If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, p. 202, 1961
Author · 31 quotes
Eleanor Roosevelt was an influential American politician, diplomat, and activist who served as the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She is known for her dedication to human rights and social justice issues, as well as for her active role in shaping US domestic and foreign policy during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.
1884–1962·lived 78 years
If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, p. 202, 1961
You must do the kind of things you think you cannot do.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right―for you’ll be criticized anyway.You Learn by Living, p. 63, 1960
The greatest luxury I know is sitting up reading in bed.
It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’
I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.
The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!
A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.
Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice.
Probably the happiest period in life most frequently is in middle age, when the eager passions of youth are cooled, and the infirmities of age not yet begun; as we see that the shadows, which are at morning and evening so large, almost entirely disappear at midday.Probably The Happiest Period In Life… -Eleanor Roosevelt, The Maine Anchor, 2024
Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.You Learn by Living, p. 63, 1960
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.Eleanor Roosevelt on Happiness, Conformity, and Integrity, The Marginalian
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'You Learn by Living, p. 63, 1960
The giving of love is an education in itself.A Radical Education: How Greenwich Village Transformed Eleanor Roosevelt, Literary Hub, 2021
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking, CBS Radio, 1951
It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.Voice of America broadcast, 1951
You must do the things you think you cannot do.You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life, 1960
Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, p. 194, 1944
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.This Is My Story, 1937
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.Learning Vacations: The All Season Guide to Educational Travel, 1986
That’s all 31 quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt.