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80 Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes To Broaden New Horizons

80 Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes To Broaden New Horizons

Are you ready to get inspired and broaden your horizons? Because that’s exactly what these Eleanor Roosevelt quotes will do!

While her husband was ruling the country, Eleanor did an equally important work: she inspired, educated, and fought for justice and human rights.

I’m bringing you a collection of the most remarkable Eleanor Roosevelt quotes to remember and celebrate her outstanding work and legacy.

10 Best Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes For Inspiration

1. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

Image of Eleanor Roosevelt representing the best Eleanor Roosevelt quote.

2. “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. “Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Image of gracious Eleanor representing the greatest Eleanor Roosevelt quote.

6. “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

7. “I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do …” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

8.  “You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

10. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt with a warm expression representing a quote about the future.

See also: 120 Follow Your Dreams Quotes To Keep You On The Track

Eleanor Roosevelt’s Words To Live By

1. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Image of a young Eleanor representing Eleanor Roosevelt famous quote.

2. “Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

3. “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “Think as little as possible about yourself. Think as much as possible about other people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Image of a woman of courage representing a quote by Elanor Roosevelt.

6. “Be confident, not certain.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

7. “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.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

8. “No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “There is no human being from whom we cannot learn something if we are interested enough to dig deep.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

10. “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return

See also: 80 Inspiring Quotes On Joy To Turn Your Frown Upside Down

11. “Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”  — Eleanor Roosevelt

12. “Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt 

13. “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.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

14. “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

15. “Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well lived.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt 

Happiness is not a goal...it's a by-product of a life well lived

16. “The battle for the individual rights of women is one of long-standing and none of us should countenance anything which undermines it.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

17. “The important thing is neither your nationality nor the religion you professed, but how your faith translated itself in your life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

18. “With the new day comes new strength.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

19. “It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

20. “You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give

See also: 130 Wise Acceptance Quotes To Help You Grow And Prosper

Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes To Make You Think

1. “Love can often be misguided and do as much harm as good, but respect can do only good.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Love can often be misguided and do as much harm as good, but respect can do only good.

2. “Hate and force cannot be in just a part of the world without having an effect on the rest of it.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “It is not more vacation we need – it is more vocation.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

4. “Has any man ever attained inner harmony by pondering the experience of others? Not since the world began! He must pass through the fire.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life. ” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life

6. “Timidity and shyness are fears of this sort. Unimportant, perhaps, but they are crippling to self-confidence and to achievement.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

See also: 170 Genius Goal Achievement Quotes To Help You Succeed

7. “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.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

8. “Our own land and our own flag cannot be replaced by any other land or any other flag. But you can join with other nations, under a joint flag, to accomplish something good for the world that you cannot accomplish alone.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

10. “He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

He who learns but does not think is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger

11.“We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

12. “You can not live at all if you do not learn to adapt yourself to your life as it happens to be.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

13. “No matter how hard hit you are, you can face what has to be faced if you have learned to master your own fears.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

14. “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

15. “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Image of Eleanor Roosevelt representing a quote on courage and fear.

16. “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

17. “Unless indoctrinated, a child is too logical to understand discrimination.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

18. “Usefulness, whatever form it may take, is the price we should pay for the air we breathe and the food we eat and the privilege of being alive.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

19. “It is a brave thing to have courage to be an individual; it is also, perhaps, a lonely thing. But it is better than not being an individual, which is to be nobody at all.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

20. “If someone betrays you once, it’s their fault; if they betray you twice, it’s your fault.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

If someone betrays you once, it's their fault; if they betray you twice, it's your fault.

See also: 150 Betrayal Quotes To Help You Cope And Grow

Wise Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes About Choices

1. “A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt 

A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.

2. “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.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “There are no have-to’s, just choices.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

4. “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.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “A man can protect himself with fists or sword but his best weapon is his intellect.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

A man can protect himself with fists or sword but his best weapon is his intellect.

6. “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.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

7. “It is an important part of one’s personal choices to decide to widen the circle of one’s acquaintances whenever one can.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

8. “To be mature you have to realize what you value most. Not to arrive at a clear understanding of one’s own values is a tragic waste. You have missed the whole point of what life is for.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” — Eleanor Roosevelt

10. “I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday

11. “You can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you’ve become yourself.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

12. “Each of us, ultimately, is responsible in large part for the welfare of his community, for the kind of government he has, for the world he lives in.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt 

13. “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. ” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

14. “Looking back I see that I was always afraid of something: of the dark, of displeasing people, of failure. Anything I accomplished had to be done across a barrier of fear. “ — Eleanor Roosevelt

15. “We all create the person we become by our choices as we go through life.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

We all create the person we become by our choices as we go through life.

See also: 150 Best Taking Risk Quotes To Embrace Courageous Choices

Inspiring Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes On Living Life To The Fullest

1. “The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now

2. “You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “Success must include two things: the development of an individual to his utmost potentiality and a contribution of some kind to one’s world.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

4. “The giving of love is an education in itself.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

5. “When you stop learning you stop living in any vital and meaningful sense.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

When you stop learning you stop living in any vital and meaningful sense.

6. “What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

7. “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

8. “I consider those are rich who are doing something they feel worthwhile and which they enjoy doing.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

9. “It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

10. “Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt 

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive

11. “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, are that they aren’t paying attention to you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

12. “The most unhappy people in the world are those who face the days without knowing what to do with their time.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

13. “Nothing alive can stand still, it goes forward or back. Life is interesting only as long as it is a process of growth; or, to put it another way, we can only grow as long as we are interested.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

14. “Every time you meet a situation you think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it, you find that forever after you are freer than you were before.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

15. “People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously.

See also: 120 Ultimate Best Quotes About Progress To Fuel Your Growth

Bottom Line

This was a collection of some of the most famous Eleanor Roosevelt quotes everyone should read.

I hope you enjoyed reading them and hope to see you again.

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