150 Quotes by Iyanla Vanzant

You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people. (Quote Meaning)

Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. (Meaning)

The only way to get what you really want is to let go of what you don’t want. (Quote Meaning)

The remedy for life's broken pieces is not classes, workshops, or books. Don't try to heal the broken pieces. Just forgive. (Meaning)

Wherever you are, use your time, energy, and talents to do the best you can right now. (Quote Meaning)

The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first. (Meaning)

You can never love anyone to your own detriment. That is not love, that is possession, control, fear, or a combination of them all. (Quote Meaning)

When you stand and share your story in an empowering way, your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. (Meaning)

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Instead of running from what you 'don’t want' walk with commitment toward what you desire. (Quote Meaning)

When you have something to do, life will not allow you to move forward until you do it. (Meaning)

It's important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. (Quote Meaning)

The strength you need, the answer you want, the solution you seek is around you. Turn to the infinite power within yourself. (Meaning)

In my deepest, darkest moments, what really got me through was a prayer. Sometimes my prayer was 'Help me.' Sometimes a prayer was 'Thank you.' What I've discovered is that intimate connection and communication with my creator will always get me through. (Quote Meaning)

Trust that something good in you will bring something good through you! (Meaning)

You have set standards for how you want to be treated and what you expect from yourself and for yourself. (Quote Meaning)

We must inspire ourselves by believing we have the power to accomplish everything we set out to do. (Meaning)

Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change (Quote Meaning)

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If it's not your story to tell, you don't tell it. (Meaning)

I am the one I have been looking for. (Quote Meaning)

All of us have ways in which we mask and cover our pain. (Meaning)

Until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed (Quote Meaning)

If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. (Meaning)

There are two emotions: love and fear. (Quote Meaning)

The way we do one thing is the way we do everything. (Meaning)

If you really want to live your life to the fullest and realize your greatest potential, you must be willing to run the risk of making some people mad. People may not like what you do, people may not like how you do it, but these people are not living your life. You are!

Everything you have done and been through is valuable and important. In order to be who you are, to know what you know, to be where you are in this moment, you needed to go through what you went through.

If someone has offended you, insulted you, or disappointed you, let it go! If you are remembering all the ways you have been hurt or forgotten, let it go! Ask yourself, what good does it do for me to hold on to this?

Nothing destroys self-worth, self-acceptance and self-love faster than denying what you feel. Without feelings, you would not know where you are in life. Nor would you know what areas you need to work on. Honor your feelings. Allow yourself to feel them.

You cannot make your life move faster than it's moving. No matter how urgent your situation may seem to be, things are going to happen when they happen, not a minute sooner. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with others. Be patient with life. Patience always pays off.

You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them.

Release and detach from every person, every circumstance, every condition, and every situation that no longer serves a divine purpose in your life. All things have a season, and all seasons must come to an end. Choose a new season, filled with purposeful thoughts and activities.

You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.

Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change

It takes a lot more courage to let something go than it does to hang on to it, trying to make it better. Letting go doesn't mean ignoring a situation. Letting go means accepting what is, exactly as it is, without fear, resistance, or a struggle for control.

It's important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story, you free yourself and give other people permission to acknowledge their own story

No matter what is going on in your life today, remember, it is only preparation. People come and go; situations rise and fall; it's all preparation for better things. You must stretch, reach, grow into your goodness. Without the preparation we receive through adversity, disappointment, confusion, or pain, we could not appreciate the goodness when it arrives.

Gratitude is like a magnet; the more grateful you are, the more you will receive to be grateful for.

Comparison is an act of violence against the self.

Stop hiding! Stop holding yourself back and playing yourself down! Stop worrying about how you look and what people are saying. Stop listening to what people are saying and trying to find out if they are whispering about you. Stop waiting for someone to tell you that you are okay or to make you feel special. Life is special! It is a special gift. This is your life! Now take your gift and live it out in the open! Decide today that you are going to live out loud!

Life doesn't actually knock you down. It does, however, provide you with many opportunities to evaluate your standing in life: what you stand on, what you stand for, how you stand within yourself and for yourself.

Crying purifies and cleanses.

Change doesn't have to be hard, and healing doesn't have to hurt. Surely by now you know that every thing happens for a reason! There is something better awaiting you on the other side of this.

You can direct the outcome of any situation you face through the power of thought. Keep your thoughts focused on the best possible outcome for everyone involved and never allow yourself to be pushed where you don't choose to be.

No storm can last forever. It will never rain 365 days consecutively. Keep in mind that trouble comes to pass, not to stay. Don't worry! No storm, not even the one in your life, can last forever.

Are you aware that your spirit needs to be fed? Did you know that your spirit would be delighted to partake in a feast of spiritual food? How about a plate full of prayer? Or maybe a few hours of succulent self-reflection. Perhaps a piping-hot selection of spiritual literature, served by the side of a lake or under a tree, would satisfy your spiritual hunger. Can you imagine feasting for a few hours on spiritually uplifting music? What about some forgiveness à la mode, topped with compassion? You cannot imagine how much your spirit would enjoy it.

The highest form of praise you can offer to yourself, to God and to the world is to spend time each day expressing gratitude. It says to God that you are aware and appreciative of grace. It says to life that you are acknowledging its awesome presence in you. It says to yourself that you are worth the time it takes to be healed. Time spent in silence, contemplation and gratitude is time spent in devotion to a higher calling and a more loving state of being.

Be patient with yourself. Be gentle with yourself. Know that all things are working in your favor. If you take one step toward the light of Spirit, Spirit will take five steps on your behalf.

Challenges come so we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle now.

Just for today, allow yourself to embrace all that you are every moment. Know that you are a vessel of light. Allow yourself to release all doubts about your ability, the mistakes of the past, the fear of the future.

Forgiveness is a process of giving up the old for something new. Old experiences and memories that we hold on to in anger, resentment, shame, or guilt cloud our spirit mind. The truth is, everything that has happened had to happen. It was a growth experience. There was something you needed to know or learn. If you stay angry, hurt, afraid, ashamed, or guilty, you miss the lesson. You will be stuck in a cloud of pain.

Everything happens when it needs to happen; everyone is always where they need to be. You will never miss out on what is meant for you, even if it has to come to you in a roundabout way.

Your greatest adversary is also your greatest teacher. Like it or not, it is the job of certain people to bring out the worst in you. What they trigger is already in you. They are here to reveal the sore, tender wounded places in your heart and mind, and they are providing you with a wonderful and divine opportunity for healing.

Sitting alone, listening to the sound of your breath, the beating of your heart is a reminder that you are sacred and blessed.

One of the greatest challenges in creating a joyful, peaceful and abundant life is taking responsibility for what you do and how you do it. As long as you can blame someone else, be angry with someone else, point the finger at someone else, you are not taking responsibility for your life.

Self-worth is an understanding on the intellectual level, trusting at the heart level, and accepting at the soul level that you are worthy just because you believe that you are. Your worthiness is proven by your existence. Your breathing. The beating of your heart. Your mere presence is all that is needed to establish your worth.

Criticism does not make you smarter or better than the one you are criticizing. In fact, the stuff you are critical of in others is the same stuff you don't like about yourself.

Acceptance means that you know, regardless of what happened, that there is something bigger than you at work. It also means you know that you are okay and that you will continue to be okay.

Every day is your day if you claim it. If you wait for somebody else to make it for you, you're going to be disappointed.

Most of us know exactly what it is that creates the pain, confusion, stagnation and disruption in our lives. When we find something or someone creating in our lives that which we do not want, we must muster the courage and strength to stop it.

When you don't show up as who you are, people fall in love with who you're not. Then when they find out who you are, that's when they leave.

People have a right to change their minds and it has absolutely nothing to do with you. People change. As people change, their needs change. When people have a need, it is their responsibility to themselves to see their needs are met. And it has absolutely nothing to do with you.

You must earn what you have. Life does not give you anything. You must give in order to get. You must stand up to the very thing that challenges you, look it in the face, get clear about your intention, order your thoughts and your life, and proceed without fear or hesitation. Life is not unfair. Along the way, you will always find bits of information and support to guide you to purpose.

The only thing that goes on in your life is what your allow to go on in your life

Everything we experience-no matter how unpleasant-comes into our lives to teach us something.

We set the standard of how we want to be treated. Our relationships are reflections of the relationships we have with ourselves.

Affirm: I now willingly release all negative beliefs about myself, my life and all other people. I now forgive myself for thinking I ever did anything wrong. I am now filled with the love and the Power that I am. For this I am so grateful! And so it is!

Listen for the instruction, instead of begging for the direction.

You set the standards for how you will be treated. People will treat you the exact way you treat yourself. So be good to you. Take time for yourself. Rest. Play. Shower yourself with affection, support, and gifts.

Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it's the place where we find the deepest heartache.

When you make a decision and a commitment to do something good for yourself, it is like dropping a pebble in a pond. It has a rippling effect. The firmer the decision, the stronger the frequency and wider the range of things that will be reached.

Changing your life does not always mean that you stop doing certain things. It may mean that you start doing certain other things. What you really want to do is nurture the attitude that you are open to learning more about yourself. Accepting more about yourself. This is what will inspire you to do something new.

When was the last time you thanked you for always being there for you? Self appreciation soothes an aching soul.

Speak and live in simple sentences. Bring closure -- put a period to -- those experiences that you don't want to carry on forever and ever. Use commas in those places where you're still growing... and use exclamation points at the end of every lesson.

When the time comes for you to make a change or to grow, the universe will make you so uncomfortable you will eventually have no choice.

Before you find out who you are, you have to figure out who you aren't.

Many of us have a need to be right. We then set out to make ourselves right by making someone else wrong. We must get right with ourselves. Once we do, we will have so much to do, we will not have time to keep track of who is wrong.

Why do we hold onto negativity? For some reason, we believe that others are affected by our experience of remaining upset, hurt or angry. Holding on to pain, anger, guilt or shame is the glue that binds us to the situation we want to escape.

Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.

Love people enough to tell them the truth and respect them enough to trust that they can handle it.

Fear wears so many clever disguises it is virtually impossible to always recognize it. Fear disguises itself as the need to be somewhere else, doing something else, not knowing how to do something or not needing to do something.

We all want to be liked, loved, or needed. That is fine. What is not fine is what we are willing to do to make sure we are liked, or loved or needed. When we make the needs and wants of others a priority in our lives, we devalue ourselves.

You must be willing to examine and explore your dark side. You must acknowledge how bad you can be and how horribly unloving you can behave. When you know how deep and dark your dark side is, it helps you stand a little taller in the light.

Each of us face a moment in our lives called 'the breakdown moment.' This is the time when you must stand toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball, with the very thing you have tried desperately to avoid. In that moment, when there is nothing standing between you and the thing you fear the most, you will be forced to step into your greatness, because that is what life is demanding of you.

Have you doubted your progress, regretted your choices, put yourself down? Remember that you are doing just fine. Remind yourself right now that no matter what it looks like, you are doing the best you can. And getting better. Encourage yourself, support yourself, and celebrate every little thing about yourself.

If you should encounter angry or unkind actions today, take a deep breath, reach deep within and greet the lack of love with love.

Have the courage to be exactly who you are without apology. Admit your mistakes without beating yourself up. Release all shame! Release all guilt! You cannot live if you are hiding behind what was. Focus on what is, right now, and that is you!

You have a right to your thoughts and feelings. Your feelings are always valid.

Be patient when it seems things are not going right and may never be right again. Accept that what is yours will come to you in the right way at just the right moment.

You are the love you seek. You are the companionship you desire. You are your own completion, your own wholeness. You are your best friend, your confidant. 'You are,' as poetess Audre Lourde wrote, 'the one that you are looking for.' You are the only one who can do what you are looking for someone else to do.

There comes a point in time when you must know that everything you have already given or done is enough. This is not something anyone else can tell you. You must know. Giving without receiving doesn't prove anything except that you know how to be taken advantage of.

Loving yourself has nothing to do with being selfish, self-centered or self-engrossed. It means that you accept yourself for what you are. Loving yourself means that you accept responsibility for your own development, growth and happiness.

Life will let you get away with something for a while, but sooner or later, you will pay the price. Everything you do in life causes the effects that you experience. When you get the bill, be prepared to pay.

Accept and acknowledge your own brilliance. Stop waiting for others to tell you how great you are! Believe it for yourself and about yourself.

To honor life, we must be willing to grow through what we don't know yet, and outgrow what we know no longer fits us. We must be willing to give in to the process, moment by moment, realizing a new plot may be unfolding.

Everything that's happening in our world is a function of what is going on inside of people. We are violent in our minds. We are violent with one another. We walk past one another in the street and don't even look nor make eye contact - don't speak. We can be outraged about the missiles and the planes. I'm more outraged that somebody will walk past me in the street and not look me in the face and say good morning.

One thing that prevents a man from being a good father is he hasn't completed being a boy.

You can't do anything as long as you are afraid of what might happen. Fear clouds opportunities, erases possibilities, and limits the ability to move beyond the place in which the mind is stuck. No matter how difficult we think the problem is, we must muster up the courage to face it.

Lives fall apart when they need to be rebuilt.

What do you do when it seems as if people want to stay in their pain. They have a story to tell and they tell you every chance they get. Well, believe it or not, they may like where they are. Our job is to leave them there. You can point the way out of pain, but you cannot force them to get out. You can support the move beyond their limitations, but you cannot make the move for them.

Each day, focus your attention on what you want. Each day, take one step that will bring you closer to it. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! The key is to identify it, claim it for yourself, and believe that you are worthy to have it.

It is not what you hear, it is where you listen from within yourself that gives meaning to the message.

Spiritual consciousness does not make your problems go away; it does, however, help you view them from a different vantage point.

When someone entrusts their heart to you they are giving you a piece of their soul. You cannot treat the soul casually. You must protect, nurture and handle it with care.

If you are afraid to take a chance, take one anyway. What you don't do can create the same regrets as the mistakes you make.

We can think, speak, and bring the best possible outcome into existence by focusing on where we are going, not on where we think we are.

You've got to be willing to lose everything to gain yourself.

When you can tell the story and it doesn't bring up any pain, you know it is healed.

It’s self-full to be first, to be as good as possible to you. To take care of you, keep you whole and healthy. That doesn’t mean you disregard everything and everyone. But you want to come with your cup full. You know: ‘My cup runneth over.’ What comes out of the cup is for y’all. What’s in the cup is mine. But I’ve got to keep my cup full.

One way to eliminate self negating thoughts and behavior is by gaining more understanding through realizing that you cannot force others to see that what you feel is real.

Be aware that who you are and what you have to offer can be a beacon to some lost soul.

Without the a test you don't have a testimony.

When you know something or someone in your life is unhealthy or unproductive, that you have grown beyond where they are and where they want to keep you, you must let go. If you tell yourself you do not see it when you do, or if you tell yourself it will get better, you are not being honest with yourself. Stop trying to fix things or change things. Simply let go.

As you move through the day, be aware of how you treat yourself. Be aware of what you do to and for yourself, because you set the standard for others. As you grow in your awareness of how you treat yourself, you will probably become aware of the example you have set for others. You may realize that the time has come to set a new example.

When you continue to give without receiving, the only thing you are proving is that you know how to be taken advantage of.

The key to success is not what you do, it is how you feel about what you are doing. Success begins with a positive attitude, it is the most valuable asset we may own. Success begins with a good feeling about where we are and a positive attitude about where we want to be.

If you don't have a vision you're going to be stuck in what you know. And the only thing you know is what you've already seen.

When two broken people bring their broken pieces together, chances are they will never become a whole anything.

Anything that threatens, hinders, obstructs, denies, delays your capacity to stand fully up for yourself, within yourself, take it down.

From where you sit, it may seem that certain people should know better. People are who they are and do what they do whether or not you like it or agree with them. We each have different lessons to learn. We each take a different path to our lessons.

Until you are willing to accept total and complete responsibility for every aspect of your life, your life will keep sending you experiences designed to get your attention.

Instead of running from what you don't want, walk with commitment toward what you desire. Focus on where you are going rather than being obsessed with where you have been.

What keeps us from achieving our heart's desires is not anything outside of us, it's the conflict inside.

When a thing has served its purpose, it will go away. Sometimes it will break. At other times, it will simply die off. Then, there are those times when for no reason, it will simply fall apart. If you try to hold on to something that has already fulfilled its purpose in your life, you are going to hurt yourself. If holding on is disturbing your peace of mind, it makes sense to let it go.

The ego encourages you to constantly prove yourself and what you already know. When you are in the presence of someone you feel the need to impress, the ego's automatic response is 'I know.' The moment you say 'I know,' you are demonstrating that you don't know. You can learn something valuable from everyone, in every situation.

People may not like what you do, people may not like how you do it, but these people are not living your life. You are!

Choice is a divine teacher, for when we choose we learn that nothing is ever put in our path without a reason.

It is important to acknowledge all your feelings and not beat yourself up for having them. Your feelings are not good or bad, they just are.

We make our days pleasant or miserable. If we insist on being miserable, irritable and nasty, more than likely the day will give us exactly what we give it. A day is too valuable to waste on misery and unhappiness.

Black Girls rock because we have no other choice.

When we have peace in our hearts and minds, we draw peace into our lives.

The journey into self-love and self-acceptance must begin with self-examination. ... until you take the journey of self-reflection, it is almost impossible to grow or learn in life.

Breathing deeply and releasing fear will help you get to where you want to be.

If it's not your story to tell, you don't tell it.

It's time for you to move, realizing that the thing you are seeking is also seeking you.

We go into a relationship looking for love, not realizing that we must bring love with us. We must bring a strong sense of self and purpose into a relationship. We must bring a sense of value, of who we are. We must bring an excitement about ourselves, our lives, and the vision we have for these two essential elements. We must bring a respect for wealth and abundance. Having achieved it to some satisfactory degree on our own, we must move into relationships willing to share what we have, rather than being afraid of someone taking it.

Give yourself permission to smile a lot today. In fact, why not make it a habit!

I am the one I have been looking for.

Everybody does not have to like you. That is not their job. Liking you is not anyone's purpose in life except yours.

If you don't ask for what you need, the need will keep getting bigger.

When your life is working there will be an absence of drama

When you give to others to the degree that you sacrifice yourself, you make the other person a thief.

Don't get hung up on the hard times, the challenges. Tell your story by highlighting the victories. Because it's your victories that will inspire, motivate, encourage other people to live their stories in grander ways.

When you're the strong one, people don't give you permission to hurt.

Education does not take place when you learn something you did not know before. Education is your ability to use what you have learned to be better today than you were yesterday.

Today, I choose awareness. I choose to be aware of the beauty of life and living. I choose to be aware of the simple pleasures in life. I choose awareness of joy, awareness of peace, and awareness of love.

You're never healing the level you're on. You're always healing the level you came from. For example, you know things today that you didn't know in your first marriage.

With all things in life, we do not get what we ask for, we get what we expect.

Forgiveness means accepting what is or what has been and becoming willing to see it differently. You cannot un-hear what you have heard or un-see what you have seen. What you can do is stop believing that what occurred has somehow left you broken, damaged and wounded. While forgiveness ain’t easy, it’s the most important inner work you can do within your mind and heart.

It is not your duty or responsibility to change the minds of other people. The nature of their thinking is advanced or limited by their experience. In your presence, they have an opportunity to learn about you and, perhaps, to grow.

We're all in prison. All of us are in prison, but some of us have a key.

When do you feel most loved? Are you willing to be loved today? Self-love is the magnet that attracts deep and profound expressions of love from others

You must be ready in mind, body, and spirit before you can make a change. People cannot convince you to do it. You cannot force you to do it. Everything you think, say, and do until that happens is just preparation. So love yourself right now. Honor yourself. Keep talking to yourself. Keep thinking ready thoughts. In the meantime, try to remember you will not be ready until you are ready.

Use your time, energy and talents to do the best you can right now. Spend no time wishing it were better

All of us have ways in which we mask and cover our pain.

When you can look a thing dead in the eye, acknowledge that it exists, call it exactly what it is, and decide what role it will take in your life then, my Beloved, you have taken the first step toward your freedom.

I let go of the past and choose to accept every situation as being for me and not against me.

Never judge your clarity based on someone else's response.

In my mind, marriage is a spiritual partnership and union in which we willingly give and receive love, create and share intimacy, and open ourselves to be available and accessible to another human being in order to heal, learn and grow.

Their issues are not your issues.

No whining, no complaining about anyone. Everybody in your life has come to teach you lessons.

Never underestimate the ruthlessness of the ego to keep you in a state of suffering in which you voluntarily participate.

You do not have to love what is going on in your life, but you must accept that it, whatever it is, is going on. As long as you do not accept reality, you are powerless to define the role you will play.

The only way to get what you really want is to let go of what you don't want.

When we find ourselves in the same situation repeatedly as a result of our conditioned responses, we must stop and do a new thing. The situation may look different. The route we take there may be altogether different. The lesson we must learn does not change. Get honest! Pay attention! Change what you do to create a change for yourself!

Forgiveness leads to a shift in perception. It transforms the hurt into healing.

In silence, we have an opportunity to reflect, listen, and gain new insights about ourselves. In silence, we can think, feel, and most important of all, breathe. When you seek guidance, understanding, clarity, or peace of mind, the first step is to master the art of silence and to rethink the value of solitude.

If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans.

You are always being prepared for something better or protected from something worse.

People you don't love can't hurt you.

No matter how painful your past has been, you have made it through.

In love, there is a total acceptance of self, and a willingness to give of self without an expectation of receiving anything in return. When you love, you are not afraid to share the truth of who you are, and you accept the truth of others without judgment.