72 Mindfulness Quotes for Daily inspiration and Motivation

An Introduction to Mindfulness

By now we’ve all heard the term mindfulness. Mindfulness has grown in popularity, and a large number of us have adopted it as part of our daily routine in order to live a calmer, more productive, and thoughtful life.

Mindfulness is simply the suggestion that our minds are to focus on the present moment, thinking about what is happening right now, where you are, the sounds, the colours, the tastes etc. The definition of mindfulness is the human ability to be fully present in the moment, being aware of what is around us. The beautiful thing about mindfulness is that within each and every person is the ability to practice mindfulness.

There are many benefits associated with mindfulness, such as reducing stress, More tolerant, increased awareness, enhanced productivity, improved insight and performance. 

This simple video explains what mindfulness is, and how it effects our everyday life.

Mindfulness Quotes

Mindfulness quotes work as the perfect reminder to make mindfulness practice a part of our everyday life. Writing mindfulness quotes on note cards and pinning them in areas around your home or work space are a great way to increase motivation and provoke thoughts around mindfulness. We’ve compiled a list of useful mindfulness quotes to use as part of your daily mindfulness practice.

1. “If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.” – Ivan Nuru
2. “The way you speak to yourself matters.” – Unknown
3. “Visualize your highest self and start showing up as him/her.” – Ali Owens
4. “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” – Robert Morely
5. “The first and best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato
6. “The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” – Sakyong Mipham
7. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle
8. “When you focus on the good, the good gets better.” – Abraham Hicks
9. “In a world full of doing, doing, doing, it’s important to take a moment to just breathe, to just be.” – Unknown
10. “Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax.” – Bryant McGill
11. “The still waters of a lake reflect the beauty around it. When the mind is still, the beauty of the self is reflected.” – Vanda Scaravelli
12. “Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know this is the moment you most need to relax.” – Matt Haig
13. “When you want to succeed, as much as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” – Eric Thomas
14. “The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.” – Albert Einstein
15. “She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures and doubts, but because she continued on despite them.” – Beau Taplin
16. “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
17. “The mind is like water. When it’s turbulent, it’s difficult to see. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear.” – Prasad Mahes
18. “The mind is just like a muscle– the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets, and the more it can expand.” – Idowu Koyenikan
19. “Today I will live in the moment. Unless the moment is unpleasant, in which case I will eat a cookie.” – Unknown
20. “Breathe in the good shit. Breathe out the bull shit.” – Karen Salmansohn
21. “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then is an empty desk a sign?” – Albert Einstein
22. “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it isn’t open.” – Frank Zappa
23. “For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
24. “Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” – Hermann Hesse
25. “Worrying is stupid, it’s like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain.” – Unknown
26. “No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.” – Jack Kornfield
27. “Feelings come and go like cloudys in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
28. “Be happy in the moment. That is enough.” – Mother Teresa
29. “Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.”
30. “Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think.”
31. “If you can’t do anything about it, then let it go. Don’t be a prisoner to things you can’t change.”
32. “Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak.”
33. “Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”
34. “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand melting like a snowflake.” – Francis Bacon Sr.
35. “Sweetheart, you are in pain. Relax. Take a breath. Let’s pay attention to what is happening; then we’ll figure out what to do.” – Sylvia Boorstein
36. “Mindful and creative, a child who has neither a past, nor examples to follow, nor value judgments, simply lives, speaks, and plays in freedom.” – Arnaud Desjardins
37. “What you are is what you have been. What you’ll be is what you do now.” – Buddha
38. “Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words, and actions.” – Amit Ray
39. “You must not hate those who do wrong or harmful things, but with compassion, you must do what you can to stop them – for they are harming themselves, as well as those who suffer from their actions.”
40. “Rule your mind or it will rule you.”
41. “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
42. “Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.”
43.  “When you move your focus from competition to contribution, life becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their hearts.” 
44. “Mindfulness is a pause – the space between stimulus and response: that’s where choice lies.” – Tara Brach
45. “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha
46. “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
47. “Mindul eating emphasizes a spirit of exploration, experimenting and flexibility in finding ways to make use of nutritional information.” – Jean L. Kristeller
48. “Mindfulness meditation doesn’t change life. Life remains as fragile and unpredictable as ever. Meditation changes the heart’s capacity to accept life as it is.” – Sylvia Boorstein
49. “Happiness, not in another place but this place… not for another hour, but this hour.” – Walt Whitman
50. “Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you– in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.” – Jan Chozen Bays
51. “Cultivating a generous spirit starts with mindfulness. Mindfulness, simply stated, means paying attention to what is happening; it’s about what is really going on.” – Nell Newman
52. “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have.” – Eckhart Tolle 
53. “Meditation goes in. Prayer goes out. But both aim for the same place of union between you and the Divine.” – Lisa Jones
54. “Mindfulness is a quality that’s always there. It’s an illusion that there’s a meditation and post-meditation period, which I always find amusing, because you’re either mindful or you’re not.” – Richard Gere
55. “Be where you are, not where you think you should be.” – Unknown
56. “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.” – Nicole Reed
57. “These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.” – Najwa Zebian
58. “Mindfulness meditation should be more than just watching what you are doing. What you really need to watch is your motivation.” – Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
59. “We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” – Max Depree
60. “Wherever you are, be there totally.” – Eckhart Tolle
61. “Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.” – Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
62. “Nothing is worth more than this day. You cannot relive yesterday. Tomorrow is still beyond your reach.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
63. “You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron
64. “Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.” – Sharon Salzberg
65. “Everything is created twice. First in the mind and then in reality.” – Robin Sharma
66. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes. Including you.” – Anne Lamott
67. “The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.” – Tara Brach
68. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu
69. “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.” – Amit Ray
70. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” – Leo Tolstoy
71. “How we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the character of our experience, and therefore, the quality of our lives.” – Sam Harris
72. “Training your mind to be the present moment is the number one key to making healthier choices.” – Susan Albers

Our Top 4 Mindfulness Quotes

Eckhart Tolle is at the forefront of spiritual teaching and mindfulness. A German spiritual teacher and best selling self-help author, he has written the incredibly popular, ‘The Power of Now’. In this beautifully simple mindfulness quote, Eckhart Tolle explains that too much of our focus is on the wanting and future self, and less so on where we are in that moment, and the happiness and fulfilment we can find from it.

While Mother Teresa isn’t someone you would associate with being a mindfulness guru, a lot of what she spoke about in her lifetime supported the act of mindfulness. Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian Roman Cathloic nun, who is considered to be one of the 20th Century’s greatest humanitarians. In fact, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. 

In this quote from Mother Teresa, much like Eckhart Tolle, she explains that we need only focus on the present moment to be happy. While goal setting and planning for the future is important, we cannot let this consume and stop us from appreciating what is happening in the present moment. It encourages us to give thanks and practice gratitude for the here and now. I’m sure that we can all find something in our lives in the present moment that we could find happiness and thanks in. A simple quote that forms a reminder to live in the present.

Mindfulness itself derives from sati, which is a significant element of Buddhist traditions. It’s no wonder that many popular mindfulness quotes can be referenced to Buddha. This simple, yet powerful quote, reinforces the importance of being in the present moment. Reflecting on what has been or would be can create an empty existence if we are unable to live in and appreciate the current moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, and now a global spiritual leader, known for the Plum Village Tradition which is recognized as the main inspiration for engaged Buddhism. In this mindfulness quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, he explains that if we become aware and partake in the current moment, rather than rush though it, we can find happiness. I’m sure that we can all apply this to our daily life, when we rush around completing tasks and being busy, but don’t take enough time to slow down and appreciate what we have or what is happening to us.