31 Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes to Empower and Give Strength

While Eleanor Roosevelt is most known for her place beside Franklin D. Roosevelt as the first lady, she was a historical hero in her own right. Eleanor worked to create many changes in the world as a first lady. She was interested in expanding women’s rights in the workforce and those of the underserved populations. Through her words and speeches, she worked to bring hope to others. See a few of her famous quotes.

• "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."

• "Understanding is a two-way street."

• "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."

• "We have to face the fact that either all of us are going to die together or we are going to learn to live together and if we are to live together we have to talk."

• "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?"

• "You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give."

• "The future belongs to those who belong in the beauty of their dreams."

• "You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

• "Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product."

• "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."

• "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."

• "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."

Eleanor Roosevelt’s contributions to the United States didn’t die with her husband. She continued to rally for women and minorities for many years after. She wanted to inspire greatness and equality for all. She knew it was important to not wait around for others when changes were needed now. Her quotes show her fire for greatness.

• "I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity."

• "I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision."

• "Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world."

• "I think I have a good deal of my Uncle Theodore in me, because I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on."

• "There never has been security. No man has ever known what he would meet around the next corner; if life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor."

• "We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all."

• "Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one."

• "You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude."

• "Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be."

Because improvement of the human condition was important to her, Eleanor Roosevelt pushed the need for human rights. She even had a chair on the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Therefore, you can find several quotes exploring her passion.

• "Human resources are the most valuable assets the world has. They are all needed desperately."

• "Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!"

• "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

• "For it isn’t enough to talk of peace. One must believe it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it."

• “The world of the future is in our making. Tomorrow is now.”

• “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people."

• "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."

• “What you don’t do can be a destructive force.”

• "Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t."

• "What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?"

Eleanor Roosevelt used her time in office and beyond to incite a change in America. She worked with the United Nations to improve the rights and conditions of the poor and minorities. Interested in seeing more quotes from a powerful woman? Take a look at quotes by Frida Kahlo.