In case you didn’t already know, I’m a quote person. I keep a note of them in my phone titled ‘Life Jamz’ and am forever adding to it. As a child, I loved those motivational posters teachers had in their classrooms with a kid’s hand reaching toward a tree and the word ‘D R E A M’ written in bubbly font. I would plaster those posters all over my house if they weren’t so ugly.

While I think most things about the new year are cheesy, it’s a time when people seem to share a lot of quotes. I am here for the quotes.

Here are 10 of them that I’m living for in the new year (and all year long).

10 Positive Quotes I Love Right Now

1. I can do hard things.

I love this simple mantra for so many reasons.

First, it’s a self-contained ‘that’s what she said’ joke.

Second, it’s so powerful and true. Whenever I’m getting stressed about some seemingly impossible task a client is assigning me or overwhelmed about my to-do list, I scrawl this across the top of my notepad.

I can do hard things. Just hearing yourself affirm that you have, in fact, done hard things in the past and can do it again is so empowering.

2. I cannot control other people’s actions. I can only control my reaction.

This has taken me 31 years to learn.

Not that I’ve been, like, an extremely reactive person in the previous 30 years. But I would say I’ve been pretty acquiescent when it comes to other people’s moods and feelings. I don’t think I’ve ever used the word acquiescent before in my life and I had to copy and paste it from dictionary.com to make sure I spelled it right, but it was the perfect word for the moment. It means submitting to the will of someone else.

I’m learning that just because another person is upset, worked up, angry or worried does not mean I have to mirror them. I can be respectful of how someone else is feeling without letting their drama affect my own mental state.

3. Let go of the illusion that it could have been any different.

Oh my GAWD, if ever a line of wisdom was written just for me. I am the queen of running “what if” scenarios over and over in my mind. Hoda Kotb, American treasure, shared this quote on her Instagram a few months ago and it reached out and grabbed me.

The present moment is the present moment, and it’s the only one that matters. Any time or energy spent thinking about how it could have gone differently (it didn’t!) is wasted time and energy.

4. The meaning of everything in your life has precisely the meaning you give it.

That conversation you keep replaying in your head. That insecurity you can’t get over. Is it a huge thing, or no big deal? The beauty and the reality is, you get to decide.

I love this quote because it can go in a positive direction, too. It reminds me that I can and should place more importance on the little things, like laughing with my husband before he leaves for work in the morning and taking long afternoon walks with my dog.

5. If it’s not a ‘hell yes,’ it’s a ‘hell no.’

Recently I was presented with an opportunity that, on the surface, seemed like a great offer. But as soon as I heard it, I physically recoiled, like I would rather go and clean the stray cat poop from under our deck than say yes to this offer.

I said no.

The person making the offer was shocked, and I think kind of offended. But I have come to learn that saying no doesn’t make me a bad person. It doesn’t say anything about me other than that for whatever reason, whether it’s a business deal or social event or whatever it is, this thing is not for me.

If your chest tightens and your blood pressure starts ramping up when you think about doing something, it’s probably something you should go ahead and pass on.

6. What you focus on expands.

It’s crazy how true this is.

Have you ever noticed that when you put effort into something, even the tiniest little bit of effort like reading a how-to article about a skill you want to learn or looking up plane tickets for a trip you want to take, suddenly the next steps seem to materialize in front of you?

Or, conversely, when you focus on something you’re worried about, even it’s a crazy, baseless worry, you start to come up with more and more realistic ways for how this thing you’re worried about might actually happen?

Our minds are powerful, and I’m trying to work on filling mine with the things I want more of rather than the things I worry about.

7. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Caught you off guard with a Bible verse, did I? This verse has personal significance to me because it’s one I found comfort in during a difficult time back when we were living in Florida.

Johnny was job searching and coming up mostly empty handed. We were blowing through our savings. The possibility of a major move was on the table, but with no clues of when or to where it might be. Basically, I was feeling totally unsure about the future.

A friend shared this verse with me on a particularly rough day, and the timing could not have been more appropriate. Even if you’re not religious at all, there’s a lot of meaning in these words. Trust that there are forces at work beyond your control. Trust the process and that the universe is out to help you and not out to get you. Sometimes you might have to trick yourself into believing it, but even that can be all you need to get through a rough patch.

8. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.

I know everyone read the book ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ like ten years ago, but I just read it last year and this is one off the gems I picked up. Move on your dreams now or that’s all they’ll ever be: dreams.

9. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.

This is another good quote from 4-Hour Work Week that really speaks to me from a career standpoint. Lots of times I (like most of us) am inundated with tasks and requests, but many of them are tedious and really don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.

Notice how there are a few annoying things on your to-do list that keep getting bumped down again and again but never finished? There’s probably a reason for that: those tasks clearly just aren’t as important as you’ve convinced yourself they are. I’m trying to get better at crossing them off, incomplete as they may be, and putting them out of my mind.

10. Breathe more. Worry less.

I come back to this short and sweet mantra again and again. Whenever I feel my thoughts starting to spiral, I try to take a step back and breathe. Yoga helps. It’s amazing how much a few deep breaths can change your entire perspective.

If you liked these, I also recommend following @marcandangel on Instagram. It’s one of my favorite accounts to inspire positivity and reflection. You might also like my post on 5 of my favorite quotes from Brene Brown.

What are some of your favorite positive quotes?