Top 100 Reflection Quotes To Gain Perspective
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Self-reflection is the simple and altruistic art of looking inward into one's true persona.
When you reflect on your thoughts and actions, you gradually grow as a person. It is not always as easy a task as it sounds.
As you are reflecting on your actions, you might find flaws and mistakes, and when you find these flaws, it gets pretty easy to blame yourself. It takes a lot of courage to accept your flaws and to start working on them determinedly, but this is what reflection is all about.
Working on yourself and constantly being your own (constructive) critic is vital for overall growth.
Below, we have collected some of the best reflection quotes, including end-of-year reflection quotes, new year reflection quotes, and reflection in the mirror quotes to inspire you to work on yourself and be a better person every day. A reflection quote is any quote that draw you to look inwards and think about your own achievements and flaws.
These quotes will hopefully inspire you to reflect on your own experience of life and make changes for the future!
If you liked these reflection quotes, you can also check out these self-reflection quotes or perspective quotes for more quotes about reflecting on the self.
The Best Reflection Quotes
Your life is a reflection of the world you live in and everyone around you. Here are some of the best quotes on reflection to inspire you to see things on a deeper level.
1. "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom."
- Aristotle.
2. "Our language is the reflection of ourselves."
- Cesar Chavez.
3. "One travels more usefully when alone because he reflects more."
- Thomas Jefferson.
4. "If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been."
- T. D. Jakes.
5. "Reflective thinking turns experience into insight."
- John C. Maxwell.
6. "Time and reflection change the sight little by little 'til we come to understand."
- Paul Cezanne.
7. "Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away."
- Barbara De Angelis.
8. "Never forget to remain a student while you teach others."
- Jerry Cortsen.
9. "If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways."
- Michel de Montaigne.
10. "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
- Leo Tolstoy.
11. "Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be."
- Charles Bukowski.
12. "Imaginary evils soon become real one by indulging our reflections on them."
- John Ruskin.
13. "The time is now. Stop hitting the snooze button on your life."
- Mel Robbins.
14. "One of the saddest things in life, is the things one remembers."
- Agatha Christie.
15. "Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people."
- Albert Einstein.
16. "People who have had little self-reflection live life in a huge reality blind-spot."
- Bryant McGill.
17. "In moments of quiet reflection our minds embrace the sea that we have crossed."
- Holmes.
Positive Reflection Quotes
Here you will find positive quotes about reflection. You might also find some love reflection quotes that can help us find love within ourselves.
18. "Each person you meet is an aspect of yourself, clamoring for love."
- Eric Micha'el Leventhal.
19. "Make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you."
- Jim Rohn.
20. "People are sent into our lives to teach us things that we need to learn about ourselves."
- Mandy Hale.
21. "An unawakened person sees only his mind, which is merely a reflection of the light of pure consciousness arising from the Heart."
22. "It is always our own self that we find at the end of the journey. The sooner we face that self, the better."
- Ella Maillart.
23. "O, happy the soul that saw its own faults."
- Rumi.
24. "Reflect upon your present blessings - of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
- Charles Dickens, 'A Christmas Carol And Other Christmas Writings'.
25. "The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection."
- Thomas Paine.
26. "Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people."
- Carl Jung.
27. "You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company."
- Diane von Furstenberg.
28. "Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection."
- Jean-Luc Godard.
Funny Reflection Quotes
Reflection can be funny too! The self-reflection quotes below are pretty funny. These quotes are about everyone and everything we can find in the world and within ourselves.
29. "Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real, and you're just a reflection of him?"
30. "I never make the same mistake twice. I make it like five or six times, you know, just to be sure."
- Unknown*.
31. "People of the world don't look at themselves, and so they blame one another."
- Rumi.
32. "I am a reflection of what I sing. Sometimes I have to get serious because the things I've been through are serious."
- Robert Plant.
33. "Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults."
- Benjamin Franklin.
Self Reflection Quotes
Here we have collected some of the self-reflection quotes, Sunday reflection quotes, and more.
34. "Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things… then better yourself."
- Sonya Teclai.
35. "Your past is the key to the next stage in your life."
- Rendon Noel.
36. "There is one art of which people should be masters - the art of reflection."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
37. "By three methods we may learn wisdom. First, by reflection, which is noblest. Second, by imitation, which is easiest and third by experience which is bitterest."
– Confucius.
38. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."
- Carl Jung.
39. "How sad and bad and mad it was - but then, how it was sweet."
- Robert Browning.
40. "To achieve happiness, I advocate four major principles. The principles of love, wisdom, self-reflection, and progress."
- Ryuho Okawa.
41. "The soul usually knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind."
- Caroline Myss.
42. "Self-reflection is the school of wisdom."
- Baltasar Gracian.
43. "Honest self-understanding liberates us from our stuck emotions."
- C. Terry Warner.
44. "Become addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement."
- Anthony J. D’Angelo.
Life Reflection Quotes
For a moment of reflection, quotes about reflecting on life and quotes about the reflection of the world, as found here, can be really valuable.
45. "The unexamined life is not worth living."
- Socrates.
46. "We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are."
- Anais Nin.
47. "Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards."
- Søren Kierkegaard.
48. "Your life is a reflection of your thoughts. If you change your thinking, you change your life."
- Brian Tracy.
49. "Reflection is the lamp of the heart. If it departs, the heart will have no light."
- Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad.
50. "In silence and movement, you can show the reflection of people."
- Marcel Marceau.
51. "The feeling of being ‘offended’ is a warning indicator that is showing you where to look within yourself for unresolved issues."
- Bryant McGill.
52. "The more reflective you are, the more effective you are."
- 'Hall And Simeral'.
53. "Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead."
- Yvonne Woon.
54. "There is no future without a past because what is to be cannot be imagined except as a form of repetition."
- Siri Hustvedt.
Quotes About Personal Growth
Here, we have collected some of the best quotes about self-reflection and growth, including some morning reflection quotes for you to read.
55. "Change is your friend, not your foe; change is a brilliant opportunity to grow."
- Simon T. Bailey.
56. "Her own thoughts and reflections were habitually her best companions."
- Jane Austen.
57. "Since everything is a reflection of our minds, everything can be changed by our minds."
- Buddha.
58. "Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful."
- Margaret J. Wheatley.
59. "Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous."
- Confucius.
60. "Everything in life is a reflection of what we need to learn, if only we see it that way."
- Lynn Marie Sager.
61. "There is no greater journey than the one that you must take to discover all of the mysteries that lie within you."
- Michelle Sandlin.
62. "Sometimes you have to take a half step back to take two forward."
- Vince McMahon.
63. "All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking."
- Friedrich Nietzsche.
64. "The capacity to reflect is at the heart of what it is to be an effective learner."
- Bill Lucas.
65. "Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see and be."
- Trudy Symeonakis Vesotsky.
66. "Your soul needs time for solitude and self-reflection. In order to love, lead, heal, and create, you must nourish yourself first."
- Louise Hay.
67. "I have always preferred the reflection of the life to life itself."
- Francois Truffaut.
68. "Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better."
- Pat Riley.
69. "The more peace we have within our own lives, the more we can reflect into the outer world."
- Senora Roy.
70. "Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion."
- Suzan-Lori Parks.
Mirror And Water Reflection Quotes
This section belongs to water and mirror reflection quotes. Also, you can find some daily reflection quotes to see yourself as you truly are here.
71. "Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?"
- Mulan, 'Mulan'.
72. "The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else's eyes."
- Voltaire.
73. "The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face."
- William Makepeace Thackeray.
74. "A photograph must come from imagination and not be a reflection of what is."
- Thierry Mugler.
75. "One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others."
- Lao Tzu.
76. "Your flesh is not a reflection of your soul. So when you look in the mirror, remember that your light outshines your flaws."
- D. Antoinette Foy.
77. "The mirror reflects all objects without being sullied."
- Confucius.
78. "In a mirror is where we find a reflection of our appearances, but in a heart is where we find a reflection of our soul."
- Unknown*.
79. "Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it."
80. "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."
81. "Thirst drove me down to the water where I drank the moon's reflection."
- Rumi.
Leadership Reflection Quotes
Here you will find teamwork reflection quotes, reflection quotes for meetings, and self reflection quotes for work. These quotes show that how you treat others is a reflection of yourself.
82. "Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being yourself."
- Wayne Dyer.
83. "You attract what you are, not what you want. So if you want it then reflect it."
- Tony Gaskins.
84. "Honest self-reflection opens your mind to reprogramming, change, success, and freedom."
- Vikas Runwal.
85. "You are a mirror of yourself in others. Whatever you want, give. Be the best reflection of yourself."
- Karen A. Baquiran.
86. "The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none."
87. "Life is a mirror; you only see it when you are looking for your own true self."
- Prakash Damodaran.
88. "A soul without reflection, like a pile without inhabitant, to ruin runs."
- Edward Young.
89. "Who apart from ourselves, can see any difference between our victories and our defeats."
- Christopher Fry.
90. "Before you look at your future, reflect on your past."
- Sam Ade.
91. "Living in a way that reflects one’s values is not just about what you do, it is also about how you do things."
- Deborah Day.
92. "The dreaming has to be backed up by the doing."
- Carrie Wilkerson.
93. "Time spent in self-reflection is never wasted – it is an intimate date with yourself."
- Paul TP Wong.
94. "If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."
95. "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect."
- Mark Twain.
96. "Bosses give orders. Leaders give control."
- David Marquet.
97. "Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many."
- John C. Maxwell.
98. "Patience and persistence have a magical effect before which difficulties and obstacles vanish."
- John Quincy Adams.
99. "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson.
100. "The most effective way to do it is to do it."
- Amelia Earhart.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for reflection quotes to think about your future, then why not take a look at these thoughtful quotes or transcendentalism quotes too?
*Do you know where this quote originated? Please email us to let us know at hello@kidadl.com.
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A professional content writer hailing from Kolkata, India, with extensive experience in the corporate sector, Writvik Gupta has worked with several reputed companies, including ITC WelcomHotel Jodhpur, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Aryan Imaging, and Eduquity. He also serves as a consultant for a startup based in Bangalore. With a passion for the outdoors, Writvik enjoys trekking and traveling to remote destinations. He also has a keen interest in exploring various cuisines and regularly volunteers for social causes.
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