Quotes by Mark Manson
Last Updated: 24 Feb 2025
“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it.”
“Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.”
“Certainty is the enemy of growth. To learn something, you must first admit you don’t know it.”
“Chasing happiness is the quickest way to misery.”
“Don’t be special. Be useful.”
“Don’t hope for a life without problems. There’s no such thing. Instead, hope for a life full of good problems.”
“Don’t just ask what you want from life. Ask what pain you’re willing to endure for it.”
“Don’t just sit there. Do something. The answers will follow.”
“Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience.”
“Everything worthwhile in life requires a sense of responsibility.”
“Fear exists to show you what matters most.”
“Freedom is the ability to reject alternatives without worry.”
“Fulfillment comes from choosing the right struggles.”
“Growth is an endlessly iterative process. When we learn something new, we don’t go from 'wrong' to 'right.' Instead, we go from wrong to slightly less wrong.”
“Happiness is not a goal; it’s a byproduct of solving problems.”
“Healthy relationships are built on compromises that don’t feel like compromises.”
“Hope is not something given to you; it’s something you cultivate.”
“Improvement at anything is based on thousands of tiny failures, and the magnitude of your success is based on how many times you’ve failed at something.”
“Let go of perfection. Growth happens in imperfection.”
“Life is about knowing which problems are worth your time.”
“Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another.”
“Life is essentially trade-offs. If you want the rewards, you also have to want the costs.”
“Life is not about feeling good all the time. It’s about being good at feeling.”
“Life is not about finding yourself; it’s about creating yourself.”
“Love is not about giving a perfect person your heart; it’s about giving an imperfect person your all.”
“Negative emotions are a call to action. When you feel them, it’s because you’re supposed to do something.”
“Pain serves a purpose. Embrace it, learn from it, grow from it.”
“People aren’t looking for the truth; they’re looking for reassurance.”
“Relationships are not about solving your partner’s problems or vice versa. They’re about loving someone despite their problems.”
“Responsibility is something you choose to take, not something you’re given.”
“Self-improvement is really about prioritizing better values.”
“Sometimes the only way to change a value is to endure its contradiction.”
“Sometimes, the most meaningful things in life don’t make sense.”
“Sometimes, the only way to solve a problem is to stop caring about it so much.”
“Stop chasing success and start chasing impact.”
“Taking responsibility for your life is the first step toward real freedom.”
“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience.”
“The fact that you’re here, alive, and conscious means you’ve already won the biggest lottery of all.”
“The greatest successes come on the other side of fear.”
“The meaning of life is whatever you decide it is.”
“The measure of your success is how much you’re willing to fail.”
“The more something threatens your identity, the more you will avoid it.”
“The most important question in life is not what do you want, but what pain are you willing to sustain?”
“The people who truly care about you won’t always agree with you—and that’s a good thing.”
“The quality of your life depends on the quality of your perspective.”
“The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life.”
“The responsibility/fault fallacy says that even if something isn’t your fault, you’re still responsible for it.”
“The road to success is through a load of unsuccessful attempts.”
“The truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off.”
“The world doesn’t owe you anything—but you owe yourself everything.”
“There’s a simple realization that every adult comes to: Nobody’s coming to save you. It’s up to you.”
“There’s no such thing as life without struggle. The question is, which struggle are you willing to endure?”
“We’re all a little fed up; we’re just looking for someone whose fed-upness complements ours.”
“What got you here won’t get you there.”
“What you see depends not on what’s there, but on how you look at it.”
“When you accept responsibility for your choices, you accept power over your life.”
“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”
“You are always choosing. The only question is whether you’re choosing consciously or unconsciously.”
“You cannot be a powerful and life-changing presence to some people without being a joke or an embarrassment to others.”
“You can’t be an important and life-changing presence for some people without also being a joke and an embarrassment to others.”
“You can’t control everything, so stop trying to.”
“You can’t control the hand you’re dealt, but you can control how you play it.”
“You can’t escape fear; you can only learn to face it.”
“You can’t escape the reality of uncertainty. The best you can do is learn to love the chaos.”
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
“Your feelings aren’t facts. They’re signals.”
“Your identity will stay your identity until you have the courage to let it go.”
“Your legacy is defined by the problems you chose to solve.”
“Your problems are not unique; they’re part of being human.”
“Your purpose in life isn’t given to you; it’s created by you.”
“You’ll find peace not by holding on, but by letting go.”