100+ Stay Positive Quotes to Start Your Day With Optimism

Someone making an offering at the church, one of the four types of giving according to the bible.

Published Sept. 1, 2022

With so many things happening in the world these days, staying positive can sometimes be a chore. That’s why we listed down some of the most famous stay positive quotes to help you start your day right.

But how does reading some quotes help you foster optimism?

I remember a story about a king who couldn’t sleep thinking about his problems. He invited wise men from far and wide but they just couldn’t give him a solution to his dilemma. Then one day, a wise man came and told him one thing that changed his perspective. He told the king that “this too shall pass”. In that simple phrase, the king found the answer and he was finally able to sleep.

You see, life is a matter of perspective. You can choose to wallow in misery or look at the brighter side. A cup filled with water will always be half-full or half-empty depending on your perspective. This is what the king realized when he heard those words. He can choose to worry about his problems or look for the silver lining.

We may not all be kings who have wise men at our beck and call but we can certainly relate to his predicament. There are times in our lives when it feels like all the forces in the universe conspire to give us misery. It is in these times that we feel like giving up is our only option.

But as the wise man said, this too shall pass. Whatever is weighing you down right now, that too will pass. Each of us has our own troubles to deal with. But what sets happy people apart is their perspective. They choose to stay positive despite everything they’re going through. They choose to smile and hope. And that made all the difference.

So if life is bogging you down right now, starting your day with these stay positive quotes will make it a little bit better.

Positivity Quotes for Work

  1. Don’t complain but compliment. Don’t compete but empower. – Debasish Mridha
  2. Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. – Mary Lou Retton
  3. If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles. – Widad Akrawi
  4. An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of superior personality. – Brian Tracy
  5. No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. – Robin Williams
  6. Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. – Tony Robbins
  7. Words can inspire, thoughts can provoke, but only action truly brings you closer to your dreams. – Brad Sugars
  8. Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take them closer to the fulfilment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them. – Jack Canfield
  9. Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose. – G.K. Nelson
  10. Even if I don’t reach all my goals, I’ve gone higher than I would have if I hadn’t set any. – Danielle Fotopoulis
  11. I truly believe in positive synergy, that your positive mind set gives you a more hopeful outlook, and belief that you can do something great means you will do something great. – Russell Wilson
  12. The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere. – Barack Obama
  13. Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success. – Shiv Khera
  14. Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. – Theodore Isaac Rubin
  15. If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges. – Pat Riley
  16. Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. – Robert F. Kennedy
  17. While you’re going through this process of trying to find the satisfaction in your work, pretend you feel satisfied. Tell yourself you had a good day. Walk through the corridors with a smile rather than a scowl. Your positive energy will radiate. If you act like you’re having fun, you’ll find you are having fun. – Jean Chatzky
  18. When you fail, that is when you get closer to success. – Stephen Richards
  19. Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.” – Lea Labelle
  20. Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event. – Brian Tracy
  21. When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple. – Paulo Coelho
  22. Don’t be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don’t let others discourage you or tell you that you can’t do it. – Gertrude B. Elion
  23. A positive atmosphere nurtures a positive attitude, which is required to take positive action. – Richard M. Devos
  24. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success. – Joyce Brothers

Positivity Quotes About Life

  1. You cannot change reality, but you can control the manner in which you look at things. Your attitude is under your own control. Weed out the negative and focus on the positive! – Helen Steiner Rice
  2. The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible. – Winston Churchill
  3. Good things happen in your life when you surround yourself with positive people. – Roy T. Benett
  4. There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly. – Buckminster Fuller
  5. You do not find the happy life. You make it. – Thomas S. Monson
  6. We may not have hit the peak yet, but we are on the journey up. – Brian Nhira
  7. Tough times never last but tough people do. – Robert Schuller
  8. All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney
  9. The joy of life is becoming a person you are proud of. – Bill Orender
  10. Just for the record darling, not all positive change feels positive in the beginning. – S. C. Lourie
  11. Sometimes, when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place. – Mark Alan Williams
  12. If you can stay positive in a negative situation, you win. – Anonymous
  13. Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. – Zig Ziglar
  14. Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people. – Tena Desae
  15. Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look. – Jodi Picoul
  16. I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan
  17. Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not your liking, change your liking. – Rick Steves
  18. Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen. – Deep Roy
  19. To live a fulfilled life, we need to keep creating the ‘what is next’, of our lives. Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here. – Mark Twain
  20. The moment where you doubt you can fly, you cease for ever being able to do it. – JM Barrie (Peter Pan)
  21. Look at the sparrows; they do not know what they will do in the next moment. Let us literally live from moment to moment. – Mahatma Gandhi
  22. The less you respond to negative people, the more positive your life will become. – Paulo Coelho
  23. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius
  24. Don’t forget to tell yourself positive things daily! You must love yourself internally to grow externally. – Hannah Bronfman
  25. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. – Mae West
  26. Staying positive does not mean everything will turn out okay. Rather, it means you will be okay no matter how things turn out. – Unknown
  27. Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact. – William James
  28. The world doesn’t always give you what you want, but it often gives you what you need. – Naval Ravikant
  29. Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. – Maria Robinson
  30. It doesn’t matter what cards you’re dealt. It’s what you do with those cards. Never complain. Just keep pushing forward. Find a positive in anything and just fight for it – Baker Mayfield
  31. Life is tough, and things don’t always work out well, but we should be brave and go on with our lives. – Suga
  32. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. – Henry Ford
  33. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. – Oprah Winfrey
  34. If you see the world and yourself through a lens smudged by negativity, then you’ll find much misery. If you look outwards and inwards through lens brightened by positivity you’ll find much to be happy and appreciative about. – Henrik Edberg
  35. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. – Marie Curie
A piece of paper containing a stay positive message.

Spread Positivity Quotes

  1. Wherever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own sunshine. – Anthony J. D’Angelo
  2. My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful, and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. – Jack Layton
  3. Whoever is happy will make others happy too. – Anne Frank
  4. Say something positive, and you’ll see something positive. – Jim Thompson
  5. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. – Maya Angelou
  6. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. – Buddha
  7. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. – John F. Kennedy
  8. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop
  9. A positive attitude causes a chain of reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results. – Wade Boggs

Morning Positivity Quotes

  1. Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you. – Walt Whitman
  2. Each day provides its own gifts. – Marcus Aurelius
  3. Believe you can and you’re halfway there. – Theodore Roosevelt
  4. The most wasted of days is one without laughter. – E.E. Cummings
  5. Today is a good day to try. – Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  6. Make a determination that you will live your purpose today. – Daniel Budzinski
  7. Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. – Omar Khyyam
  8. Stay positive. Better days are on their way. – Unknown.
  9. What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  10. When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. – Wilma Rudolph
  11. Recognize what you have inside you. – Eric Pullier
  12. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu
  13. Whatever is worrying you right now – forget about it. Take a deep breath, stay positive and know things will get better. – Unknown
  14. You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way. – Dr. Seuss
  15. Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. – Roy T. Bennett
  16. Every day may not be good… but there’s something good in every day. – Alice Morse Earle
  17. Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things. – Joe Paterno
  18. The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on. – Charles Dickens
  19. Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment. – Stephen Covey
  20. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson
  21. Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day. – George Allen, Sr.
  22. Write it in your heart that every day is the best day in the year. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Short Quotes About Staying Positive

  1. Choose to be optimistic, it feels better. – Dalai Lama
  2. The truly rich are those who enjoy what they have. – Yiddish Proverb
  3. Only in the darkness can you see the stars – Martin Luther King Jr.
  4. What we think, we become. – Buddha
  5. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. – Roald Dahl
  6. Train your mind to see the good in every situation. —Unknown
  7. I dwell in possibility. – Emily Dickinson
  8. If you can stay positive in a negative situation, you win. – Unknown
  9. May your troubles be less and your blessings be more. – Irish Blessing
  10. I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun. – Katherine Hepburn
  11. One day or day one. It’s your choice. – Unknown
  12. When you think positive, good things happen. – Matt Kemp
  13. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results. – Willie Nelson
  14. It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive. – Ellen Degeneres
  15. It’s amazing. Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it. – Lindsey Vonn
  16. Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. – George Addai
  17. One small positive thought can change your whole day. – Zig Ziglar
  18. Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation. – Michael Jordan
  19. The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe that it is possible. – Charles Kingsleigh
  20. We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated. – Maya Angelou
  21. If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill
  22. Positive anything is better than negative nothing. – Elbert Hubbard

Remember to Stay Positive

As we all know, life is not all sunshine and rainbows. There will always be days when storm clouds hover over the horizon or a particularly destructive hurricane will wreak havoc on your life and your best-laid plans. But in these times, always remember that only you can change your circumstances. Choose to stay positive and see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. Focus on your blessings rather than your problems. Only then you will see that there’s more to life than your present troubles. So remember to choose optimism every single day. It’s the best gift you can give to yourself.

(Related: 100+ Empathy Quotes To Inspire Your Day)

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