Positivity Quotes Showing the Power of Optimism

Need help focusing on the positives instead of the negatives?

Our positivity quotes are just what you need to look on the bright side of life!

How could a positive mindset help you? 

In a world that focuses on the negative, positive thinking is a skill that requires daily practice.

My daily practice consists of combating negative thinking, mindfulness exercises, and reading inspirational quotes.

Reading quotes, like the ones featured below, helps me put situations into perspective and reduce self-inflicted stress.

Below, I have compiled 50 quotes about optimism, humor, and more to encourage you to stay positive. 

Get ready to get inspired; take a look at the quotes below!

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Check out more inspirational quotes on our motivational quotes category page.

Inspirational positivity quotes

1. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” – Helen Keller

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2. “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Christopher McCandless

3. “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran

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4. “My dear friend, clear your mind of can’t.” – Samuel Johnson

5. “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James

6. “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard

7. “You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.” – Ralph Marston

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8. “There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.” – Orison Swett Marden

9. “Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A ‘you can do it’ when things are tough.” – Richard M. DeVos

10. “Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don’t do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals.” – John H. Johnson

11. “Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.” – Matt Cameron

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Positivity quotes about optimism

12. “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” – Lucille Ball

13. “Optimism – the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.” – Ambrose Bierce

14. “Optimism doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.” – Norman Cousins

15. “Building a practice of gratitude is the best way I know to create an optimistic approach to life. Start each day by lying in bed for five minutes and mentally acknowledging what you are grateful for.” – Silken Laumann

16. “The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities; the pessimist is stranded on the island of perpetual indecision.” – William Arthur Ward

17. “It is the hopeful, buoyant, cheerful attitude of mind that wins. Optimism is a success builder; pessimism an achievement killer.” – Orison Swett Marden

18. “Optimism can be relearnt.” – Marian Keyes

19. “The biggest emotion in creation is the bridge to optimism.” – Brian May

20. “The predominant quality of successful people is optimism. Your level of optimism is the very best predictor of how happy, healthy, wealthy, and long-lived you will be.” – Brian Tracy

21. “There is only one optimist. He has been here since man has been on this earth, and that is man himself. If we hadn’t had such a magnificent optimism to carry us through all these things, we wouldn’t be here. We have survived it on our optimism.” – Edward Steichen

22. “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.” – Noam Chomsky

23. “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom

24. “Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.” – Nicholas M. Butler

25. “It’s not that optimism solves all of life’s problems; it is just that it can sometimes make the difference between coping and collapsing.” – Lucy MacDonald

26. “Optimism is joyful searching; pessimism is a prison of fear and a clutching at illusionary safety.” – Kathleen A. Brehony

27. “Optimism inspires, energizes, and brings out our best. It points the mind toward possibilities and helps us think creatively past problems.” – Price Pritchett

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Positivity quotes to get through rough times

28. “You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.” – Joel Osteen

29. “The best thing to do when you find yourself in a hurting or vulnerable place is to surround yourself with the strongest, finest, most positive people you know.” – Kristin Armstrong

30. “It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.” – Doe Zantamata

31. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Nelson Mandela

32. “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.” – Epictetus

33. “The best way to get rid of the pain is to feel the pain. And when you feel the pain and go beyond it, you’ll see there’s a very intense love that is wanting to awaken itself.” – Deepak Chopra

34. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” — Helen Keller

35. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” — Robert Jordan

36. “No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffering can come strength – if we have the virtue of resilience.” — Eric Greitens

37. “If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” — Shane Koyczan

38. “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” — William Ellery Channing

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Positivity quotes about humor

39. “A good laugh is sunshine in the house.” – William Makepeace Thackeray

40. “It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” – Betty White

41. “Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein

42. “I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.” – Audrey Hepburn

43. “When humor goes, there goes civilization.” – Erma Bombeck

44. “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss

45. “Humor has bailed me out of more tight situations than I can think of. If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows. With luck, success comes, too.” – Jimmy Buffett

46. “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” – Henry Ward Beecher

47. “Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and laughter abundant.” – Washington Irving

48. “I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” – Bob Hope

49. “Humor is perhaps a sense of intellectual perspective: an awareness that some things are really important, others not; and that the two kinds are most oddly jumbled in everyday affairs.” – Christopher Morley

50. “Comedy, we may say, is society protecting itself – with a smile.” – J. B. Priestley

More positivity quotes and sayings

51. “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” – Marcus Aurelius

52. “Every day may not be good… but there’s something good in every day.” – Alice Morse Earle

53. “The POSITIVE THINKER sees the INVISIBLE, feels the INTANGIBLE, and achieves the IMPOSSIBLE.” – Winston Churchill

54. “Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, Faith looks up.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

55. “Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.” – Michael Jordan

56. “The more we make an effort to keep our thoughts positive, the more pleasurable our journey in life will be.” – James Van Praagh

57. “If you have positive energy you will always attract positive outcomes.” – Steve Backley

58. “To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.” – Tony Dorsett

59. “Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” – Joel Osteen

60. “Enjoy life. Have fun. Be kind. Have worth. Have friends. Be honest. Laugh. Die with dignity. Make the most of it. It’s all we’ve got.” – Ricky Gervais

Positivity quotes for when you’re feeling down

61. “When your back is to the wall and you are facing fear head on, the only way is forward and through it.” ― Stephen Richards

62. “There are three types of people in this world. Firstly, there are people who make things happen. Then there are people who watch things happen. Lastly, there are people who ask, what happened? Which do you want to be?” ― Steve Backley

63. “I know I’m pure; it’s enough for this life.” ― Sonal Takalkar

64. “Rebels are the ones that truly change the world, they don’t accept the status quo and have the courage to do something about it.” ― Eduardo Clemente

65. “In all that we do in life, we should never expect perfection as an outcome; however, we should expect excellence. Perfection is myth, while excellence is a standard.” ― Mailka J. Stevely

66. “Keep following your intuition and never forget that you are not doing this alone, you are constantly guided and all your needs will be constantly provided.” ― Thabiso Makekele

67. “When you accept everything happily, you will always find the things that make you happy.” ― Anuj Jasani

68. “Learn to shift your energy into creating what you want instead of worrying about controlling what you cannot.” ― Dee Waldeck

69. “If you want to be something, be it, do not fret over what others are thinking” ― Clarissa Pattern

70. “Of all the choices you make each day none is more important than the choice of a positive attitude.” ― Germany Kent

Insightful positivity quotes to brighten your day

71. “Always let your conscience be your guide.” — Jiminy Cricket

72. “Do what is true to your soul.” — Malini Saba

73. “Today is a good day to try.” — Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

74. “Make your life matter and have fun doing it.” — Aaron Hurst

75. “Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” — Dalai Lama

76. “Base your relationships on the right values.” — Dick Gephardt

77. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi

78. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson

79. “Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” — Donna Karan

80. “Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” — Rabindranath Tagore

Positivity Quotes To Achieve Success By Positive Thoughts

81. “One small positive thought can change your whole day.” ― Zig Ziglar

82. “A positive atmosphere nurtures a positive attitude, which is required to take positive action.” ― Richard M. DeVos

83. “The less you respond to negative people, the more positive your life will become.” ― Paulo Coelho

84. “A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success.” ― Joyce Brothers

85. “Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you’re positive, good things happen.” ― Deep Roy

86. “It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive.” ― Ellen DeGeneres

87. “Your positive action combined with positive thinking results in success.” ― Shiv Khera

88. “A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” ― Wade Boggs

89. “Don’t forget to tell yourself positive things daily! You must love yourself internally to grow externally.” ― Hannah Bronfman

90. “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” ― Mary Lou Retton

What makes you laugh? 

Making time for what makes you laugh is an essential part of having a positive mindset.

As writer William Makepeace Thackeray once said, “A good laugh is sunshine in the house.”

I highly recommend keeping a list of things that make you laugh, whether it’s memes, music, movies, or TV shows.

When you are feeling down, use this list to revitalize your mood.

Make sure that your list is easily accessible so you can get to it quickly when you need it.

For example, I keep my collection of funny things in a folder on my computer. 

Which of these positivity quotes and sayings is your favorite?

Planning on sharing one with a friend?

Put your thoughts below!