This articles collects some of the best Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes with images. Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was known for her active political career, her work in human rights throughout her life, and her eloquent way with words. As the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was actively involved in her husband’s career, even to the point of giving some of his speeches after his polio paralysis. Here we’ve gathered some of the most inspirational things that Eleanor Roosevelt ever said.
“You must do the things you think you cannot do.”
Top 10 Inspirational Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. “
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This is one of her most well known quotes, but it has not lost any of its importance. People will, by their very nature; try to make you feel inferior. They can only make themselves superior to you if you allow them to. Don’t strive to make yourself superior to your fellow man. Instead, strive to be the best person you can be and everything else will take care of itself.
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by ever experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This inspirational quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt teach us that life can be hard but we are all shaped by our experiences, good and bad. Don’t linger on a bad experience. Instead, take what you learned from that experience and turn it into something good. If there is nothing good that can be taken from a bad experience, simply file it away for future reference, because if the situation arises again, then you will know how to handle it. Each thing that you face makes you a little bit stronger and ready for whatever life has to throw at you next.
“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Curiosity is a gift that should be nurtured and encouraged, especially in young children. Today’s school system doesn’t really encourage curiosity, unfortunately. A little bit of curiosity can go a long way when you’re sitting in a world that encourages rote learning and test taking skills. Even as an adult, you can benefit from a little bit of curiosity. This inspirational quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt inspire us to learn to look at the world with the wonder of a child again.
“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This doesn’t necessarily just apply to women. People in general don’t know their own strength until it needs to be applied to something. We’re not talking about extremes like lifting a car off of someone or other insane feats of physical strength. This can also be applied to mental and emotional strength as well. You have no idea how strong you are until you get into hot water and have to adapt to survive.
“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This is one of the more eloquent quotes concerning wishing, but it gets the point across just as well. Anyone who’s ever wished on a star or a birthday candle knows that wishing isn’t the way to get something done. Instead of wishing for something and trusting to the universe to provide (Spoiler alert: It doesn’t), spend the same energy setting up a plan to achieve the object of your wish. Unless your wish is to walk on the surface of the sun or something, in which case you may need to choose another wish.
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – you’ll be criticized for it anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
You can’t please everyone, and you’ll find yourself running in circles if you try. Instead, just trust your own judgment and instincts, and do what you think is right. Whether you’re right or wrong is really irrelevant in the long run, because someone will find a way to take fault with your actions. Instead of worrying about pleasing everyone, just make your choices, accept your consequences and move on.
“It’s not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Don’t expect others to do what you won’t do yourself. This is the big difference between being a leader and being a boss. A boss usually takes the position of overlord, standing above their employees (sometimes literally) and directing actions. A leader, on the other hand, is down in the trenches with their team, taking point and leading them to success.
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, that is a frightening prospect.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
We have the freedom to do whatever we want, as long as what we want to do falls within the rules and laws of the nation. For most people, that includes starting jobs, building careers, and crafting families of their own. The ones that take that freedom to do nothing drag down everyone around them.
“If life were predictable, it would cease to be life and be without flavor.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Life should not be predictable. It should be bright and random, and spend it’s time throwing enough variables at you to keep you on your toes. If you’re not expecting the next thing that life has in store for you, then your life can easily become unbearably boring. If your life has become boring, try stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something that scares you.
“Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive. Once must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
It’s easy to be tempted to turn your back on life. You get to a point where you are comfortable; you have a roof over your head, food in your belly, and enough pointless entertainment to stave off boredom. Don’t be tempted to stop living. Think outside the box, and do something that you wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
Finding inspiration is never easy, but hopefully these Eleanor Roosevelt quotes will help put a little more inspiration into your life. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.
If you’re still looking for inspiration, you might want to check out our famous quotes from famous people articles, powerful strong women quotes or best quotes about life page.