196 Quotes About Change and Growth in Life that will Inspire you

Looking for inspirational quotes about change?

There is a saying that “nothing is consistent but change.”

In all of our lives, I believe we have found this to be true.

Tell us about a period of change that impacted your life in the comment section below.

What are the benefits of reading quotes about change and growth?

Changes will always happen, both planned and unexpected.

How we deal with changes thrown our way says a lot about who we are as a person and our inner strength and esteem.

We can all use some support and guidance during these times.

These change quotes can help you realize:

• you are more capable of affecting change than you think
• that change is an opportunity to grow and learn
• that you are not alone and change is something we all must face

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom. 

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

Inspirational quotes about change in work, life, and love

1. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” ― Nelson Mandela

2. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

3. “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ― Albert Einstein

4. “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” ― Jalaluddin Rumi

5. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ― George Bernard Shaw

6. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ― Margaret Mead

7. “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

8. “To say goodbye is to die a little.” ― Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

9. “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

10. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

11. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” – Niccolo Machiavelli

12. “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

13. “You can’t stop the future

You can’t rewind the past

The only way to learn the secret

…is to press play.” ― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

14. “If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

15. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu

16. The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.” – Warren Buffett

17. “Life is a progress, and not a station.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

18. “Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.” ― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

19. “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” – Benjamin Disraeli

20. “They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

21. “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

22. “I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back….” ― Erica Jong

Famous Quotes About Change and Growth

23. Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

24. “The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.” ― Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss

25. “Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars (see all meaningful The Fault in Our Stars quotes)

26. “We made the world we’re living in and we have to make it over.” – James Baldwin

27. “We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.” ― Walter Mosley, Blue Light

28. “Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” ― Maya Angelou

29. “And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” ― Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing

30. “Change is inevitable, but preparation is a choice.”― Engelina Jaspers

31. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” ― Mother Teresa

32. “You’re always you, and that don’t change, and you’re always changing, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

33. “Change is the only constant in life.”― Heraclitus

34. “Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.” ― Eckhart Tolle

35. “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not fighting the old, but on building the new.'” — Socrates

36. “Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you’ve changed, by believing. Once you’ve changed, other things start to follow. Isn’t that the way it works?” ― Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard

Positive Quotes About Change In Your Life

37. “Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.” ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (see other meaningful Catcher in the Rye quotes)

38. “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” ― William Jennings Bryan

39. “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” ― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

40. “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

41. “Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

42. “Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens” ― Tony DeLiso, Legacy: The Power Within

43. “If you are unwilling to change and adapt as your situation in life changes, life will always be one step ahead of you.”― Matt Fox

44. “Fashion changes, but style endures.” ― Coco Chanel

45. “You cannot change what you are, only what you do.” ― Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass

46. “No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.” ― Madonna

More Inspiring Quotes About Change and Moving On

47. “Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.” ― Stephen King, The Green Mile

48. “Growing up happens when you start having things you look back on and wish you could change” ― Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes

49. “Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

50. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ― R. Buckminster Fuller

51. “Change, like healing, takes time.” ― Veronica Roth, Allegiant

52. “I’m unpredictable, I never know where I’m going until I get there, I’m so random, I’m always growing, learning, changing, I’m never the same person twice. But one thing you can be sure of about me; is I will always do exactly what I want to do.” ― C. JoyBell C.

53. “The person you became with her is worth being.” ― Veronica Roth, Allegiant

54. “I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.” ― Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point

55. “Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

56. “When you embrace change you will begin to see it as an opportunity for growth.” – Jack Canfield

57. “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.” [These words are also inscribed upon his grave] ― Karl Marx, Eleven Theses on Feuerbach

58. “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

59. “You’ve changed me forever. And I’ll never forget you.” ― Kiera Cass, The Elite

60. “You can walk away and say “We don’t need this.” but something in your eyes says “We can beat this.” ― Taylor Swift

61. “It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.” ― Roy T. Bennett

62. “When people are ready to, they change. They never do it before then, and sometimes they die before they get around to it.” ― Andy Warhol, Andy Warhol in His Own Words

63. “Maturity is when you stop complaining and making excuses, and start making changes.”― Roy T. Bennett

64. “Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.” ― Ovid

65. “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” ― Jim Rohn

66. “Don’t confuse poor decision-making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It’s ok; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you!” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

67. “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” ― Sophocles, Antigone

68. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” ― Milton Berle

69. “She wanted none of those days to end, and it was always with disappointment that she watched the darkness stride forward.”― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Quotes about change and growth

70. Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. – Napoleon Hill

71. Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. – Benjamin Franklin

72. “Anyone can stay the same. It takes courage to change.” – John Assaraf

73. “Change is inevitable in life. You can either resist it and potentially get run over by it, or you can choose to cooperate with it, adapt to it, and learn how to benefit from it.” – Jack Canfield

74. “There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.” – Ronald Reagan

75. “Change is growth. For me it has been a very spiritual and musical rebirth.” – Lenny Kravitz

76. “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” – Calvin Coolidge

77. “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” – John F. Kennedy

78. “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale

79. “There is nothing permanent except change.” – Heraclitus

80. “People who can change and change again are so much more reliable and happier than those who can’t.”― Stephen Fry

Quotes about change to motivate you

81. “Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” – Simone de Beauvoir

82. “Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai

83. “Life is about change. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s beautiful. But most of the time, it’s both.” — Lana Lang

84. “You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy.” – C. JoyBell C.

85. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy

86. “We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” — Max Depree

87. “If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” – Roy T. Bennett

88. Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” – Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

89. “Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.” – Billy Cox

90. “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.” – Alfred North Whitehead

Other inspirational quotes about change

91. “Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.” – Thomas Hardy

92. “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” – Henri Bergson

93. “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” – Stephen Hawking

94. “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.” – Charles Kettering

95. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy

96. “Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers, and business.” – Mark Sanborn

97. “Change is inevitable–except from a vending machine.” – Robert C. Gallagher

98. “The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” —Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea

99. “I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.” —Georg C. Lichtenberg

100. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” —Buckminster

101. “Change means that what was before wasn’t perfect. People want things to be better.” -Esther Dyson

102. Change before you have to.” – Jack Welch

103. “When we allow ourselves to adapt to different situations, life is easier.” – Catherine Pulsifer

104. “You cannot change anyone, but you can be the reason someone changes.” – Roy T. Bennett

105. “Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.” – Seth Godin

Thought-provoking quotes about change and growth

106. “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy

107. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

108. “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

109. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl

110. “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.” – Tony Robbins

111. “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw

112. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – N.R. Narayana Murthy

113. “Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed.” – Irene Peter

114. “Change brings opportunity.” – Nido Qubein

115. “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” – John C. Maxwell

116. “Moving doesn’t change who you are. It only changes the view outside your window.” – Rachel Hollis

Change quotes to help you navigate something new

117. “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” — Winston Churchill

118. “I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is that they must change if they are to get better.”― Georg Lichtenberg

119. “Words are where most change begins.”― Brandon Sanderson

120. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — Maya Angelou

121. “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” — Nathaniel Branden

122. “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” — Elon Musk

123. “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — Alan Watts

124. “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” — Arnold Bennett

125. “Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle and best at the end.”― Robin Sharma

126. “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama

Quotes About Changing Yourself for the Better

127. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

128. “A tiny change today brings a dramatically different tomorrow.”― Richard Bach

129. “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett

130. “All great changes are preceded by chaos.” – Deepak Chopra

131. “The power to change your life lies in the simplest of steps.”― Steve Maraboli

132. “They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” – Confucius

133. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway

134. “People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

135. “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” – Charles Darwin

136. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” – Paulo Coelho

Quotes About Change To Show Our Actions Matter

137. “Do not waste time on things you cannot change or influence.” — Robert Greene

138. “The most beautiful and profound way to change yourself is to accept yourself completely, as imperfect as you are.” — Maxime Lagacé

139. “Things do not change; we change.” — Henry David Thoreau

140. “Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” — Dalai Lama

141. “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” — Winston Churchill

142. “All things change; nothing perishes.” — Ovid

143. “The universe is transformation; our life is what our thoughts make it.” — Marcus Aurelius

144. “What you must do now is to adapt. The world belongs to those who can change fast.” — Maxime Lagacé

145. “We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.” — Lynn Hall

146. “To make a change, you need to be aware and acknowledge that something isn’t working first.” — Justin Kan

Quotes on Change and Growth To Meet Our Desires

147. “Failure can be a bad thing if you choose to see it as a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing if you just change your perspective.” — David A. Hunter

148. You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.” — Les Brown

149. “Changing your mindset may change the situation.” — Lisa Rusczyk

150. “Change usually comes out of dissatisfaction, but is more effective when you link it to a desire.” — Sandi Amorim

151. “Change your perception of things and how you react to various situations and your jealousy will subside.” — Stanley Steel

152. “The fact that we can, and do, change our minds and our opinions indicates that we can also change our perceptions and the way we feel about things.” — John DeMartini

153. “If you know what you want to achieve in life, then you are more inspired to change for the better.” — Philip Vang

154. “Truly, changing our thoughts is the only thing I have found that works to change our results.” — Brooke Castillo

155. “Change is never easy, but always possible.” — Barack Obama

156. “There is nothing wrong with change if it is in the right direction.” — Winston Churchill

Quotes On Change-Growth To Show You The Good In The Differences

157. “If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” — Gail Sheehy

158. “Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.” — Debby Boone

159. “In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty. And that’s the way new leaves grow.” ― Amit Ray

160. “What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change.”

― Madeleine Albright

161. “You can’t change how other people think and act, but you’re in full control of you. When it comes down to it, the only question that matters is this: If nothing in the world ever changes, what type of man are you gonna be?” ― Nic Stone

162. “By changing nothing, nothing changes.” — Tony Robbins

163. “Nothing is forever except change.” — Buddha

164. “Change something by even the smallest percentage and your outcomes will be different.” — Elaine Harrison

165. “Love change, fear staying the same.” — Maxime Lagacé

166. “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” — Ellen Glasgow

Quotes About Change and Growth on Transformation and Progress

167. “Change and growth is so painful. But it’s so necessary for us to evolve.” ― Sarah McLachlan

168. “I think we foreshorten our own viewpoint if we consider any state of mind, or society, or government as final. Growth and change! We can’t get away from them.” ― Agnes Sligh Turnbull

169. “God knew we would make mistakes. Life is all about mistakes. It is constant change and growth. Our greatest challenges in life will one day be known to us as our greatest teachers.” ― Betty Eadie

170. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ― Will Durant

171. “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” ― Albert Einstein

172. “We often say God is never late, but generally He isn’t early either. Why? Because He uses times of waiting to stretch our faith in Him and to bring about change and growth in our lives.” ― Joyce Meyer

173. “You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler.” ― Denis Waitley

174. “We are all capable of change and growth; we just need to know where to begin.” ― Blaine Lee Pardoe

175. “If you can’t change it.. change the way you think about it.” ― Mary Engelbreit

176. “Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.” ― George Shinn

Quotes About Change to Embrace Transformation

177. “Change is not just a process, it’s a revelation of our true potential.” ― Maya Thompson

178. “Embrace change as you would the seasons; each one brings its own unique beauty.” ― Lillian Parker

179. “In the face of change, discover the strength within you that you never knew existed.” ― Jonathan Fields

180. “Change is the canvas upon which our life’s masterpiece is painted.” ― Elena Martinez

181. “Change is the catalyst that transforms ordinary minds into visionaries.” ― Alexander Greene

182. “Change is the whisper of the future, urging us to evolve.” ― Eleanor Bennett

183. “Life’s most extraordinary moments often arise from the winds of change.” ― Vincent Nguyen

184. “Change is the heartbeat of growth; embrace it and watch your soul flourish.” ― Olivia Foster

185. “In the dance of change, we find the rhythm of our true selves.” ― Christopher Davis

186. “Change is the bridge between who you are and who you are destined to become.” ― Isabella Thompson

Quotes About Change to Navigate Through Life’s Shifts

187. “Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, change is the essence of our beautiful transformation.” ― Gabriel Ramirez

188. “Change is the compass guiding us to uncharted territories of wisdom and enlightenment.” ― Hannah Mitchell

189. “Embrace change with open arms; it carries the keys to unlock your fullest potential.” ― Daniel Harper

190. “Change is not an obstacle; it’s a stepping stone to greatness.” ― Amelia Brooks

191. “In the tapestry of life, change weaves the most vibrant and colorful threads.” ― Victor Chen

192. “Change is the melody that harmonizes our journey, making it a symphony of endless possibilities.” ― Maria Hernandez

193. “Embrace change as a friend, and you’ll find it leads you to extraordinary destinations.” ― Oliver Bennett

194. “Change is the silent revolution that reshapes our lives and the world around us.” ― Sophie Roberts

195. “Like the seasons, change reminds us that nothing is permanent, and therein lies its profound beauty.” ― Leo Parker

196. “Change is the painter of our destiny, coloring our lives with the hues of endless opportunities.” ― Isla Turner

What do you think about these quotes about change?

Did any of them strike you?

Which quotes can you relate to?

Hopefully, these wise words and sayings inspired or motivated you.

Whether you’re feeling stuck in life or you have a big decision to make, remember that you can always change your mind.

It’s okay to start again.

After all, there are no rules to this thing called life.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our Everything Is Temporary quotes.