100 Reality Quotes Aimed at Helping You Live Your Best Life

What is reality?

Can you define it?

Read through these good life quotes about living in reality.

Some are beautiful, some are powerful, and some are short and sassy.

All of them will help you find an answer to what is real.

I believe we each have an opportunity to create a world that reflects what we think to be real.

After all, it is your life, and you are the only person who can decide how much work you are willing to dedicate to making something happen. 

Reality is a word that is thrown around often when speaking of life and love, but is our understanding of these things limited by our human mind?

A portion of these reality quotes definitely think so, while others will provide you with a witty retort for the realists and dreamers in your life.

So, take a few minute hiatus from reality and get inspired!

Also check out these memorable Matrix quotes that will challenge your understanding of what is real and what is not.

If you enjoy this article, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily motivation.

If you want more motivational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Imagination and reality quotes

1. “I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”― John Lennon

2. “Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”― Lewis Carroll

3. “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”― John Lennon

4. “Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.”― Criss Jami

5. “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”― Jean-Jacques Rousseau

6. “Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.”― Mark Twain

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of imagination quotes that will inspire you to unleash the untapped treasures in your mind.

7. “The imaginary is what tends to become real.”― André Breton

Reality quotes on what real is

8. “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”― Albert Einstein

9. “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”― Philip K. Dick

10. “Reality is frequently inaccurate.”― Douglas Adams

11. “Reality is just a crutch for people who can’t handle drugs.”― Robin Williams

12. “Reality is not always probable, or likely.”― Jorge Luis Borges

13. “Reality is like a fruitcake; pretty enough to look at but with all sorts of nasty things lurking just beneath the surface.”― A. Lee Martinez

14. “Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”― Adam Young

15. “Reality is a cliché from which we escape by metaphor.”― Wallace Stevens

16. “Reality is crushing. The world is a wrong-sized shoe. How can anyone stand it?”― Jandy Nelson

17. “What if reality is nothing but some disease?”― Chuck Palahniuk

18. “Reality is a projection of your thoughts or the things you habitually think about.”― Stephen Richards

19. “Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.”― Jane Wagner

20. “Reality, however utopian, is something from which people feel the need of taking pretty frequent holidays….”― Aldous Huxley

If you enjoy this article, check out our collection of denial quotes for coming to terms with reality.

Reality quotes on life and love

21. “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”― Dr. Seuss

22. “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.”― Chuck Palahniuk

23. “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

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of be real quotes celebrating the real you.

24. “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”― Soren Kierkegaard

25. “There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself.”― Hermann Hesse

26. “Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.”― Arthur Conan Doyle

You might also like these illusion quotes for defining what is real.

The human side of reality quotes

27. “It’s funny how humans can wrap their mind around things and fit them into their version of reality.”― Rick Riordan

28. “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real.”― Cormac McCarthy

29. “Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.”― George Orwell

30. “Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”― Frank Herbert
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of deep quotes that will change how you see the world.

31. “Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal.”― George Orwell

32. “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.”― Robertson Davies

33. “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”― T. S. Eliot

Reality quotes to use when faced with a “realist”

34. “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.”― Tim Burton

35. “To really be a nerd, she’d decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.”― Rainbow Rowell

36. “We become slaves the moment we hand the keys to the definition of reality entirely over to someone else, whether it is a business, an economic theory, a political party, the White House, Newsworld or CNN.”― B. W. Powe

37. “Look at him now, poor fellow. That’s what a dose of reality does for you…Never touch the stuff myself, you understand. Find it gets in the way of the hallucinations.”― Alan Moore

38. “Fantasy was always only a reality waiting to be switched on.”― Joe Hill

39. “Sometimes fiction is more easily understood than true events. Reality is often pathetic.”― Young-ha Kim

40. “No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.”― Shirley Jackson

41. “Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then.”― Philip K. Dick

42. “Your opinion is not my reality.”― Steve Maraboli

43. “Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.”― Voltaire

44. “If you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.”― Jodi Picoult

45. “The more real you get the more unreal the world gets. ”― John Lennon

Reality quotes to use when faced with a “dreamer”

46. “You can’t just wish change; you have to live the change in order for it to become a reality.”― Steve Maraboli

47. “The realities of life do not allow themselves to be forgotten.”― Victor Hugo

48. “There is no point in using the word ‘impossible’ to describe something that has clearly happened.”― Douglas Adams

49. “The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie.”― Shannon L. Alder
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of confused quotes about the ups and downs of life.

50. “Because an illusion is an illusion. Reality always exists despite the facade.”― Kasie West

51. It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” – Robert H. Goddard

52. “Living above the reality of depending on others’ opinions over your choice is another way of attaining self-awareness and spiritual awakening.” – Victor Vote

53. “Let us live for the beauty of our own reality.” – Charles Lamb

54. “Watch what you believe because your beliefs have a way of becoming your reality.” – Frank Sonnenberg

55. “We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.” – Iris Murdoch

56. “Nothing exposes the harsh reality of life better than truth, nothing exposes the beauty of life better than love.” – Wayne Chirisa

57. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” – Yoko Ono

58. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.” – Jack Welch

59. “We don’t live in the world of reality, we live in the world of how we perceive reality.” – Bryan Singer

60. “In reality, there is no such thing as absolute freedom. The rules of social interaction determine one’s freedom.” – Eraldo Banovac

Reality Quotes To Help You Handle Life Situations

61. Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.” — Alex Haley

62. “What we take to be true is our reality.” — Gary Zukav

63. Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” — Earl Nightingale

64. A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” — Colin Powell

65. “Reality is a question of perspective.” — Salman Rushdie

66. “Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality.” — Nikos Kazantzakis

67. Everything you can imagine is real.” — Pablo Picasso

68. “Act as if you had all the confidence you require until it becomes your reality.” — Brian Tracy

69. “Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” — Les Brown

70. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” — Warren Bennis

Reality Quotes To Face Life’s Obstacles

71. “Science makes people reach selflessly for truth and objectivity; it teaches people to accept reality.” – Lise Meitner

72″The key to happiness is accepting one unpleasant reality every day.” – Bertrand Russell

73. “Hope is not just… out in the sky, or accepting the facts or reality. Hope is having optimistic, positive expectations.” – Craig Sager

74. “That’s what I mean by radical truth. I mean accepting reality.” – Ray Dalio

75. “Accepting the reality of change gives rise to equanimity.” – Allan Lokos.

76. “It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.” – Bill Watterson

77. “In the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing.” – Desmond Tutu

78. “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before.” – Elizabeth Edwards

79. “To know reality is to accept it, and eventually to love it.” – George Wald

80. Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.” – Bruce Lee

Reality Quotes To Help You Stay Sober in Life

81. “Reality is permeated, indeed flooded, with divine creativity, nourishment, and care.” ― Marcus Borg

82. “There is just no end to reality. You can keep going closer into it, but you never ever come out the other end.” ― Joseph Raffael

83. “Reality is obtained not by imitation, but by producing the sense of nature.” ― Robert Henri

84. “We live in a description of reality.” ― Jean Houston

85. “Quietly affirm that you will define your own reality from now on and that your definition will be based on your inner wisdom.” ― Wayne Dyer

86. “Reality, as usual, beats fiction out of sight.” ― Joseph Conrad

87. “Meaning and reality were not hidden somewhere behind things, they were in them, in all of them.” ― Hermann Hesse

88. “Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality.” ― Rick Riordan

89. “You have to know the reality and the reality is that we are eternal.” ― Deepak Chopra

90. “We must accept our reality as vastly as we possibly can; everything, even the unprecedented, must be possible within it.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

Reality Quotes From Your Imagination

91. “Never, under any conditions allow circumstances to determine your reality.” ― Les Brown

92. “Our relationship to reality and to our experience is all based upon the ideas in our mind that we’re always trying to live up to.” ― Andrew Cohen

93. “I believe in the potential of all things possibly imagined that can be made into a reality.” ― Dean Haglund

94. Reality may not be the best of all possible worlds, but it’s still the only place where you can get a decent steak.” ― Woody Allen

95. “What is reality if it isn’t how we feel about things?” ― Matthew Quick

96. Reality is not optional.” ― Thomas Sowell

97. One and all have to face reality now.” ― Bob Marley

98. “Imagination should be used, not to escape reality but to create it.” ― Colin Wilson

99. “Physical reality springs from the imagination, which follows the path of your beliefs.” ― Seth

100. I must confess that I know nothing whatsoever about true underlying reality, never having met any.” ― Edward Abbey

What did you learn from these reality quotes?

Some people will tell you that in the real world, “you have to get a job,” or you have to “own a big house” or “drive a nice car.”

If those things are what make up your reality, then get them!

Just remember that someone else may have a different expectation for their life, and their existence may look different.

In their imagination, they can picture an alternative answer when answering what reality is. 

If there has been something that you have been dreaming of achieving, try looking at your reality from a different perspective.

What tools do you need to make your dream come true?

Can you learn a new skill and use it to create the life you dream of?

I’m a firm believer that every one of us is just one decision away from living a different life.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these reality quotes and sayings?

Which reality will you choose, drop a comment and let me know if one of these quotes inspired you to try something “unreal”.