120 Positive Growth Mindset Quotes For Kids & Adults (+ Free Printable)
What would a person with the growth mindset say?
Today, we’re looking at growth mindset quotes that inspire you to live in courage and strength.
All of the people below became extraordinary because of their growth mindset. So, use their sayings as your lifeboat when you need support, as well as a springboard to skyrocket your growth.
But first…
What is the growth mindset?
Our “view of life” drives our most basic thoughts and actions. The latest research tells us that there are two types of mindsets: fixed and growth.
“A fixed mindset” person thinks that our levels of intelligence, character, and ability are permanent. We are what we are, and extraordinary people were born that way.
A “growth mindset” person believes that growth is limitless. They challenge themselves daily and use failure as a stepping stone for progress.
The mindset that we develop (often beginning at an early age), determines our future personality, character, success, failure, and even our happiness in life (source).
So, it’s a big deal!
But how do we develop this beautiful growth mindset? Let’s start with words that motivate us to take action.
Epic Growth Mindset Quotes for the Family
Now, you’ll also find quotes great for kids below! These quotes are shorter, straightforward, and direct.
This post is divided into: sayings about learning, breaking out of your comfort zone, failure, the process of becoming, never giving up, and quotes that work well for families too.
How to Use the Growth Mindset Quotes
Here are fun ways to use the famous quotes below for yourself or your kids:
- Write one on the mirror with a dry erase marker
- Print the free wall art below and put it on the wall
- Read one to your family at mealtimes (discuss what the quote means)
- Say one to yourself when you wake in the morning or go to bed at night.
- Pull one out of a jar when someone needs a boost
120 Inspirational Growth Mindset Quotes
Now, let’s dig in!
Always Keep Learning Growth Mindset Quotes
It’s not about intelligence. It’s about what you do with the talents and gifts you have. So, never stop learning!
1. “A man’s mind, stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
2. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
3. “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” – Epictetus
4. “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Ben Franklin
5. “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.” – Helen Keller
6. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.“ – Jim Rohn
7. “After every difficulty, ask yourself two questions: “What did I do right?” and “What would I do differently?” – Brian Tracy
8. “I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures. . .I divide the world into the learners and the non-learners.” – Benjamin Barber
9. “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” – Sarah Caldwell
10. “What you feed your mind, will lead your life.”
– Kemi Sogunle
11. “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” – Vernon Howard
12. “If you start with the mindset that you know nothing, you will learn a lot that nobody knew before.” – David Maraniss
13. “The mind is just like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand.” ― Idowu Koyenikan
14. “Mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it, to see a better world.” ― Amit Ray
15. “Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” ― Steve Maraboli
16. “Your mindset matters. It affects everything – from the business and investment decisions you make, to the way you raise your children, to your stress levels and overall well-being.” – Peter Diamandis
17. “If you can build a muscle, you can build a mindset.” – Jay Shetty
Leave Your Safe Harbor Quotes For Adults
In order to live a growth mindset, you must leave the comfort of what’s safe for you. Not sure how to do that? Check out these 50 small ideas to get a little uncomfortable!
18. “If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
Jim Rohn
19. “Don’t be too timid and squeamish with your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
20. “I am always doing what I cannot do yet. In order to learn how to do it.” Vincent Van Gogh
21. “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.” – A. Sachs
22. “We find comfort among those who agree with us, and growth among those who don’t.” – Frank A. Clark
23. “The people who think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs
24. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain
25. “Most people take the limits of their vision to be the limits of the world. A few do not. Join them.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
26. “If you find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” – Frank A. Clark
27. “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.’” – Eleanor Roosevelt
28. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle
29. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
– Nelson Mandela
30. “One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” – Maya Angelou
31. “There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge. Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.” – Napoleon Hill
32. “Do you know great minds enjoy excellence, average minds love mediocrity and small minds adore comfort zones?” ― Onyi Anyado
33. “No matter what, people grow. If you choose not to grow, you’re staying in a small box with a small mindset. People who win go outside of that box. It’s very simple when you look at it.” – Kevin Hart
It’s Ok to Fail. In fact, It’s Necessary!
Failure is simply data. If you look at it like the magnificent learning tool it is, you’ll grow by leaps and bounds. These positive growth mindset quotes will help you do it!
34. “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. But it is the ability to resist or use failure that often leads to success.” – J.K. Rowling
35. Don’t worry about failure. Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try. — Sherman Finesilver
36. “The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail. It’s that we aim too low and succeed.” – Michelangelo
*Aim high with these vision board quotes and a template for your goals.
37. “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.” – Thomas Watson
38. “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson
*Move on from mistakes faster with these fierce self-love affirmations.
39. “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
40. “There is no failure. Only feedback.” — Robert Allen
41. “There’s no such thing as failure, only results.” – Tony Robbins
42. “Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success.”
Arianna Huffington
43. “There’s nothing as exciting as a comeback – seeing someone with dreams, watching them fail, and then getting a second chance.” – Rachel Griffiths
44. “I am facing a challenge, I am not facing defeat. Remember this.” – Nikki Rowe
45. “There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time.” – Anne Lamott
If you’ve been experiencing setbacks, read these inspiring adversity quotes.
The Fun is in the Becoming Growth Mindset Sayings
Now, focus on growing. Enjoy the process. In the end, isn’t all of life a process?
46. “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo
47. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” – Zig Ziglar
48. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
49. “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” – Oprah Winfrey
*Use these motivational tips to help you do your best!
50. “Effort is grossly underrated.” — Gary Vaynerchuk
51. “There is always a step small enough from where we are to get us to where we want to be. If we take that small step, there’s always another we can take, and eventually a goal thought to be too far to reach becomes achievable.” – Ellen Langer
52. “The best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.” – Wallace Wattles
53. “Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
*See here for 200 challenge ideas that make you stronger>>
54. “We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary. ” – Carol Dweck
55. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” – Charles Swindoll
*Try these gratitude messages and journal prompts to improve reaction.
56. “If you improve 1% a day, then in 100 days, guess what? You’re 100% better.” – Ken Carter
57. A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it. — Ray Davis
58. “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” – Roy T. Bennett
59. “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”
– Buddha
60. “Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.” – Norman Vincent Peale
61. “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins
Don’t Give Up Quotes About Growth Mindset
And most importantly, don’t give in. Because the point that you feel like giving up is where the magic happens.
62. “It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
63. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher
64. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
65. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
66. “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” — Voltaire
67. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison
68. “Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” – Napoleon Hill
69. “There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.”
– Albert Ellis
70. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” – Mary Anne Radmacher
*This quote helped me immensely through my miscarriages.
71. “Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.” – Stephanie Garber
72. “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.” – The Dalai Lama
73. “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” – Marcus Aurelius
74. “Hard conditions of life are indispensable to bringing out the best in human personality.” – Alexis Carrel
75. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
76. “Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition – such as lifting weights – we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” – Stephen Covey
77. “Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.” – Henry Ford
78. “Our ability to handle life’s challenges is a measure of our strength of character.” – Les Brown
79. “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve
80. “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.” – Winston Churchill
81. “If you quit once it becomes a habit. Don’t quit.” – Michael Jordon
83. “Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.” – George Whitefield
84. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot
85. “The mind is a powerful thing. It can take you through walls.” ― Denis Avey
86. “’No fear’ is a mindset that I stand for. It’s the reason why I’ve got to where I am today.” – Skepta
Powerful Growth Mindset Quotes for Kids
And finally, these short positive growth mindset quotes are perfect for inspiring kids and adults alike! They are also great for motivating students in the classroom.
87. “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.'” – Audrey Hepburn
88. “Love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.” – Carol Dweck
89. “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt
90. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” — Muhammad Ali
91. “Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” – Leonardo da Vinci
92. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
93. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
94. “Becoming is better than being.” — Carol Dweck
95. “Minds are like parachutes, they only function when they are open.” – James Dewar
96. “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
97. “She never minded admitting she didn’t know something. So what, she thought, I could always learn.” ― Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy
98. “Failure is growth in wolf’s clothing.” – Robin Sharma
99. “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” – Harry Golden
100. “Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson
101. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
102. “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake.” – Elbert Hubbard
103. “You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By becoming a little better each and every day, over a period of time, you will become a lot better.” – John Wooden
104. “Always do what you are afraid of doing.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
105. “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.” – Jack Sparrow
106. “Believe you can and you are halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
107. “I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
108. “Dreams won’t work unless you do.” – John C. Maxwell
109. “Test scores and measures of achievement tell you where a student is. But they don’t tell you where a student could end up.” – Carol Dweck
110. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller
111. “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney
112. “It’s hard to beat a person that never gives up.” – Babe Ruth
113. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
114. “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt
115. “Changing the game is a mindset.” – Robert Rodriguez
116. “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” – George S. Patton
117. “Actions are the seed of fate. Deeds grow into destiny.” – Harry S. Truman
118. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” – Thomas H. Palmer
Do you need extra motivation? Try one of these fun child rewards!
Free Growth Mindset Quotes pdf
119. “…The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues. Maybe they haven’t found the cure for cancer, but the search was deeply meaningful.” ― Carol S. Dweck
My Favorite Growth Mindset Story
While I’m a huge Harry Potter fan in its own right. What’s just as interesting is the author’s story.
You see, before J.K. Rowling sold over 500 million books, she was a single mother living on welfare in England. During writing, Rowling’s beloved mother passed away, pushing her into depression as she wrote.
Then, upon completing the first book, she sent three chapters to literary agents.
Only one responded back.
As time passed, she received multiple rejections stating that the book would never be a commercial success or interesting enough. But, finally Bloomsbury agreed to publish.
And the world was blown away by her work.
You see, when most people think of geniuses or billionaires in our society, they believe that these people had it easy.
Joan Rowling did not have it easy. She was broke, grieving her mother, and writing her ideas on scraps of paper while trying to support her daughter.
Amongst the hatred and pain in our world, these are the stories we must remember and pass on to our kids.
They are stories of grit and determination. Of resiliency.
They remind us that it’s about not giving up, even when things get tough.
More Resources For Empowering Your Mind
Looking for more? Don’t miss…
The Best Growth Mindset Books to encourage an unstoppable mindset. (Ideas for kids and adults)
27 Easy Activities That Teach Growth Mindset. These are great for students, parents, adults, and anyone.
To Consider With Growth Mindset Phrases
I leave you with one last growth mindset quote:
120. “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin
So, if you have kids, remember that YOU are their model. Children do what they see, not what they’re told. If you want others to have a growth mindset, develop an unbeatable one in yourself.
What are your favorite growth mindset quotes? I’d love to know!
Other personal development posts from HHI…
- 27 Beautiful Morning Affirmations – easy saying to get your mind right in the morning.
- The Best Books for Empowerment – books to inspire and motivate you.
- The Big List of Habits to Change Your Life – small changes = big results!