“Life is a journey, not a destination,” said Emerson. And I couldn’t agree more.
But this journey slips through our fingers like sand and in the blink of an eye, it’s all gone. So why not give our best to enjoy the ride?
Here is an exquisite collection of life is too short quotes to inspire you to live your life to the fullest and never take anything for granted.
I’ve collected them from various sources on the web to help you embrace the present and infuse every second with purpose!
Top 10 Life Is Too Short Quotes To Live By
1. “Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.” — Mark Twain
2. “Life is short. Stop worrying so much. Have fun. Be grateful. Be yourself. Don’t allow others to bring you down. Life is a one time offer. Live to your fullest.” — Karen Salmansohn
3. “Every moment of life is precious and can never happen again and therefore is a reason to appreciate, be grateful for, and celebrate the fact that you are alive.” — Zelig Pliskin
4. “After all, life is too short to be anything but happy.” — Karl Marx
5. “Let’s not allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Remember ‘Life is too short to be little.’” — Dale Carnegie
6. “Enjoy every moment because life is too short to fret over hardships.” — Himaja Sirigiri
7. “Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason.” — Dr. Seuss
8. “Life is short and unpredictable. Eat the dessert first.” — Helen Keller
9. “Life is short. So do the things which make you happy. And be with people who make you happy. Look for the good in every day — even if some days you have to look harder.” — Karen Salmansohn
10. “No regrets … just lessons. No worries … just acceptance. No expectations … just gratitude. Life is too short.” — Jesse Joseph
Inspirational Quotes On Life Being Too Short
1. “Live honestly to a higher note. Life is too short. So, do the best you can and live your life to a higher note.” — Kimora Lee Simmons
2. “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 and melting like a snowflake….” — Francis Bacon
3. “Life is way too short to continue thinking you’re not worthy or good enough. Regardless of what others have told you, you are enough and are worthy of love and belonging.” — Kevin Ngo
4. “If you wait, all that happens is that you get older.” — Larry Mcmurtry
5. “Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
6. “Our time here on this planet is limited. Focus on what brings you joy — not on what brings you stress.” — Unknown
7. “Do what you love to do and give it your very best. Whether it’s business or baseball, or the theater, or any field. If you don’t love what you’re doing and you can’t give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short. You’ll be an old man before you know it.” — Al Lopez
8. “The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.” — Marjorie Pay Hinckley
9. “Life is short, and it is here to be lived.” — Kate Winslet
10. “Life is too short. Make the most of it. You don’t know when your last day is. Live the way you want to live.” — Unknown
11. “I think life is far too short to concentrate on your past. I rather look into the future.” — Lou Reed
12. “As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.” — Zachary Scott
13. “You have this one life! How do you wanna spend it? Apologizing? Regretting? Questioning? Hating yourself? Running after people who don’t see you? Be brave. Believe in yourself. Do what feels good. Take risks. You have this one life. Make yourself proud.” — Unknown
14. “Quit hanging on to the handrails . . . Let go. Surrender. Go for the ride of your life. Do it every day.” — Melody Beattie
15. “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. But if you do, make new ones. Life is too short to make the wrong choice twice.” — Joyce Rachelle
16. “Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.” — Deepak Chopra
17. “Life is a first impression. You get one shot at it. Make it everlasting.” — J.R.Rim
18. “I realized that I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.” — Kerry Washington
19. “Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t. Believe things happen for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” — Unknown
20. “Life is short. Time is fast. No replay. No rewind. So enjoy every moment as it comes.” — Unknown
21. “No matter what happens, life is too short to be anything but happy. Live fully. Have fun. Love lots. Learn lots. Take chances. Let go. Face forward. Don’t let people bring you down.” — Karen Salmansohn
22. “Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it.” — Mother Teresa
23. “Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.” — Audrey Hepburn
24. “Love who you want to love. Life is short. Nobody’s going to hate you for it.” — Shane Dawson
25. “Enjoy every moment you have. Because in life, there are no rewinds, only flashbacks.” — Anmol Andore
26. “If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in and live your life to the fullest.” — Nanette Mathews
27. “Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” — Eddie Cantor
28. “Life is short. Stop worrying.” — Unknown
29. “Life is short, and we should respect every moment of it.” — Orhan Pamuk
30. “Life is too short as we all know it to be. So why dare to spend it trying to live up to other people’s worldly expectations of you?” — Edmond Mbiaka
See also: 100 Best Expectations Quotes For Your Daily Motivation
Wise Quotes For Life Is So Short
1. “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.” — Michael Leboeuf
2. “We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves.” — George M. Adams
3. “Short as life is, we make it still shorter by the careless waste of time.” — Victor Hugo
4. “As I get older I’ve stopped doing things which don’t feel right. I no longer wear shoes which hurt and feel uncomfortable. And I no longer spend time with people who make me feel bad.” — Karen Salmansohn
5. “Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways.” — Stephen Vincent Benet
6. “Life is too short, and the time we waste in yawning never can be regained.” — Stendhal
7. “One life is about realizing there’s no second chances in this one life that we were given to live.” — Jonathan Anthony Burkett
8. “Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?” — Friedrich Nietzche
9. “I have no time to battle egos and small minds.” — Unknown
10. “Life is short, and truth works far and lives long: let us then speak the truth.” — Arthur Schopenhauer
11. “Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now!” — Pope Paul VI
12. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
13. “Life is too short for unreality and you don’t owe anybody anything — especially your time, energy, and attention.” — Oli Anderson
14. “Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.” — Mark Twain
15. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else ‘s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” — Steve Jobs
16. “Life is too short and happiness is too rare.” — A.R.Lucas
17. “Life is too short for long term grudges.” — Elon Musk
18. “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.” — Charles Richards
19. “Don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries, and grudges. Life is too short to be unhappy.” — Roy T. Bennett
20. “Our time in this life is limited. And how we respect that time will create a greater possibility for fulfillment.” — Ruben Papian
21. “Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor.” — Benjamin Disraeli
22. “Life is short and if you’re looking for extension, you had best do well. Cause there’s good deeds and then there’s good intentions. They are as far apart as Heaven and Hell.” — Ben Harper
23. “Life is too short to hold regrets. Once it’s done, you cannot regret it.” — Kay Kay Menon
24. “Live every day as if it were going to be your last; for one day you’re sure to be right.” — Harry Morant
25. “You live longer once your realize that time spent being unhappy is time wasted.” — Unknown
26. “You may delay, but time will not.” — Benjamin Franklin
27. “Work takes on new meaning when you feel you are pointed in the right direction. Otherwise, it’s just a job, and life is too short for that.” — Tim Cook
28. “I believe that if you don’t derive a deep sense of purpose from what you do, if you don’t come radiantly alive several times a day, if you don’t feel deeply grateful at the tremendous good fortune that has been bestowed on you, then you are wasting your life. And life is too short to waste.” — Srikumar Rao
29. “All things that live, die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life. To fear this…is to fear life.” — Joe Kelly
30. “The span of life is too short to be trifled away in unconcerning and unprofitable matters.” — Mary Astell
Motivational Life Is Too Short Quotes
1. “I’m an incurable optimist, and I’m a great believer in never looking back. Life is too short, and new challenges are exciting.” — Cherie Blair
2. “Life’s too short to wait, but sometimes, a few things, a few people, a few magicks, a few miracles are worth the wait.” — Radhika Mundra
3. “Life is short, so I’m knowing exactly where I’m putting my time. I don’t want to do things that I don’t have to do.” — Mira Nair
4. “Every day has been so short, every hour so fleeting, every minute so filled with the life I love that time for me has fled on too swift a wing.” — Aga Khan III
5. “Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memory is sweet, cherish it.” — Unknown
6. “If you want something, don’t wish for it. Life is too short to wait.” — Stephen Hines
7. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — John Hughes
8. “Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.” — Wayne Dyer
9. “Life isn’t long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. In spite of all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think what you would think. The wonder of it!” — Tasha Tudor
10. “Life is short. Be silly. Have fun. Love the people who treat you right. Forget the ones who don’t. Regret nothing.” — Karen Salmansohn
11. “Don’t wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have. That’s what you do when life is short.” — Paul Graham
12. “Life is short and the older you get, the more you feel it. Indeed, the shorter it is. People lose their capacity to walk, run, travel, think, and experience life. I realize how important it is to use the time I have.” — Viggo Mortensen
13. “I am not an adventurer or a writer, I am a person who thinks life is too short and if there is something you fancy doing you should have a go and see how far you get.” — Helen Skelton
14. “Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful or malicious.” — Phillips Brooks
15. “Life is too short, or too long, for me to allow myself the luxury of living it so badly.” — Paulo Coelho
16. “Life is too short to do anything that’s not challenging.” — Michael Mayer
17. “I don’t have regrets, life is too short. You have to think about the positives and move forward.” — Zoe Ball
18. “I like people to have a bit of a laugh. Life is too short to not enjoy what you’re doing.” — Bradley Walsh
19. “I have no time for the endless nostalgia: ‘Oh gosh I used to . . . ‘ Life is too short; I don’t have any time for sitting and saying I miss things. What’s the point? Go and do something else.” — Kate Adie
20. “Everyone should be able to express themselves in the way that best suits them — life is too short to spend it unhappy.” — Jinkx Monsoon
21. “Life is too short not to enjoy it.” — Glen Campbell
22. “Life is too short and too sweet to complain about the silly things.” — Michael Chandler
23. “I have always believed that life is too short for rows and disagreements. Even if I think I’m right, I would prefer to apologize and remain friends rather than win and be an enemy.” — Maeve Binchy
24. “Life is too short to give pain to others. I eat to the fullest, sleep long and make people laugh wholeheartedly.” — Bharti Singh
25. “Life is too short to be scared and not take risks. I’d rather be the person that’s like, ‘I messed up,’ than, ‘I wish I did that.'” — Justine Skye
26. “More and more, I am realizing that life is too short to do crap that doesn’t make you happy, and we only get one shot at it all.” — Lauren Gibbs
27. “Life is too short, and the time we waste in yawning never can be regained.” — Stendhal
28. “We should learn not to hold grudges and be positive all the time because life is too short and unpredictable.” — Saba Qamar
29. “What I tell young couples that are getting married is: you’re going to have quarrels, and on some things, you’re just going to have to agree to disagree. And when you go to bed at night, kiss each other and tell each other that you love each other. Don’t go to bed mad. Life is too short. Keep it simple.” — Si Robertson
30. “Life is too short to spend in negativity. So I have made a conscious effort to not be where I don’t want to be.” — Hugh Dillon
You Only Have One Life Quotes
1. “Don’t let fear interfere. It’s how you use your fear that counts. Don’t let it exhaust you — let it excite you. Change the narrative. You only get one life.” — Brittany Burgunder
2. “We only have one life and one body to take care of, and we better do it right. You never know what tomorrow may bring, so we better live this life the best we can and be grateful for everything we have.” — Novak Djokovic
3. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West
4. “We only have one life to live, and must go on with it to the end. If we feel it is meaningless, then we ourselves must give it meaning.” — Susan Moody
5. “You have only one life to live, so live it without worrying about what others may think.” — Jeanne Phillips
6. “A life of adventure is ours for the taking, whether we’re seven or seventy. Life for the most part is what we make it. We have been given a responsibility to live it fully, joyfully, completely, and richly, in whatever span of time God grants us on this earth.” — Luci Swindoll
7. “You have a limited amount of time on the planet. Be careful about how you spend it. It’s just one life you have.” — Unknown
8. “It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth — and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up — we will then begin to live each day to the fullest as if it was the only one we had.” — Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
9. “I’m pretty comfortable with my body. I’m imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view you only live once.” — Kate Hudson
10. “You only have one life to live. Live boldly. Take risks, push yourself, and be authentic.” — Unknown
11. “Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” — Michael Landon
12. “You learn something out of everything, and you come to realize more than ever that we’re all here for a certain space of time, and then it’s going to be over, and you better make this count.” — Nancy Reagan
13. “You only have one life, so live it with every breath you take.” — Unknown
14. “But man, because he has only one life to live, cannot conduct experiments to test whether to follow his passion (compassion) or not.” — Milan Kundera
15. “You only have one life to live, one chance to make a difference, and one moment in time to reach for everything you ever wanted.” — Unknown
16. “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” — Henry David Thoreau
17. “You only have one life to live. Do what makes you happy, and be with who makes you smile.” — Unknown
18. “I don’t want to waste the precious moments I have, and I’ve felt that way since I was 17. I have to take risks because why else would you be alive? Put your pirate patch on and go on an adventure because you only have one life to live.” — Kathleen Hanna
19. “Don’t just be. Do. And do with all your heart. You only have one life to live; Make it a memorable one!” — Unknown
20. “We have one life to live — and one chance to live it in the richest way possible.” — Judith Thurman
21. “I always say you’ve only got one life to live, and you’re not promised a tomorrow. So, you might as well just have a good time with it.” — Fantasia Barrino
22. “Life is about taking risks and living a life that makes you happy. You only have one life to live, so try not to be too cautious!” — Unknown
23. “We only have one life to live. Since everybody has the potential to be successful, I hope we’ll all take an action and actually live it.” — Gackt
24. “My business is, with all my might to serve my own generation; in doing so, I shall best serve the next generation, should the Lord Jesus tarry… The longer I live, the more I am enabled to realize that I have but one life to live on earth, and that this one life is but a brief life, for sowing, in comparison with eternity, for reaping.” — George Muller
25. “To think big is to love the universe, to embrace our passion. To love is to fight for what we love. What a waste not to when we have only this one life to live.” — Michael Port
26. “Make your lives a masterpiece, you only get one canvas.” — E.A. Bucchianeri
27. “You have to have a feeling for where you are. You’ve got only one life to live and you don’t have to live it for six people. Pay attention to it.” — Joseph Campbell
28. “You only have one life to live. Act accordingly.” — Unknown
29. “You only have one life. Live it. Do what you love and do it often.” — Unknown
30. “One life to live, live it to the fullest. If you have doubts or your gut feeling says something, listen. Don’t waste time, time will waste you.” — Behdad Sami
Meaningful Quotes About Life Being Too Short
1. “Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us.” — Henri-Frederic Amiel
2. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.” — Helen Keller
3. “Life is a preparation for the future, and the best preparation for the future is to live as if there were none.” — Albert Einstein
4. “Be the best part of you. Live your own best life. Recognize that we all have things we are good at, things we are not good at, and everything in between.” — Ari Gunzburg
5. “Life is too short to worry about anything. You had better enjoy it because the next day promises nothing.” — Eric Davis
6. “Life is short. Cut out negativity, forget gossip, say goodbye to people who don’t care. Spend time with people who are always there.” — Unknown
7. “You have to embrace getting older. Life is precious, and when you’ve lost a lot of people, you realize each day is a gift.” — Meryl Streep
8. “If it’s going to make you happy, go for it — life is short.” — Tiffany Darwish
9. “Life is short, it is up to you to make it sweet.” — Sarah Louise
10. “Life is a flash of lightning in the dark of night. It is a brief time of tremendous potential.” — Alan Wallace
11. “Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.” — Unknown
12. “I don’t have a bad relationship. I’m 48 years old. I think life is too short for that. To me, life is… you open the shutters, you see the dogs outside.” — Jean Claude Van Damme
13. “Life is too short not to have pasta, steak, and butter.” — Iman
14. “Life is too short to harbor any hostilities towards anybody.” — Peabo Bryson
15. “Like life is short,” he said. “Like you don’t know when it’s going to end. Like some things, left unsaid, can’t ever be said.” — Jim Butcher
16. “Life is too short for fake butter or fake people.” — Karen Salmansohn
17. “I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” — John Burroughs
18. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
19. “Life is too short not to celebrate nice moments!” — Jurgen Klopp
20. “Take time to share; Life is too short to be selfish. Take time to laugh; Laughter is the music of the soul.” — M.G. Chitkara
21. “Life is too short; I don’t have any time for sitting and saying I miss things. What’s the point? Go and do something else.” — Unknown
22. “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well — preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!'” — Hunter S. Thompson
23. “Life is too short, and I’m Italian. I’d much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size 0.” — Sophia Bush
24. “Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dream.” — Hugh Hefner
25. “The only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in.” — Paris Hilton
26. “I fear that the day I die, I am going to die without accomplishing what I have in my mind. Life is too short, and a lot of things can happen, and I am really keen to see it with my own eyes — and that is why I am in a hurry.” — Mohammad bin Salman
27. “Life is too short for resentments, and I always forgive.” — Mike Portnoy
28. “Life is too short to have anything but delusional notions about yourself.” — Gene Simmons
29. “Life is too short to be angry or sad for long.” — Alphonso Davies
30. “Life is too short to not have fun; we are only here for a short time compared to the sun and the moon and all that.” — Coolio
Funny Life Is Too Short Quotes
1. “Life is too short to be serious all the time. So if you can’t laugh at yourself, call me and I will laugh at you.” — Unknown
2. “Life is too short to remove USB drive safely.” — Unknown
3. “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.” — Shirley Conran
4. “Life is too short to be normal. Stay weird.” — Unknown
5. “Life is too short to hold a grudge. Slash some tires and call it even.” — Unknown
6. “Life is short, smile while you still have teeth.” — Unknown
7. “Life is too short to be a carrot. Be a French fry instead!” — Unknown
8. “Life is too short to skip the whipped cream.” — Unknown
9. “Life is too short to dance with ugly men.” ― Christina Dodd
10. “Life is too short to miss out on the beautiful things like a double cheeseburger.” — Channing Tatum
Final Thoughts
As my collection of life is too short quotes suggests, life is precious and we should make the most of every moment. So go out there and experience all that life has to offer. Don’t be afraid to take risks, try new things, and follow your dreams. Life is too short to play it safe all the time!
