Journal Quotes: Words For Your Imagery

TL;DR version: whether you use pre-made stickers with words and phrases, make your own using label makers, or just get scribbling with a pen or pencil yourself, this selection of quotes for your journal will give you plenty of ideas for words to go alongside the visual focus of your pages and spreads, whether you choose them for meaning and sentiment, or just for aesthetics.

Adding words, quotes and random thoughts to journal and scrapbooking spreads is immensely popular; some people used pre-made sticker sheets with particular inspirational or provocative sayings or phrases, some people make their own “callout” words using label makers, embossers or hand-written scraps, or if you’re a giant nerd like me you can get a cute thermal printer like a Poooli and write your own little poem fragments (or haikus, if you want to be super clever about it). Some people will use random word combinations they like (literally words for aesthetics) whereas others will use words for more than decoration, from expressing sentiments (a la card toppers) to using journal quotes and phrases as mini diary-style entries. There’s no right or wrong, and you can change it up per journal, spread, or just per page. As with so much about junk journaling and scrapbooking, do whatever looks and feels good to you!

151 Motivational & Inspirational Journal Quotes

I’ve arranged these journal quotes alphabetically because I find that easier to scroll through if I’m looking for something. See if you can find one you like!

A goal without a plan is just a wish.
A little each day adds up to a lot.
A new beginning.
A smooth sea never made for a skilful sailor.
A year from now you will wish you had started today.
Adventure is worthwhile.
Aim for the company of immortals. (David Ogilvy)
Aim for the moon. If you miss, you’ll still land in the stars.
Aim to have goals so big that they don’t allow small-minded people.
Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. (Helen Keller)
Always dream at least one size too big.
Always take the scenic route.
An obstacle is often a stepping stone. (William Prescott)
Avoid looking back too often; you’re not going that way.
Be a voice, not just an echo.
Be a warrior, not a worrier.
Be focused. Be persistent. Never quit.
Be in love with your life.
Be you, bravely.
Be your own hero. (Maxime Lagacé)
Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections. (Gerard Way)
Believe in yourself: nobody else really will.
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. (Theodore Roosevelt)
Bloom where you are planted.
Change the world by being yourself. (Amy Poehler)
Choose people who lift you up. (Michelle Obama)
Collect moments, not things.
Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use. (Ruth Gordo)
Design a life you love.
Develop success from failures. (Dale Carnegie)
Difficult roads always lead to beautiful destinations. (Zig Ziglar)
Do less stuff with more focus.
Do more of what makes you happy.
Do or do not, there is no try. (Yoda, Star Wars)
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Do what’s right, not what’s easy.
Don’t aim to be the same. Aim to be better.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.
Don’t compare, just create.
Don’t half-ass two things: whole-ass one thing. (Ron Swanson, Parks & Recreation)
Don’t tell people about your dreams: show them.
Don’t call it a dream, call it a plan.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. (Will Rogers)
Don’t stop when you’re tired; stop when you’re done. (Marilyn Monroe)
Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. (Napoleon Hill)
Done is better than perfect. (Sheryl Sandberg)
Dreams won’t work unless you do.
Each day provides its own gifts. (Marcus Aurelius)
Either you run the day or the day runs you. (Jim Rohn)
Enjoy where you can, and endure where you must.
Every day, hour, and even minute, is a new beginning.
Everything you can imagine is real. (Pablo Picasso)
Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time.
Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear. (George Addair)
Expect nothing and appreciate everything.
Fewer things often means more peace.
Find yourself, and be that.
Great things take time.
Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions. (the Dalai Lama)
I never dreamed about success. I worked for it. (Estée Lauder)
If there is no struggle, there is no progress. (Frederick Douglass)
If we take care of the moments, the years will take care of themselves. (Maria Edgeworth)
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. (Wayne Dyer)
If you’re lucky enough to be different, never change.
Inhale confidence, exhale doubt.
Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. (Pablo Picasso)
It always seems impossible, until it is done. (Nelson Mandela)
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. (Confucius)
It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. (Herman Melville)
It is never too late to be what you might have been. (George Eliot)
It’s all perspective.
Joy is not in things; it is in us. (Richard Wagner)
Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden. (Cormac McCarthy)
Keep moving forward.
Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. (Theodore Roosevelt)
Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow. (Mahatma Gandhi)
Learn to rest, not to quit.
Let life surprise you.
Life doesn’t have a remote. You have to get up and change it yourself.
Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing. (Helen Keller)
Life is like the ocean, it goes up and down. (Vanessa Paradis)
Live every day with intention.
Live out of your imagination, not your history. (Stephen Covey)
Love with all your heart.
Love yourself first.
Make today ridiculously amazing.
Make your own magic.
Never doubt your instincts.
Never give up on the things that make you smile.
No journey is too great, if you find what you seek.
No pressure, no diamonds. (Thomas Carlyle)
Nobody wakes up to be mediocre.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. (Calvin Coolidge)
Only a mediocre person is always at his best. (W Somerset Maugham)
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. (Confucius)
Out of difficulties grow miracles. (Jean de la Bruyere)
Own less. Do more.
People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day. (Winnie the Pooh)
Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul. (Luther Burbank)
Rejection is only redirection. Keep moving.
Remember it’s just a bad day, not a bad life.
Remember the now.
Remember to play.
Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity.
Say hello to a new day.
See good in all things.
Shine like the whole universe is yours.
Smile, breathe and go slowly. (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Someday is not a day of the week. (Denise Brennan-Nelson)
Sometimes you need to create your own sunshine.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. (Carl Sagan)
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. (Arthur Ashe)
Strive for progress, not perfection.
Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get. (WP Kinsella)
Success is peace of mind. (John Wooden)
Success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it. (Henry David Thoreau)
Surround yourself with people who get you.
Take time to smell the roses.
The best is yet to come.
The best view comes after the hardest climb.
The impossible is often the untried.
The process may be slow, but quitting won’t speed it up.
The promise of all things made new.
The scariest moment is always just before you start. (Stephen King)
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. (Mark Twain)
The stars shine for you.
There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind. (CS Lewis)
There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons. (Denis Waitley)
There is no right time, there is only right now. (Mel Robbins)
There’s no such thing as ready. There’s only now.
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.
Throw kindness like confetti.
To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live. (Dorothy West)
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. (Audrey Hepburn)
To the past: thank you for the lessons. To the future: I am ready.
Today is full of possibilities.
Turn I wish into I will.
Wake up with a thankful heart. (Kristen Butler)
What seems ordinary is often the extraordinary.
What we think, we become. (Buddha)
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. (Goethe)
Win from within. (Usain Bolt)
Worry is a misuse of imagination.
You are enough.
You can do amazing things.
You can do anything, but not everything.
You can never have too much happy.
You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. To begin, begin. (Gordon B Hinckley)
You carry the passport to your own happiness. (Diane von Furstenberg)
Your best teacher is your last mistake.
Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change. (Jim Rohn)

It isn’t hard to find absolutely tons of inspirational and motivational quotes around the web for all kinds of things, but these are some of my favourites for journals or scrapbooks because they’re reasonably short and cheery without being too saccharine or cringeworthy. See how they work on your journal spreads; here are some examples from mine.