Words to live by

As a life-long cynic, it's unlikely that you'll ever find me in the self-help section of Waterstones. Not because I feel I have nothing that needs self-improving (definitely not that) but because to me, the likes of The Power of Now and The Secret have more than a little whiff of BS about them. Sorry Oprah, but you can keep your spirituality and your 'power of positive thinking'. 

And yet...for someone with so little time for self-help clichés, if there's one thing I'm a real sucker for, it's the 'inspirational quote'. While I might not be convinced by the idea of that self-help classic, the 'natural law of attraction', there's something about a few choice wise words, be it from a pop star or the pope, that I can't help but lap up. 

So I decided to share a few of my favourites. I can't say I succeed at channeling all of these words nearly as much as I'd like to, if I'm honest, but here are some that I think you should at least strive to live by... 

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together."
Elizabeth Taylor 

"Follow your heart, but take your brain with you."

Alfred Adler 

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one."
Dolly Parton

"A lot of people will disappoint you. Don't let any of them be you."

Bill Murray 

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”

Nora Ephron 

"None of my actions have ever been motored by the search for a husband, or wondering if I was going to have a family, or wanting to live in a really great house, or thinking it would be really great to have a diamond."

Lena Dunham 

"I try to avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward."
Charlotte Bronte

"The sexiest people are thinkers. Nobody's interested in somebody who's just vain with a hole in their head, talking about the latest thing. There is no latest thing. It's all rubbish."
Vivienne Westwood

"I don't like to gamble, but if there's one thing I'm willing to bet on, it's myself."

Beyoncé

"Never love someone whom you think you need to mend – or who makes you feel like you should be mended." 

Caitlin Moran

"Mother Teresa didn't walk around complaining about her thighs - she had shit to do."
Sarah Silverman

"You can never be over-dressed or over-educated."
Oscar Wilde

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time."
Edith Wharton

"What you say no to is as important as what you say yes to."

Isla Fisher

"There's power in looking silly and not caring that you do."

Amy Poehler

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it."

Maya Angelou

“One friend with whom you have a lot in common is better than three with whom you struggle to find things to talk about.”
Mindy Kaling
"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."

J.K Rowling

"I would always rather be happy than dignified."
Charlotte Bronte