When it comes to inspiring quotes, few people can match the timeless wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt. Her remarkable life and legacy have left an indelible mark on history, and her powerful words continue to resonate with people around the world.
From keen observations on human nature to motivational calls to action, Eleanor Roosevelt quotes continue to resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of Eleanor Roosevelt’s most well-known and motivational quotes, exploring the enduring insight they offer.
Who is Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was a prominent and influential figure in American history who served as the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She was a vocal advocate for civil rights, women’s rights, and human rights, and her impact on American politics and society during the 20th century was profound. She was also a skilled diplomat, author, and public speaker, and is widely regarded as one of the most respected and admired women in American history.
Here are a few interesting facts about Eleanor Roosevelt:
- Eleanor Roosevelt’s childhood was difficult despite her privileged background. Her mother and younger brother passed away, while her alcoholic father was mostly absent from her life, leading to emotional trauma.
- She was a skilled writer and authored several books throughout her life, including her autobiography “The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt” and “You Learn by Living.”
- During World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt visited troops overseas and served as a goodwill ambassador for the United States.
- After her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to be active in politics and served as a delegate to the United Nations, where she helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Famous Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes
Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.
A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.
The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, and to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.
No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence through every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.
We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.
A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.
You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
Friendship with one’s self is all important because without it one can not be friends with anyone else in the world.
If someone betrays you once, it’s their fault; if they betray you twice, it’s your fault.
Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, but you also have an obligation to be one.
The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.
You must do the things you think you cannot do.
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, and imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.
Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well lived.
Do the things that interest you and do them with all your heart. Don’t be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren’t paying attention to you.
Life is what you make it. Always has been, and always will be.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?
You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.
One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
Once I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: “No good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.
The giving of love is an education in itself.
Inspiring Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes to Live by
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.
People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
I believe anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.
There is not a human being from whom we cannot learn something if we are interested enough to dig deep.
I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.
Since everybody is an individual, nobody can be you. You are unique. No one can tell you how to use your time. It is yours. Your life is your own. You mold it. You make it.
You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.
Work is always an antidote to depression.
Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice.
Light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.
One thing life has taught me: if you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will always lead to something else.
Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give.
Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one. You cannot make any useful contribution in life unless you do this.
Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age have not yet begun.
When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand alone and be counted.
I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision
A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!
Character building begins in our infancy and continues until death.
Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
Pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer! We must not let that happen here.
Lest I keep my complacent way I must remember somewhere out there a person died for me today. As long as there must be war, I ask and I must answer was I worth dying for?
What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?
The only advantage of not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are.
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
Did you find these quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt inspiring?
We hope these quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt have left you feeling inspired and motivated. Her words serve as a powerful reminder that we all have the potential to make a positive impact, regardless of our circumstances.
By sharing her inspiring words with others, we can help spread her message of hope, courage, and compassion to inspire future generations of changemakers.
