100+ Life Journey Quotes To Inspire You (2024)

Life is a journey. How often have you heard that?

As we find our road through life, we all need inspiration and guidance. And this is never so true as when we are travelling, especially as solo travellers.

This can come from many sources: friends, family, self-help books. But sometimes, a simple quote about life’s journey can provide inspiration or make us view our path through a different lens.

Drawing on the writings of authors and poets, scholars and spiritual leaders here are my favourite life journey quotes. Is your favourite there?

Are you looking for a short and sharp travel caption to add to your images or social media feed? If so, check out these dreamy travel captions

My Top 10 Life Journey Quotes

There are many quotes about life as a journey out there and picking a list of favourites is a tough call. From Maja Angelou to Mark Twain, here are those that continue to inspire me.

1. Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away. – Maya Angelou

2. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

3. Remember where you have been and know where you are going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. – Nikita Koloff

4. We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.– Paulo Coelho

You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love.

Buddha

6. You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – C.S. Lewis

7. When setting out on a journey do not seek advice from someone who never left home. – Rumi

One of the greatest journeys in life is overcoming insecurity and learning to truly not give a sh*t.

J. A. Konrath

9. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.– Robert Louis Stevenson

10. Sometimes life takes you on a journey that changes everything you thought you wanted. – Melaina Rayne

Life Journey Quotes: First Steps

Every journey begins with a single step. Taking that first step is often the hardest part of any endeavour, whether that’s booking your first trip alone, quitting your job or moving overseas.

Be inspired to take the plunge with these inspirational life journey quotes.

11. Big things have small beginnings. – Prometheus

12. The only impossible journey is the one you never begin. – Tony Robbins

13. A little step may be the beginning of a great journey. – Unknown

14. If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all. – Dan Rather

15. Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey. – Vera Nazarian

Beginning are usually scary and ending are usually sad, but it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living.

Bob Marley

The Next Steps: Quotes on the Journey of Life

But that first step is just that; the first step on the road of life.Life – and travel – can present a series of obstacles to overcome.

17. Life’s journey is a collection of stories. Make yours a bestseller. – The Flashpacker (Bridget Coleman)

18. One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time. – John Wanamaker

19. … a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. – John Steinbeck

20. To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. – Chinese Proverb

21. Life is a journey. When we stop, things don’t go right. – Pope Francis

22. The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. – Alan Watts

23. Life is a journey, travel it well. – Unknown

The key to realising a dream is to focus not on success but significance, and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.

Oprah Winfrey

25. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. – Helen Keller

26. No journey is too great, when one finds what one seeks. – Friedrich Nietzsche

27. Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete.– Chanda Kochhar

28. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. – John Steinbeck

29. No journey is too great, when one finds what one seeks. – Friedrich Nietzsche

30. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. – John Steinbeck

31. I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. – Jimmy Dean

32. Your journey will be much lighter and easier if you don’t carry your past with you! – Tamara Kulish

33. May the stars guide you on your journey, and your heart always lead you home. – Melaina Rayne

Life is a Journey Quotes to Inspire Solo Travellers

Any seasoned solo traveller knows that travelling alone has the power to change your life. But sometimes it can be difficult to find the words to describe your experiences.

To empower you to travel alone, here is the pick of the best life journey quotes that can be applied to solo travel.

34. It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. – Rumi

35. No one can decide the road that inspires us to kick-start a journey better than the one embarking on the path. We may find others joining our journey, but we have to take the first step alone to reach our destination.– Dr Prem Jagyasi

36. Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it. – John Mayer

37. Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. – Buddha

There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.

Mandy Hale

39. No one you have been and no place you have gone ever leaves you. The new parts of you simply jump in the car and go along for the rest of the ride. The success of your journey and your destination all depend on who’s driving. – Bruce Springsteen

40. The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready. – Henry David Thoreau

41. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. – Neale Donald Walsh

42. If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone. – Maxwell Maltz

I have traveled many roads in my life. Some were imbued with pain and I needed to avert my gaze. Others were so beautiful that I would have remained there forever. But always, at some point in these routes, I reached a place where I encountered myself.

Pablo Holmberg

44. The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. – Albert Einstein

45. Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s okay. You’re here to live your life, not to make everyone understand.– Banksy

Are you looking for more quotes to inspire you to travel alone? If so, check out these inspirational solo travel quotes

Making Friends on the Journey of Life

Of course, none of us needs to be alone. Other people can play a huge part in our life journey.

46. A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles. – Tim Cahill

47. Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere in the road to a happier life. – Pythagoras

48. In this journey of life, you will meet people who will make you feel alive! – Avijeet Das

49. On a hard jungle journey, nothing is so important as having a team you can trust. – Tahir Shah

50. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. – Izaak Walton

The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is, just be nice to everyone and always smile.

Ed Sheeran

52. Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind. – Henri Frederic Amiel

53. We never know the journey another person has walked, so be kind to everyone. – Lynette Mather

Having Faith in Yourself: Best Life Journey Quotes

Life throws obstacles at us, and it can be difficult to believe in yourself and in your ability to deal with these challenges. Even with those important first steps, you sometimes have to throw caution to the wind.

54. Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be…Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before. – Erich Fromm

56. Trust yourself, trust the road, trust the weather, and trust your destination! This quarto-trust can create a miraculously successful journey! – Mehmet Murat Īldan

57. Have faith in your journey. Everything had to happen exactly as it did to get you where you’re going next! – Mandy Hale

58. Things are only impossible until they’re not. – Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek (the Star Trek universe can teach us much about travel)

Finding Your Path on Life’s Journey

As profound as it may seem, sometimes getting lost is the first step to finding our way on the journey of life, and there is not necessarily one right path. The correct path is the one that is right for you.

59. In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight road had been lost sight of.– Dante Alighieri

60. Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost. – Erol Ozan

You have to get lost before you can be found.

Jeff Rasley

62. Life is a journey that has a lot of different paths, but any path you choose use it as your destiny. – Ryan Leonard

63. This thing we call life is not a destination with an end but a path down which we continue to journey as long as we can breathe. Life is to be lived not squandered or to give away waiting for the end to close upon us.– Byron Pulsifer

64. The path isn’t a straight line; it’s a spiral. You continually come back to things you thought you understood and see deeper truths. – Barry H. Gillespie

65. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lessons Learnt Through the Life Journey

Some of the best life journey quotes relate to the lessons you learn along this journey. Many of these lessons may not be obvious at the time, especially in tough times, but ultimately they help shape who we are.

66. A journey taken in vain is not a wasted journey if you have learnt something. – Anthony T. Hincks

67. All journeys have secret destinations of which traveler is unaware. – Martin Buber

68. Always remember life is a learning journey. Keep filling your mind with all that is worthy. – Catherine Pulsifer

69. One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.

Lolly Daskal

71. We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world. – Marcel Proust

72. Travel far enough, you meet yourself. – David Mitchell

73. In order to complete our amazing life journey successfully, it is vital that we turn each and every dark tear into a pearl of wisdom, and find the blessing in every curse. – Anthon St. Maarten

74. What you learn in tough times can be used in many ways to bless your personal life journey.– Scott Gordon

75. Sometimes in your life you will go on a journey. It will be the longest journey you have ever taken. It is the journey to find yourself. – Katharine Sharp

Enjoy the Journey Quotes

Ultimately, what is it all for unless you enjoy the journey?

As travellers, we are often guilty of fixating on the destination, instead of learning to enjoy the journey, and celebrating the triumphs instead of stressing about the difficulties.

76. Roads were made for journeys not destinations. – Confucius

77. Life Is What Happens When You’re Busy Making Other Plans. – John Lennon

78. The journey is the reward. – Tao Expression

79. In the tapestry of life, every thread matters. Weave a journey worth treasuring. – The Flashpacker (Bridget Coleman)

80. Life is a journey, and if you fall in love with the journey, you will be in love forever.
– Peter Hagerty

81. It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.– Ernest Hemingway

82. Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. –
Greg Anderson

83. Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. – Drake

84. Accomplishments will prove to be a journey, not a destination. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

85. And at the end of the day, there is nothing but the journey. Because destination is pure illusion. – Rich Roll

86. Life is a journey, not a destination. Learn to enjoy the ride. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If ever there was a metaphor to illustrate the importance of the journey over the destination, it is life itself. For everyone who departs from birth is destined for death, so the journey IS life. Savor it!

Michele Jennae

88. The journey in between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life takes place. – Barbara De Angelis

89. Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.– Arthur Ashe

It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way! Penelope Riley

91. Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time. – Asha Tyson

92. Embrace your life journey with gratitude, so that how you travel your path is more important than reaching your ultimate destination. – Rosalene Glickman

93. Life is a journey to be experienced, not a problem to be solved. Winnie the Pooh

94. Let your joy be in your journey – not in some distant goal. – Tim Cook

95. Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again. – Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek

96. Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. – Andre Gide

98. Every day is a journey filled with twists and turns. Every day, if you smile, you will feel alive, my son. –
Santosh Kalwar

99. Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.– Fitzhugh Mullan

100. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. –
Douglas Adams

101. We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. – T.S. Eliot

102. Life is an opportunity, seize the day, live each day to the fullest. Life is not a project, but a journey to be enjoyed. – Catherine Pulsifer

103. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. –
Douglas Adams

104. Time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. – Captain Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek

Life Journey Quotes: Final Thoughts

Life for me, like travel, is all about the journey. The shape of that journey is up to the individual.

I hope that these life journey quotes help inspire you to live your best life. That’s all that any of us can aim for.

Enjoy the journey.

About Bridget

Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.

Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.

To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.

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