5 Michelle Obama Quotes To Make Your Life More Positive
#1. You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.
Becoming was not the best-selling memoir of 2018 — it was the best-selling memoir of all time. Do you know why people liked her biography?
People loved her human side — her vulnerability.
She is not a man. Her butt is not too big, and she is not an angry black woman. That is all politics.
She has inspired millions of people. Her book has sold over 15 million books until now.
She talks a lot about the power of your story. What story do you tell yourself? Do you own every part of your story, no matter how disturbing? Do you know how it defines you?
Michelle Obama wants to help young people around the globe. She wants them to have a broader sense of values that they can operate within. She thinks we are short on that right now.
“Walk your walk,” she says. Try to discover who you are and what suits you best. Don’t make too many comparisons.
I loved these quotes. Why? Because when someone like Michelle Obama says these words, I can relate to them more readily:
1. “You can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.”
Fear is the mind-killer. When you think about what might happen, you can imagine all kinds of bad outcomes. You don’t want others to make fun of you if you fail. Right?
“Your fear of looking stupid is making you look stupid.” ~ RuPaul
Our instincts tell us to avoid scary situations.
If you think of the pros and cons of every situation, you’ll become indecisive. I have experienced it myself. When you are thinking about things that might happen, you become frightened. Escaping this fear feels right, and you decide to do nothing instead.
The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision. ~Maimonides
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence when you stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Judy Blume says, “Each of us must come face to face with our fears. How we manage our fears will decide where we go with the rest of our lives. To enjoy this adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.” According to Dale Carnegie, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
How you can use it:
- Think about your situation. But listen to your heart as well.
- If your gut tells you to take action, don’t think about everything going wrong.
- When facing a challenging situation, believe that you’ll figure it out somehow.
2. “If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.”
If you don’t do your homework, your teacher may develop a negative image of you. But if you did your homework but left the notebook at home, what would your teacher think now?
If you have some positive qualities and special abilities, let people know. If you stay home and do nothing about your image, people will call you average or worse.
People are people. They’ll say hurtful things about you.
“Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light. Try not to take it personally.”~ Kamand Kojouri
You have to do what you do best. You have to work hard and let your work define you. Your efforts will prove others wrong.
David Akers wrote, “Your priorities aren’t what you say they are. They’re what your life shows they are.” Catherine Pulsifer said, “Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words.” Patrick Ness believed, “You do not write your life with words. You write it with actions. What you think is not important. It is only important what you do.”
How you can use it:
- Get out of your comfort zone.
- Do your work. Excel at what you do.
- The months and years you spend working will help you define yourself.
3. “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.”
What happened to you was wrong. But it happened to you, and you have to own it. It is a chapter of your story.
A story isn’t always pleasant. It has sad parts, and it has happy parts. When something unfortunate happens, it opens your mind in some way. Your worldview evolves, and you become more sensitive.
“Sharing our truths can provide the opportunity for great healing.” ~Kristen Noel
If you never knew a toxic person, would you be able to recognize the healing ones? If you don’t face adversity, would you know the importance of staying your course and not quitting?
You’ll find love and money. You’ll have health as well. But love, money, and health can leave you at any time. At that time, your best asset would be your story.
You have to own your story and tell it too.
Morgan Harper Nichols said, “Tell the story of the mountain you climbed. Your words could become a page in someone else’s survival guide.” Kim McManus wrote, “Your heartache is someone else’s hope. If you make it through, somebody else is going to make it through. Tell your story.” Alex Elle believes, “You’re not a victim in your story. You are a survivor setting the world on fire with your truth. And you never know who needs your light, your warmth and raging courage.”
How you can use it:
- If your story is happening in a way you don’t like, take control of the narrative.
- Start taking small steps towards creating a story you may like. It may take months or years. But keep trying to direct your life.
- Unfortunate events are just a part of the whole story. Own every second of your life — every joy and every pain.
4. “At fifty-six, I am still in progress, and I hope that I always will be.”
Michelle is not afraid of telling her age. Oprah noticed this in one of her interviews.
All of us are works in progress. This state of mind tells you that you are willing to listen, learn, and change.
People, who think they are perfect and have reached the pinnacle of their careers, are often deluded. A perfect human being doesn’t exist. We can’t know everything and be everything.
Finished things cease to be a shelter for the spirit, but work in progress is a delight. ~Max Frisch
We have to keep learning about life. In a documentary on Netflix — titled Becoming — Michelle is sitting with a bunch of kids. She answers a question: “I am trying to know myself, just like you. I’m trying to figure out what to do in my life now.”
Barbra Streisand said, “I’m a work in progress.” Daniel Gilbert wrote, “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished. The person you are right now is as transient, as fleeting, and as temporary as all the people you’re ever been.” According to Susan Elizabeth Phillips, “We’re all works in progress. And believe me when I tell you that I’ve had to work harder than most.”
How you can use it:
- Do not consider yourself perfect or complete. Avoid thoughts of perfection.
- Read, learn, and explore. With an open mind, you’ll find many enjoyable things.
- Age does not limit your evolution. Welcome change, embrace it.
5. “Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result.”
When self-doubt reaches a point you can no longer hope to continue, it is the point of failure.
Michelle thinks we feel that we are going to fail. The feeling becomes stronger and stronger — we fuel it by doubting ourselves. Then we quit. Or fail.
You only fail when you stop trying. ~Unknown
Michelle says we often deliberately sabotage ourselves. We feel failure, we fuel failure, and only then do we fail. It is not sudden, as far as human effort is concerned.
“The only thing ever achieved in life without effort is failure.” ~Francis of Assisi
Become aware of the feeling of failure, and don’t let it grow. Face your doubts by taking action.
The fear of failure is called atychiphobia. It is an irrational and persistent fear of failing.
Robert Kiyosaki said, “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.” According to Paulo Coelho, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. Bertrand Russell wrote, “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”
How you can use it:
- When you feel failure, read a biography or watch an inspiring movie.
- Challenge your doubts and remember your past successes — no matter how small.
- Successful people have self-doubt too. It never goes away. But they face it and defeat it.
Final thoughts
When you connect with someone like Michelle Obama, it is not a one-time thing. It’s a lifelong romance.
Knowing her human side makes me feel closer to her. She wrote her book because she knew it was an opportunity to connect on a human level.
If she were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, people would not be interested to know more about her human side. The first lady of the United States of America is someone special.
People may read her book even after thousands of years have passed. It’ll be the memory of a woman who was trying to figure things out, be more human, and learn what she really wanted from her life.
You can read my curated stories here.