You've Got This! - A Motivational Reference Guide Told Through Inspiring Movie Quotes

Don't you just love the movies?  All sorts of films appeal to the human psyche in myriad ways, offering an escape to faraway lands or cathartic triumphs of good over evil or sometimes a couple of hours of mindless fun, but at their best, movies make us feel something that we needed to feel, mentally-stimulating a part of us into which we too infrequently tap.  Movies can be a great source of inspiration, for instance, with some of the most frequently repeated motivational words in modern history coming from film characters.  The following is a celebration of classic dialogue composed of organized movie quotes for the purpose of providing a relatable, go-to resource to keep you motivated toward whatever goals in life you may set.

There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path[i].  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us[ii]; use it constructively, and believe in yourself and what you’re doing.  Some people can’t believe in themselves until someone else believes in them first[iii]; I believe in you. The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it[iv].  Don’t ever let somebody tell you [that] you can’t do something.  Alright?  You dream, you [have to] protect it.  People [that] can’t do something themselves tell you [that] you can’t do it.  If you want something, go get it.  Period[v].

You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to[vi].  [You’re] not meant to shut out problems.  You have to face them.  You have to live the life you were [meant] to live[vii].  Oh yes, [the bad times] can hurt.  But you can either run from [them], or learn from [them][viii].  Life’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.  It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward[ix].  When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you gotta do?  Just keep swimming…just keep swimming[x].  [We fall] so that we can learn to pick ourselves up[xi]. 

Dwelling on the past, worrying about the future, letting fear prevent you from being your best self…these are patterns to be fought like your life depends on it, because your quality of life does depend on it.  Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light[xii].  Granted, it’s hard, but it’s supposed to be hard.  If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.  The hard is what makes it great[xiii].  The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all[xiv]; the night is darkest just before the dawn, and I promise you, the dawn is coming[xv].  So, keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise.  Who knows what the tide could bring[xvi]? 

Whether it is health, love, financial freedom, work-life balance, school grades, parenting, or any other aspect of the wonderful existence that you seek, appreciate the process of how success is achieved and look no further than the day in front of you.  Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it[xvii].  You see, our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss[xviii].  To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel.  That is the purpose of life[xix].  We can’t go around measuring our goodness by what we don’t do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude.  We’ve got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include[xx].

Life is about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends.  [It’s] about being able to look your [loved ones] in the eye and know that you didn’t let them down because you told them the truth.  And that truth is you did everything you could.  There wasn’t one more thing you could’ve done.  Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart[xxi]?  Remember, great [people] are not born great, they grow great[xxii].  Follow your heart, and you’ll never go wrong[xxiii]. 

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun[xxiv].  Don’t just appreciate the process of life, then….enjoy it!  Be deliriously happy or at least leave yourself open to be[xxv].  Have a martini, shaken, not stirred[xxvi]; if you think you need a bigger boat[xxvii], go get one; find that kind of love that awakens the soul and makes [you] reach for more, that plants a fire in [your] heart and brings peace to [your] mind[xxviii]; since nobody is a failure who has friends[xxix], have someone in your life who can be your wingman anytime[xxx]; and great Scott!, find that 1.21 gigawatts of [energy] that you need[xxxi] and press on with a smile on your face.  Now, you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese[xxxii]. 

May The Force be with you…always[xxxiii].

Thinking good things for you, as always,

-Dr. Chad

[i] The Matrix

[ii] Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

[iii] Good Will Hunting

[iv] The Wolf of the Wall Street

[v] The Pursuit of Happiness

[vi] Good Will Hunting

[vii] Sound of Music

[viii] The Lion King

[ix] Rocky Balboa

[x] Finding Nemo

[xi] Batman Begins

[xii] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[xiii] A League of Their Own

[xiv] Mulan

[xv] The Dark Knight

[xvi] Cast Away

[xvii] Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

[xviii] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

[xix] The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

[xx] Chocolat

[xxi] Friday Night Lights

[xxii] The Godfather

[xxiii] The Sandlot

[xxiv] Mary Poppins

[xxv] Meet Joe Black

[xxvi] James Bond

[xxvii] Jaws

[xxviii] The Notebook

[xxix] It’s a Wonderful Life

[xxx] Top Gun

[xxxi] Back to the Future

[xxxii] Teen Wolf

[xxxiii] Star Wars