Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803. He is best known for his essays and poems published in the “Transcendentalist” movement of New England. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher and essayist who led a group of thinkers called the Transcendentalists (1837-1880).
In this blog post, we look at some famous quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson and how we can implement them in different aspects of our lives.
1. “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We have all experienced this at least once in our lives. When someone comes up with a thought going through your mind for a while now, this quote makes you feel less alone if you can relate to it and encourages you to keep following your thoughts.
2. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote serves as a reminder that we should never rest on our laurels and always focus on self-improvement instead of worrying about the past or future too much. Otherwise, we will have wasted our lives.
3. “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We can all be heroes in some aspects of our lives by staying strong and fighting through adversities for a little more time than most people would. We could do this by going the extra mile, doing things that we do not want to at work, and making the best out of our circumstances.
4. “The ancestor of every action is a thought.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote shows that everything we do starts with a thought. Be mindful of your thoughts and know that they can either help or hurt you in life. Therefore, you should always think positive and constructive thoughts.
5. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote shows how important it is to have people in our lives that love us even when they know everything about us and what we go through. We should always cherish those people because they are genuine friends and not fair-weather ones.
6. “The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We should all prepare for our chance to shine and work hard for us to seize opportunities when they arise instead of waiting for them to come by accident. It could take a while, but we can give it a go and do our best. If it does not work out, it will be a learning experience.
7. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Life is about progress and evolving into the best version of ourselves that we can ever be. Sometimes, memorable moments in our lives occur when we least expect them to. Therefore, we should always do our best and never give up on ourselves.
8. “The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We should be proud of our achievements and not keep worrying about how we can improve or do better next time because that means that we are always striving to be the best version of ourselves. Therefore, we should reward ourselves with what we do instead of always focusing on future goals.
9. “The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote makes us think about how much effort and time some people put into gifts for their loved ones while not expecting anything in return. We can use this to show our appreciation to the people who love and care for us by gifting them something special and showing how much we appreciate everything they do.
10. “For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
If we can all remember that being angry takes up a lot of our time and does not get us anywhere, we will be more ready to accept that it happens, but it does not affect us as much. We should always try to understand the root of people’s anger before judging them for lashing out now and again.
11. “It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This quote tells us that there is no need to explain ourselves if we do things the right way because our actions speak for themselves. However, it would be better if we did not have to do this in the first place.
12. “We wish to be marked and remembered after our death, which is in effect to say, ‘I should like to survive myself.'” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
People swear that they would live forever if only they could, but this quote tells us that it is not about living or dying; it is about staying strong and fighting for our lives until the end. Death is inevitable, but we should do all that we can to keep pushing and make our lives worth living in the process.
13. “Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our actions and thoughts originate from something that we learned or experienced in the past: our family, friends, religion, society, or experiences. We can either accept what we think, do, and say comes from others or think for ourselves. We have the freedom to choose what we want, but our actions become a part of the universal mind that everyone shares.
14. “Who you speak so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
We should be careful about how we present ourselves to others. For example, if we come across as though we are shouting at them, they might not want to listen and ignore us instead.
15. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
If we go about our lives looking for the result only, then we will miss out on all of the beautiful things that happen on the way. So instead of looking at our lives as a journey leading to something, we should consider it all as part of an adventure and appreciate everything around us.
Thanks so much for stopping by, have a fantastic day!