
For Shifting Your Perspective
How you see your struggle will determine how you face it. If you see it as a punishment, it will crush you. If you see it as a challenge or an opportunity to grow, it will shape you.
One of the most powerful habits I built was practicing daily gratitude. Instead of focusing on what I was giving up—junk food, lazy habits—I started thanking God for what I had. I thanked Him for the healthy food I could eat, for the ability to move my body, for another day to make better choices. This simple shift changed everything. It replaced feelings of deprivation with feelings of abundance.
Your focus determines your reality. Choose to focus on the good.
- "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." – Wayne Dyer
- "The best way to predict the future is to create it." – Peter Drucker
- "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." – Winston Churchill
- "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right." – Henry Ford
- "Gratitude turns what we have into enough." – Aesop
- "Two men looked out from prison bars; one saw the mud, the other saw stars." – Frederick Langbridge
Don't just scroll past these words. Let them sink in. The right quote at the right time can be the nudge you need to get moving. But inspiration without action is just entertainment.
So here’s my challenge to you: Don’t just read these quotes. Pick one. Just one that speaks to you right now. Write it down. Put it on your desk or your bathroom mirror.
Then, do one small thing that honors it.
What’s the one small step you can take today?
