Motivational Quotes​from MOTAL A collection of inspiring quotes from us to YOU!

During these tumultuous times, we could all use a little bit of encouragement. The MOTAL staff has carefully curated a short collection of quotes that help us kick-start our day and keep moving forward. We hope the following quotes and explanations will help you throughout your daily routine and feel free to share with any family members or friends in need of encouragement or kind words! ​

Caitlin Spencer


Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
-Maya Angelou
 
This quote from the late Maya Angelou poem "Still I Rise" encourages us all rise each day just as the moon and sun shine from above us. I hope that others find encouragement to take in the moon, stars, and sun and feel that they too can rise day by day.
 
Allison Koehler 
 
Bird by bird.


 This piece of advice comes from Annie Lammott's book of the same title. She writes, “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”
 
When I feel overwhelmed or when a situation feels completely insurmountable, I try to remember to take things one day at a time, bird by bird. 


Tessa Lepore


You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable how enough you are. ~Sierra Boggess


This quote from one of my favorite Broadway actresses reminds me that there will be days where I will feel like I’m not doing enough to better myself or improve my skills, but that’s okay. On those days, I remind myself of this quote. Just by doing the best I can, I am doing enough!
 
 Cecilia Castillo


What happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.
-Khaled Hosseini


At times, these last few weeks have felt static and unforgiving. It helps me to remind myself that each day has the potential for change and growth. Although it feels as though we are "stuck" at home or limited in opportunities, it is important to keep moving and continue working toward our goals in any way possible. 


Mary Deming


I put one foot in front of the other. 
 
I recently saw this quote in a newsletter: "Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure." ~ Rumi (a 13th century Persian poet)


Greta Nagel




Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
I love this quote to remind me not to dwell in the past.


Eva Postma


If children are apparently unable to learn, we should assume that we have not as yet found the right way to teach them.
 - Marie Clay


Norma Ames


Change your thoughts, and you change your world.
-Norman Vincent Peale


Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life
- John Homer Miller 


These two quotes are from a small book titled The Power of Inspiration published by Great Quotations Publishing Co. I have always felt what you think about, you bring about. If you go through life with a positive attitude, it rubs off on others and you have a happier life. On the other hand, if you fill your mind with negative thoughts the opposite is true, it rubs off on others and you are never happy. ​