Glennon Doyle Quotes About Love, Life, and Growth

If you have faced struggles in life, these Glennon Doyle quotes will inspire you to keep going.

Tell us which quote motivates you most in the comments.

Author, blogger, and activist, Glennon Doyle, has hit rock bottom on multiple occasions and still managed to get back up every time.

These quotes will help you gain perspective so that you can do the same.

Best-selling author and founder of the Momastery online community, Glennon Doyle is very open about the trials she has faced in life.

From growing up with mental health issues to struggling with bulimia, alcoholism, drugs, and bad relationships, Doyle has overcome some serious challenges.

She shares these challenges and the lessons she’s learned in her books, Untamed, Love Warrior, and Carry On, Warrior, and in her blog.

Doyle was born on March 20, 1976, in Burke, Virginia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from James Madison University in 1999, after which she became a teacher in Northern Virginia.

She has received recognition and won several awards for her work. In 2014, Doyle and Momastery won Parents magazine award for Best All-Around at Social Media.

Besides, she has appeared in multiple talk shows and has been featured in popular magazines such as Glamour, The Atlantic, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Newsweek.

Doyle is also popular on social media, with over 2 million followers on Instagram and more than 300 thousand on Twitter.

We hope these Glennon Doyle quotes inspire you to learn life’s lessons and carry on, no matter what trials you may face.

Don’t forget to also check out these Anne Lamott quotes that give life a positive perspective.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Our inspirational quotes category page has all of our motivational quotes for all the different areas of life.

Glennon Doyle quotes from Untamed, Love Warrior, and other works

1. “I have met myself and I am going to care for her fiercely.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Get to know yourself well. Increase your self-awareness and make sure you take care of yourself! Self-care is not selfish, it is necessary to your mental and physical well-being.

You will also enjoy our article on airplane quotes.

2. “Bring all of yourself to life. And if you’re told you’re ‘too much’ – smile and think: Maybe. Or maybe their capacity is too small?” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Do not dim your light in an attempt to not blind other people. Always be who you are, and embrace all the parts of you! If some one thinks you are too much, then maybe hang around people who are just as much!

3. “Your river is strong. Let it flow.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Your river is everything about you. It is your thoughts, your energy, your actions, and anything else that makes you, well, you! Don’t dam up your river, let who you are influence the world around you.

4. “Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyway.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Nothing is going to work out perfectly or end up exactly how you envisioned it. Don’t let that hold you back! Show up, work hard, and give it your all. Even if it isn’t pretty. If it is real and worth doing, then just do it!

5. “I had been deceived. The only thing that was ever wrong with me was my belief that there was something wrong with me.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: There is nothing wrong with you. Sure, you might have some things you can improve on and develop. But you are worthy, you deserve to be loved, and other people’s reactions/actions are not because of you.

6. “We can either control ourselves or love ourselves, but we can’t do both.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: You have to dig a bit deeper into her book, Untamed, to truly understand this! In it she points out that love is the opposite of control. Control is defined as: the power or influence to direct people’s behavior. Are you directing your behavior through power and influence? Or are you behaving in a way because you have trust and loyalty to your authentic self?

You will also enjoy our article on quotes on addiction.

7. “Self-love means that I have a relationship with myself built on trust and loyalty. I trust myself to have my own back, so my allegiance is to the voice within.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Self-love means many things, but this is a excellent way to look at it. You can build this kind of trust and loyalty by doing a few small things each day. First, stop comparing yourself to other people. Second, don’t worry about someone else’s opinion. Then you can move onto the bigger stuff like facing your fears, recognizing where you value lies (and where it does not), and being kind to yourself when you make mistakes.

8. “We weren’t born distrusting and fearing ourselves. That was part of our taming. We were taught to believe that who we are in our natural state is bad and dangerous.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Learn to trust and believe in yourself again. There is untapped power in these simple things. Start with offering yourself some compassion. Do not speak to yourself in a way you wouldn’t speak to your best friend. Discover your authentic self, and learn what is truly important to you.

Glennon Doyle Melton quotes about growing from your pain

9. “You are not supposed to be happy all the time. Life hurts and it’s hard. Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because it hurts for everybody. Don’t avoid the pain. You need it. It’s meant for you. Be still with it, let it come, let it go, let it leave you with the fuel you’ll burn to get your work done on this earth.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: This is the nuanced idea behind having a positive mindset. It does not mean that you are happy all the time, and nothing bad happens. It means that you look at those painful life moments through a different lens. You don’t avoid the pain, or react in a way that is harmful. You understand that you have to be still with it, let it come, and then let it go. Then you use it to make your life better or accomplish your purpose. Keep going, you have things to do!

You will also enjoy our article on warrior quotes

10. “What if pain – like love – is just a place where brave people visit?” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Everyone needs to read her book. Real love requires us to be vulnerable. You have to be brave to let someone see the absolute worst parts of yourself. The insecurities and the potential to lose that person can be terrifying. Be brave, because the impact love has is worth it. The same can be said about pain. There is a purpose, something that you can take away from it. Be brave and sit with it, process your feelings, and then it go.

You will also enjoy our article on feminism quotes.

11. “The journey is learning that pain, like love, is simply something to surrender to. It’s a holy space we can enter with people only if we promise not to tidy up.” — Glennon Doyle

12. “When her pain is fresh and new, let her have it. Don’t try to take it away. Forgive yourself for not having that power. Grief and pain are like joy and peace; they are not things we should try to snatch from each other. They’re sacred. They are part of each person’s journey. All we can do is offer relief from this fear: I am all alone. That’s the one fear you can alleviate.” — Glennon Doyle

13. “What if in skipping the pain, I was missing my lessons?” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Our deepest pain teaches us the most important lessons. You are much stronger than you believe, and every time you survive something that you thought you would not, you recognize this truth. Painful lessons also teach us to hope for better days, persevere through hardship, and improve our resiliency.

14. “Grief and pain are like joy and peace; they are not things we should try to snatch from each other. They’re sacred.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Grief and pain happen because we loved hard enough to experience the rawness of loss. If you didn’t love, then you wouldn’t feel intense grief. Love and grief, joy and pain, they are opposite reactions to intense sacred feelings.

15. “If no pain, then no love. If no darkness, no light. If no risk, then no reward. It’s all or nothing. In this damn world, it’s all or nothing.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: You can not live life in half measures. If you are going to love with all you have, then you will feel pain. If you do not take big risks, then you will not have big rewards. Is having it all (or feeling it all) worth having nothing (or feeling pain)? Are you willing to live like this world is all or nothing?

16. “I learned that I need to move toward the pain. Pain doesn’t go away. If you don’t embrace it, it will be passed onto someone else, usually those around you.” — Glennon Doyle

17. “I see your pain and it is difficult and it is hard, but it was made just for you and I also see that your courage is greater than your fear.” — Glennon Doyle

More Glennon Doyle quotes about personal growth

18. “You have been offered ‘the gift of crisis’. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, the Greek root of the word crisis is “to sift”, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. That’s what crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Your crisis is going to serve a purpose. When we face a crisis we are reminded about what is truly important to us. A crisis can be an opportunity to shift your priorities and help you grow. It will all come down to how you handle your crisis and the perspective you take.

19. “Reading is my inhale and writing is my exhale.” — Glennon Doyle

20. “Since brokenness is the way of folks, the only way to live peacefully is to forgive everyone constantly, including yourself.” — Glennon Doyle

21. “That’s how you can tell that you’re filling yourself with the wrong things. You use a lot of energy, and in the end, you feel emptier and less comfortable than ever.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: What you fill yourself up with matters. If you are on a path that leaves you drained and uncomfortable, then it is not the right path. Take a look at what you consume in your everyday habits. How do you spend your day? Check out this article for signs that you are on the wrong life path.

22. “I used to numb my feelings and hide. Now I feel my feelings and share.” — Glennon Doyle

23. “Maybe the yes comes before the readiness. Maybe you say yes and then you become equipped to handle whatever is about to happen.” — Glennon Doyle

Inspiring Glennon Doyle quotes

24. “What I Know: 1. What you don’t know, you’re not supposed to know yet. 2. More will be revealed. 3 Crisis means to sift. Let it all fall away and you’ll be left with what matters. 4. What matters most cannot be taken away. 5. Just do the next right thing one thing at a time. That’ll take you all the way home.” — Glennon Doyle

25. “If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing, please refuse to worry about whether you’re good enough. Just do it. Be generous. Offer a gift to the world that no one else can offer: yourself.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: We have this notion that our hobbies and passions only serve a purpose if we are “good” at them. However, if painting makes you feel joy, connected to yourself, and happy, then paint! The same with singing, writing, or dancing. You are the only you that exists and this is your life. Do what makes you happy without the pressure of being good enough. You are already good enough!

26. “There is always more on its way – more opportunities, more ideas, more love. Know that there is enough. Know that you are enough. Know that you have enough.” — Glennon Doyle

27. “These things will be hard, but you can do hard things.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Life is hard, especially when you are working toward improving yourself and reaching your goals. However, humans are much more capable than we think we are, and you can do hard things. For example, you can choose the hard things that are required to be healthy (eating right, exercise, etc.) or you can choose the hard things that come along with being unhealthy (mobility issues, joint problems, etc.).

28. “Service and art are the two things that have saved me.” — Glennon Doyle

29. “I understand now that I’m not a mess, but a deeply feeling person in a messy world. I explain that now when someone asks me why I cry so often: “For the same reason I laugh so often – because I’m paying attention.” — Glennon Doyle

30. “We can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved. We must decide.” — Glennon Doyle

31. “Life is hard—not because we’re doing it wrong, just because it’s hard.” — Glennon Doyle

32. “Life is brutal, but it’s also beautiful. Life is Brutiful.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Brutiful is an apt description for life. There are parts of it that are brutal and it is normal to wonder why something is happening to you. However, if you can switch your perspective to something like more along the lines of what can you learn, then you can also discover the beauty in nearly any situation. Life also has many beautiful moments that come without the brutality of life. It is simply brutiful.

Glennon Doyle quotes about love and motherhood

33. “The only meaningful thing we can offer one another is love. Not advice, not questions about our choices, not suggestions for the future, just love.” — Glennon Doyle

34. “People who are hurting don’t need Avoiders, Protectors, or Fixers. What we need are patient, loving witness. People to sit quietly and hold space for us. People to stand in helpful vigil to our pain.” — Glennon Doyle

35. “If our goal is to be tolerant of people who are different than we are, then we really are aiming quite low. Traffic jams are to be tolerated. People are to be celebrated.” — Glennon Doyle

36. “People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help.” — Glennon Doyle

37. “Because love is not something for which to search or wait or hope or dream. Its simply something to do.” — Glennon Doyle

38. “My purpose is clearer today than it has been in years: Love, Courage, Truth.” — Glennon Doyle

39. “Love is the opposite of control. Love demands trust.” — Glennon Doyle

40. “Loving fiercely and grieving deeply are often two halves of the same whole.” — Glennon Doyle

More inspiring Glennon Doyle quotes

41. “Every girl must decide whether to be true to herself or true to the world. Every girl must decide whether to settle for adoration or fight for love.” — Glennon Doyle

42. “Addiction is a hiding place where sensitive people go. I was a super-sensitive kid—addiction is where I went to hide from risk, to hide from pain, to hide from love.” — Glennon Doyle

Everyday Application: Addiction is a very complicated psychological process. There is a link between addiction and trauma. Check out this article for more about how to cope with addiction or help a loved one on their journey.

43. “Our culture was built upon and benefits from the control of women. The way power justifies controlling a group is by conditioning the masses to believe that the group cannot be trusted. So the campaign to convince us to mistrust women begins early and comes from everywhere.” — Glennon Doyle

44. “Wherever you go, there you are.” — Glennon Doyle

45. “It’s ok to feel too much and know too little.” — Glennon Doyle

46. “You can never get enough of what you don’t need.” — Glennon Doyle

47. “We have to get back into our own bodies and figure out what the hell we want to do. And then the next step is doing it without explaining ourselves.” — Glennon Doyle

48. “I just think there are as many different versions of feminism as there are women.” — Glennon Doyle

49. “Feminism has to be defined as freedom.” — Glennon Doyle

50. “Nobody is more ready to show up than anybody else. It’s just that some people show up before they’re perfect and before they’re ready.” — Glennon Doyle

Famous Glennon Doyle quotes

51. “Life is alchemy, and emotions are the fire that turns me to gold. I will continue to become only if I resist extinguishing myself a million times a day. If I can sit in the fire of my own feelings, I will keep becoming.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

52. “Every beautiful thing in life comes out of the mess.” – Glennon Doyle, Carry on Warrior

53. “Life is a quest to find an unfindable thing. We are put here needing something that doesn’t exist here.” – Glennon Doyle, Carry on Warrior

54. “People will like me or not, but being liked is not my One Thing; integrity is…I’m willing to lose anything that requires me to hide any part of myself.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

55. “We don’t understand why we hurt those we love.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

56. “We forgot how to know when we learned how to please.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

57. “We are so afraid of dying. Also of living.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

Everyday Application: Truly living and jumping into the unknown can be just as scary as dying. You do not know what happens on the other side of success or death. The human mind does not like unknowns. However, the common factor here is fear. You can be scared of living or dying, or you can just embrace both things. We are all dying, but not everyone is truly living!

58. “Every time you’re given a choice between disappointing someone else and disappointing yourself, your duty is to disappoint that someone else.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

59. “All the devil has to do to win is convince you he’s God.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

60.  “I’m willing to lose anything that requires me to hide any part of myself.” – Glennon Doyle, Untamed

What did you learn from these Glennon Doyle quotes?

These quotes from Glennon Doyle inspire us to live more presently in the moment.

They help us see a new perspective as we work through the pain from the challenges that we face.

These quotes inspire us to love both ourselves and our fellow humans deeper and unconditionally.

In her work, Doyle shares the dark aspects of her life to help inspire her readers.

Most people would rather hide the challenges that they’ve faced, but Doyle shares her experiences with millions of readers to help them realize that they are not alone.

Her writing inspires readers to see the duality in life and know that there is always a silver lining, whether it’s a lesson to be learned or realizing that their experience is motivation to transition to a new life chapter.

We hope you were inspired by these Glennon Doyle quotes and sayings.

Let us know which quote was your favorite in the comments below.