160 Short Beautiful Phrases (with images and explanation)
Life is full of nuances, details and elements that often make us stop and doubt.
These cute and short phrases about love and life They are a way of approaching in a poetic way the topics on which the most reflections are usually drawn, from the hand of great thinkers and cultural references.
Beautiful and useful phrases to reflect
It is always stimulating to consider new thoughts based on the opinions and ideas of great historical figures. Below you can see a series of beautiful thoughts and phrases about different areas of life.
Also remember that you can visit our Instagram account to see images of phrases like these.
1. Life starts every five minutesAndreu Buenafuente)
One of the most memorable phrases of this Catalan comedian.
2. Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you" (Erich Fromm)
Vision of Erich fromm about the different types of love.
3. What one can become, one must be (Abraham Maslow)
The creator of the hierarchy of human needs most famous reflects his humanistic philosophy in this sentence.
4. The power of imagination makes us infinite (John Muir)
One of the beautiful phrases referring to imagination and creativity.
5. Let's be realistic, demand the impossible! (Ernesto Che Guevara)
A cry that has practically become a slogan of progressive movements.
6. Freedom dies if it is not used (Hunter S. Thompson)
A reflection on freedom and its properties.
7. Where words fail music speaks (Hans Christian Andersen)
Music is defined through this curious comparison.
8. You cannot find peace by avoiding life (Virginia Woolf)
Among the elements of life are things that can disturb the peace.
9. Life is like jazz... better if it is improvised (George Gershwin)
One of the beautiful phrases about life that can also be used to better understand certain art forms.
10. Everything you can imagine is real (Pablo Picasso)
Picasso, talking about the limits of creativity.
11. Knowledge is an antidote to fear (Gerd Gigerenzer)
This psychologist talks about knowledge as something that affects the way we act.
12. Love is a smoke made with the vapors of sighs (Shakespeare)
One of the most famous Shakespearean beautiful phrases.
13. A good traveler has no plans (Confucius)
The Eastern philosopher Confucius talks about his way of understanding travel.
14. What I can't create, I don't understand (Richard Feynman)
This referent of the physics he uses shows his analytical and scientific mentality in this sentence.
15. Miracles are born out of difficulties (Jean de la Bruyère)
A poetic phrase that, at the same time, is motivating.
16. Love is a better teacher than duty (Albert Einstein)
One of Einstein's best-known phrases about love.
17. Life is the flower of which love is the honey (Victor Hugo)
An example of the poetic and beautiful phrases that Victor Hugo could conceive.
18. Look back and smile at the dangers past (Walter Scott)
A motivating and beautiful phrase in equal measure.
19. We live in a rainbow of chaos (Paul Cezanne)
A poetic way of seeing how anarchic there is in our lives.
20. Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eyes (H. Jackson Brown Jr.)
A reflection on human intuition.
21. We become what we think about (Earl Nightingale)
Our thoughts have a crucial influence on what we will become in the future.
22. Where there is love there is life (Mahatma Gandhi)
A very nice phrase from the Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi.
23. Once we accept our limits, we go beyond it (Albert Einstein)
Accepting our limitations can be the starting point towards a fuller life.
24. Listen from time to time; it's fascinating what you can hear (Russell Baker)
Many people don't listen, they only hear. To which we stop to listen, everything changes.
25. Where there is no fight, there is no strength (Oprah Winfrey)
The popular African-American presenter has it clear. The struggle is the engine of societies.
26. What does not kill us makes us stronger (Friedrich Nietzsche)
The German philosopher, in a highly commented quote.
27. Pleasure is often marred by the simple fact of describing it (Stendhal)
Sometimes, experience is the only important thing.
28. Love is composed of a soul inhabiting two bodies (Aristotle)
A phrase about love that reminds us of the most powerful feeling we can experience.
29. The more we do, the more we can do (William Hazlitt)
The efforts are summative, and help us to reach a successful conclusion.
30. Time spent in the company of cats is never wasted time (Sigmund Freud)
A tender phrase that shows the love that Sigmund Freud dispensed the little felines.
31. A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself (Frank Crane)
In daily life we usually wear masks, but with friends we are emotionally naked.
32. Motivation is what gets you going, habit is what keeps you going (Jim Ryun)
The importance of habits to keep going.
33. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved (Alfred Lord Tennyson)
Another reflection that we have all heard on occasion.
34. All people talk about the mind without hesitation, but are puzzled when asked to define it (B. F. Skinner)
The behaviorist B. F. Skinner, on the intangible of the human mind.
35. Without deviating from the norm, progress is not possible (Frank Zappa)
The musician Zappa believed that subversion was the only way to social progress.
36. Wherever I go, I find that a poet has been there before me (Sigmund Freud)
Poets have always lived longer than anyone.
37. Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground (Theodore Roosevelt)
A magnificent phrase that came from the creative genius that was Roosevelt.
38. Music is love searching for words (Lawrence Durrell)
A phrase about music and its relationship with falling in love.
39. It always seems impossible until it is done (Nelson Mandela)
The mythical South African activist reflects on the possible and the impossible.
40. The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the ordinary (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
A lovely phrase from the great Ralph Waldo Emerson.
41. Storms make trees grow deeper roots (Dolly Parton)
After bad weather, we came out emotionally strengthened.
42. Do not look at the clock, do the same as him: keep moving forward (Sam Levenson)
Never stop. A beautiful phrase that allows us to carry on despite everything.
43. Life is very simple, but we insist on making it complicated (Confucius)
A well-remembered famous quote, which reminds us that, in the end, life is simpler than we sometimes think.
44. Don't count the days, make the days count (Muhammad Ali)
A paradoxical phrase from the best boxer of all time.
45. When nothing is certain, everything is possible (Margaret Drabble)
Uncertainty is the gasoline with which we can dream of a better future.
46. True strength is delicate (Louise Berliawsky Nevelson)
Certainly, brute force does not usually go very far.
47. The person who has never made a mistake has never done anything new (Albert Einstein)
Making mistakes is not only human, but it is inevitable if we want to be successful.
48. Fall in love with your existence (Jack Kerouac)
Only if you have a positive feeling towards your existence can you aspire to be happy.
49. The goal of education is to transform an empty mind into an open one (Malcolm S. Forbes)
In this sentence there is a valuable reflection on the role of education as something far from being a machine to force memorization.
50. Music is an echo of the invisible world (Giuseppe Mazzini)
One of the music phrases more beautiful and inspiring.
51. Nothing is as sweet as melancholy (Francis Beaumont)
An elegant way to see this feeling.
52. Can you imagine what I would do if I could do everything I can? (Sun Tzu)
The Chinese thinker author of the famous The Art of War talks about human potential here.
53. The only person you are destined to be is who you decide to be (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
One of the beautiful and motivating phrases at the same time.
54. There is no instinct like that of the heart (Lord Byron)
Lord Byron speaking about the most passionate part of human beings.
55. Be yourself, the other positions are already taken (Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde, as always, offering equal parts wisdom and irony.
56. Creativity is intelligence having fun (Albert Einstein)
There are few more original definitions of this concept.
57. Pretend every day is a life (Seneca)
One of the oldest Western philosophers shows here a way to make the most of life.
58. Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings (Salvador Dalí)
One of the most poetic phrases of this Spanish painter.
59. The goal of education is to transform mirrors into windows (Sydney Harris)
It is not about getting children to think exactly the same, but about enhancing their skills and creativity.
60. I speak to myself because I am the only one whose answers I accept (George Carlin)
A lesson in self confidence, or maybe arrogance.
61. Love comes unseen, we only see it when it goes away (Henry Austin Dobson)
We only realize that this person is worthwhile when he decides to leave our life.
62. The characteristic of beautiful people is that they always see beauty in others (Omar Suleiman)
Beauty is transmitted by the look, by the way of recognizing the beauty in the eyes of the person who is looking.
63. Think of all the beauty around you and be happy (Anne Frank)
A phrase that invites us to celebrate life without giving much thought to anything in particular.
64. The occasion must be created (Francis Bacon)
Chances won't come knocking on your door. Go out on the street and look for your possibilities.
65. To be brave is to be free (Seneca)
Greek philosophy left us with precious reflections, like this one from Seneca.
66. If you can dream it, you can do it (Walt Disney)
Do not put limits, no great historical figure has put them.
67. Romance is stormy, love is calm (Mason Cooley)
A good way to differentiate love from infatuation.
68. You are never too old to set a new goal (C. S. Lewis)
Every day gives us a new opportunity to do something useful.
69. Only life lived for others is that life that is worthwhile (Albert Einstein)
Altruism as the engine of life. A nice phrase uttered by the German physicist.
70. Even if you are in the minority, the truth is the truth (Mahatma Gandhi)
It does not matter that everyone believes in something, the truth only has one way.
71. The more you dream, the further you go (Michael Phelps)
The award-winning American swimmer, talking about dreams and how to pursue them.
72. Volunteers don't necessarily have to have a lot of time; they must have a lot of heart (Elizabeth Andrew)
Volunteering spends time and effort fighting for the needs of other people.
73. The soul is dyed with the color of its thoughts (Marco Aurelio)
Another beautiful phrase that relates our thoughts to the medium-term effects in our life.
74. Everything we see is nothing more than a dream within another dream (Edgar Allan Poe)
Do we live in the Matrix? Edgar Allan Poe, judging by this famous quote, thinks so.
75. Believing in something and not living it is fundamentally dishonest (Mahatma Gandhi)
Integrity is based on doing what you firmly believe.
76. Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances (Maya Angelou)
Dance and music make up a tenuous common denominator in our lives.
77. The truth is never pure and it is rarely simple (Oscar Wilde)
The complexity of life means that the truth can only be unraveled in a minute way.
78. The purpose of art is to remove the dust of daily life from our soul (Pablo Picasso)
A phrase about the art of the great painter from Malaga.
79. There is a kind of beauty in the imperfect (Conrad Hall)
Perfection can get boring. Imperfection can contain character and vitality.
80. If you love life, life will love you (Arthur Rubinstein)
Everything we offer to the world is returned to us in one way or another.
81. You should never be afraid of what you do when you are right (Rosa Parks)
The activist for the rights of African Americans, on honesty and integrity.
82. I have not lost the gold, I have won the silver (Michelle Kwan)
Optimism above all else, despite the fact that others try to make us believe that we could have achieved more.
83. Beauty is power, a smile is her sword (John Ray)
Interesting view on beauty. The smile is, of course, the best magnet to attract other people.
84. If you hear a voice inside you that says "you cannot paint", then whatever happens, paint, and that voice will be silenced (Vincent Van Gogh)
A good way to overcome mental limitations.
85. Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future (Oscar Wilde)
The British writer reflects on the evils that we have all committed in life.
86. Existence is an imperfection (Jean-Paul Sartre)
The mythical French philosopher praises imperfection.
87. The most wasted of all days is the one that is empty of laughter (Nicolas Chamford)
Laughing is always the best medicine. An endearing phrase to take life in a good mood.
88. The secret to moving forward is getting started (Mark Twain)
Never despair, follow your dreams until you achieve them.
89. It's never too late to be who you could have been (George Eliot)
Doing what we like transports us to be unique and happy with ourselves.
90. Beauty is a promise of happiness (Edmund Burke)
One of the phrases about beauty with a clear philosophical background.
91. You must find a place within you where everything is possible (Deepak Chopra)
A phrase of self-realization and motivation from Deepak Chopra.
92. What is before us and what is behind us are small things compared to what is inside of us (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Another of Ralph Waldo Emerson's best phrases.
93. The secret of your future is disguised in your daily routine (Mike Murdock)
A reflection to know how to identify those habits that lead us towards forms of the future that we like or dislike.
94. Let us always receive each other with a smile, since the smile is the beginning of love (Teresa of Calcutta)
A gesture as simple as a smile can change many things.
95. Where there is unity there is always victory (Pubilio Siro)
A pragmatic and at the same time beautiful way of conceiving unity.
96. Choose a job that you like and you will not have to work any day of your life (Confucius)
This is among the most famous pretty phrases of this ancient Chinese philosopher.
97. Happiness is what happens when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony (Mahatma Gandhi)
A way of relating happiness to honesty and consistency in what we do.
98. A good decision is based on knowledge, and not on numbers (Plato)
Plato, talking about knowledge as something that goes far beyond technical knowledge.
99. Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is a home (Matsuo Basho)
A nice reflection on the art of traveling.
100. Happiness can only exist in acceptance (George Orwell)
A famous quote that presents us with acceptance as the basis of emotional well-being.
101. Receiving someone's trust is a greater compliment than being loved (George MacDonald)
Certainly, we feel comforted when someone gives us their trust and respect.
102. Better than a thousand empty words is a single word that brings peace (Buddha)
A phrase to ponder, from Buddha.
103. Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes (Oscar Wilde)
An ironic phrase from the British writer. Errors, whether we like it or not, are part of life.
104. One way to get the most out of life is to see it as an adventure (William Feather)
If every day is a challenge, it is easier for positive and memorable things to happen to us.
105. Happiness is like a kiss; you must share it to enjoy it (Bernard Meltzer)
Life is better when it is shared.
106. It's simple: just make it happen. (Didier Diderot)
A call to action from this French thinker.
107. Being successful is not random, it is an effort dependent variable. (Sophocles)
You do not have to wait sitting down, you have to go find it with constant work.
108. What if I hadn't tried? (Valentino Rossi)
A nice phrase from the great motorcycling champion.
109. When you lose, do not lose the lesson. (Dalai Lama)
There is always something to learn from every loss.
110. You cannot defeat the person who never gives up. (Babe Ruth)
An ingenious and profound phrase, from the most famous baseball player of all time.
111. The hard times have helped make me better understand how infinitely rich and wonderful life is and that many things that concern us are not of the slightest importance. (Karen Blitzen)
A reflection that brings us closer to what is truly important.
112. My mother taught me to love people and to treat them with good manners. She is a sweet and wonderful person who likes to cook, make clothes and be with the family. She does not drink, smoke or bother. No one has been better to me in my entire life. (Muhammad Ali)
A compliment to the unconditional love of mothers.
113. There are only two ways to live life. One of them is as if nothing is a miracle, the other is as if everything is. (Albert Einstein)
A scientist with a privileged mind, also for philosophy.
114. They say that a man is not a man as long as he does not hear his name from a woman's lips. (Antonio Machado)
Thought of the famous Spanish poet.
115. I have never met a man so ignorant that it was impossible for me to learn anything from him. (Galileo Galilei)
Each person has something to teach us.
116. If he can't convince them, confuse them. (Harry Truman)
An ingenious sentence from this president of the United States.
117. A little stumble can prevent a big fall. (English proverb)
Losing a battle does not mean losing the war.
118. Hopefully the day will come when the Force of Love will replace the Love of the Force. (William Ewart Gladstone)
This British liberal politician was confident of a better future.
119. When I was going to school, the teacher told me to explain the force of gravity to my classmates. So I took it, and I threw it out the window. (Rodney Dangerfield)
A phrase that can make you laugh.
120. The secret of happiness is not in doing what you want, but in wanting what you do. (James M. Barrie)
A maxim for happiness and prosperity.
121. I'd rather live and have lost than not lose without having lived. (Nil-Edmon Armengol)
It is always better to bet big.
122. Asking for forgiveness is smart, forgiving is noble and forgiving is wise (Anonymous)
An interesting aphorism about forgiveness and the way in which it reflects the way of being of people.
123. The limits of my language are the limits of my world (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
124. If you do not remember the slightest madness into which love made you fall, you have not loved (William Shakespeare)
125. Write to remember, memory is in the ink. (Nil-Edmon Armengol)
The therapeutic role of writing helps many people manage their problems effectively.
126. Knowing and knowing how to prove is worth twice (Baltasar Gracián)
Wisdom must be embodied in practice and in interaction with the environment.
127. Who has patience, will get what he wants (Benjamin Franklin)
Patience is the means through which we can access everything that we are capable of encompassing.
128. All knowledge is hurtful (Cassandra Clare)
The information puts us in front of many other questions that can give us a feeling of vertigo.
129. Knowing others is wisdom; knowing oneself is enlightenment (Lao-tzu)
The simple fact of being ourselves does not mean that it is easier for us to get to know ourselves.
130. There is no change without conflict. (Nil-Edmon Armengol)
Any improvement process needs a time of crisis and adaptation.
131. Only in the dark can you see the stars (Martin Luther King)
Even in the least favorable circumstances there are opportunities not available in other situations.
132. Keeping silent is more complicated than speaking well (Anonymous)
This Jewish proverb tells us about the difficulty of not giving in to vanity.
133. The ignorant affirms, the wise doubt and reflect (Aristotle)
Putting in perspective how far our knowledge goes makes us wiser.
134. Silence is the great art of conversation (William Hazlitt)
Silence is also a communicative element, it is not a simple void in a conversation.
135. There's something addictive about secrets (John Edgar Hoover)
The same fact is more interesting if it is perceived as a secret.
136. The human being must live, even out of curiosity (Anonymous)
Curiosity is a powerful source of motivation.
137. Celebrity is the punishment of merit and talent (Emily Dickinson)
Fame can be understood as a conviction because of the social pressure it causes.
138. No lie lives forever (Martin Luther King)
The passage of time makes the lies lose power.
139. The basis of each state is the education of its youth (Diogenes of Sinope)
Education is one of the foundations of states and nations.
140. The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation (John Edgar Hoover)
Cooperating makes it possible to combat totally individualistic ways of operating in conflict with the law.
141. The biggest challenge after success is not saying anything about it (Criss Jami)
Successes have value in themselves.
142. The creation of a thousand forests is within an acorn (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The smallest elements are capable of harboring great potential.
143. It may be that those who do more, dream more (Stephen Butler Leacock)
The tendency to get involved in projects goes hand in hand with dreams and illusion.
144. No one will ride on us if we do not bend our backs (Martin Luther King)
A principle of non-violent resistance.
145. There are no perfect men, only perfect intentions (Morgan Freeman)
Perfection can only exist in the world of ideas.
146. Planting a garden is believing in tomorrow (Audrey Hepburn)
Wherever there is a long-term project, the illusion for the future is implicit.
147. Work done comfortably never tires (Thomas Jefferson)
Pleasure makes work reconfigured as something else.
148. The adornment of a house are the friends who frequent it (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
A nice short phrase about friendship.
149. Perfection is achieved little by little, slowly; requires the hand of time (Voltaire)
Practice allows you to file the edges, leading to perfection.
150. We boil to different degrees (Clint Eastwood)
People have different sensitivity thresholds.
151. There is nothing more misleading than an obvious fact (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Confidence in seemingly obvious events is a way of falling into traps.
152. If one loves, he does not need to have an ideology of love (Bruce Lee)
Love is mostly a feeling, and not so much a way of ordering ideas and interpreting reality.
153. Wealth is the ability to fully experience life (Henry David Thoreau)
An alternative definition of what wealth is.
154. Power is not attractive to pure minds (Thomas Jefferson)
Power does not have to have positive connotations for all people.
155. Tears are the silent language of pain (Voltaire)
A short and poetic phrase about sadness.
156. Genius turns the exception into the rule (Euripides)
Genius consists in breaking the schemes of conventional thinking.
157. I didn't like my life, so I created my life (Coco Chanel)
Resigning yourself to assuming that life is given to you is falling into a trap.
158. Examples correct much better than reprimands (Voltaire)
An example helps us connect ideas quickly by visualizing what their relationship is.
159. There are heroics around us waiting to be done (Arthur Conan Doyle)
A beautiful phrase about the nature of the hero, linked to his environment.
160. Simplicity is the key to brilliance (Bruce Lee)
The most valuable ideas tend to be simple.