The other day, I was getting started on some early spring cleaning and came across a set of quote journals that I had long ago moved to a hope chest in the guest bedroom. Yes, I admit it. I am a bit of an addict when it comes to quote collecting. Collecting quotes wasn’t a well-thought-out plan on my part. I can’t even seem to recall when I started, but it has been something I’ve done for many years now. The quotes in those books came from many sources, some famous and some not, and spanned the gamut from how to be successful in life to how to deal with the bumps along the way.
At that moment, I wondered how many of the quotes I captured still resonated. And as I started to read through the journals, a story began to unfold—strikingly, I could see the story of my life in the quotes in the journal. Some had become familiar friends, even ones that I call upon today, and others were once old friends that no longer seemed to fit. The quotes told a story of who I was, who I wanted to become, what was important to me, and how time changed some dreams but not others. The quotes were like breadcrumbs on the path connecting where I came from and where I was going.
There are many benefits to collecting quotes. In the present, they can help shape your focus, shift your mindset, motivate, inspire you to achieve a goal, and often help you gain insight into yourself and others. Curating and keeping quotes, whether in a journal or electronically, remind one of the roads traveled, things accomplished, and the essence of who you have become.
The newest addition to my quote journal was given to me by a friend, and I’d like to share it with you should you want to make it the first quote you collect.
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” —Carl Sandberg
I’d love to hear your favorite quotes! Please share them with me below.