Top 100 Richard Carlson Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.”

— Richard Carlson

Featured in: Reflection Quotes

2. “Ask yourself this question, will this matter a year from now?”

— Richard Carlson

3. “Retirement can and will be a glorious time in your life. You’ll love the freedom and ability to try new things. It’s a new phase of life; a chance to be a beginner again.”

— Richard Carlson

4. “The key to a good life is this: If you’re not going to talk about something during the last hour of your life, then don’t make it a top priority during your lifetime.”

— Richard Carlson

5. “Choose to be kind over being right and you’ll be right everytime.”

— Richard Carlson

6. “You are what you practice most.”

— Richard Carlson

7. “Change the things that can be changed, accept those that cannot, and have the wisdom to know the difference.”

— Richard Carlson

8. “If someone throws you the ball, you don’t have to catch it.”

— Richard Carlson

9. “Being heard and understood is “one of the greatest desires of the human heart.”

— Richard Carlson

10. “Life is a process – just one thing after another. When you lose it, just start again.”

— Richard Carlson

11. “Meanwhile, life keeps moving forward. The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?”

— Richard Carlson

12. “The old adage, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ isn’t always correct. In fact, the suspicion, cynicism, and doubt that are inherent in this belief can and does keep people from taking advantage of excellent opportunities.”

— Richard Carlson

13. “Make living your life with absolute integrity and kindness your first priority.”

— Richard Carlson

14. “If we would just slow down, happiness would catch up to us.”

— Richard Carlson

15. “The next time you find yourself in an argument, rather than defend your position, see if you can see the other point of view first.”

— Richard Carlson

16. “Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.”

— Richard Carlson

17. “What interferes with this peaceful feeling is our expectation of reciprocity.”

— Richard Carlson

18. “Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest desires of the human heart. And those who learn to listen are the most loved and respected.”

— Richard Carlson

19. “Effective listening is more than simply avoiding the bad habit of interrupting others while they are speaking or finishing their sentences. It’s being content to listen to the entire thought of someone rather than waiting impatiently for your chance to respond.”

— Richard Carlson

20. “Learning to stop sweating the small stuff involves deciding what things to engage in and what things to ignore. From a certain perspective, life can be described as a series of mistakes, one right after another with a little space in between.”

— Richard Carlson

21. “Being listened to and heard is one of the greatest desires of the human heart.”

— Richard Carlson

22. “Humility and inner peace go hand in hand. The less compelled you are to try to prove yourself to others, the easier it is to feel peaceful inside.”

— Richard Carlson

23. “Life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Nothing is ever good enough the way it is.”

— Richard Carlson

24. “Reading is a gift. It’s something you can do almost anytime and anywhere. It can be a tremendous way to learn, relax, and even escape. So, enough about the virtues of reading. Time to read on.”

— Richard Carlson

25. “The first step to becoming a more peaceful person is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases, you’re creating your own emergencies. Life will usually go on if things don’t go according to plan. It’s helpful to keep reminding yourself and repeating the sentence, “Life isn’t an emergency”.”

— Richard Carlson

26. “Every day, tell at least one person something you like, admire, or appreciate about them.”

— Richard Carlson

27. “Bragging actually dilutes the positive feelings you receive from an accomplishment or something you are proud of. To make matters worse, the more you try to prove yourself, the more others will avoid you, talk behind your back about your insecure need to brag, and perhaps even resent you.”

— Richard Carlson

28. “You can’t have a better past.”

— Richard Carlson

29. “Seeking first to understand isn’t about who’s right or wrong; it is a philosophy of effective communication.”

— Richard Carlson

30. “Children listen best with their eyes. What you do is what they hear.”

— Richard Carlson

31. “The trick is to be grateful for our good moods and graceful in our low moods – not taking them too seriously.”

— Richard Carlson

32. “One of the most dynamic and significant changes you can make in your life is to make the commitment to drop all negative references to your past, to begin living now.”

— Richard Carlson

33. “Criticism, like swearing, is actually nothing more than a bad habit.”

— Richard Carlson

34. “As Mother Teresa reminds us, “We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love.”

— Richard Carlson

35. “People are no longer human beings. We should be called human doings.”

— Richard Carlson

36. “If you don’t want to “sweat the small stuff,” it’s critical that you choose your battles wisely.”

— Richard Carlson

37. “The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other.”

— Richard Carlson

38. “In a low state of mind, everything seems really bad and worse than it probably is.”

— Richard Carlson

39. “When we’re busy making “other plans,” our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away and dying, our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away. In short, we miss out on life.”

— Richard Carlson

40. “Proving yourself is a dangerous trap.”

— Richard Carlson

41. “Something wonderful begins to happen with the simple realization that life, like an automobile, is driven from the inside out, not the other way around. As you focus more on becoming more peaceful with where you are, rather than focusing on where you would rather be, you begin to find peace right now, in the present. Then, as you move around, try new things, and meet new people, you carry that sense of inner peace with you. It’s absolutely true that, “Wherever you go, there you are.”

— Richard Carlson

42. “Pascal said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

— Richard Carlson

43. “The next time you feel low, for whatever reason, remind yourself, “This too shall pass.” It will.”

— Richard Carlson

44. “The truth is, we don’t know what’s going to happen – we just think we do. Often we make a big deal out of something. We blow up scenarios in our minds about all the terrible things that are going to happen. Most of the time we are wrong. If we keep our cool and stay open to possibilities, we can be reasonably certain that, eventually, all will be well. Remember: maybe so, maybe not.”

— Richard Carlson

45. “One of my favorite posters says, “Life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been a real life you would have been instructed where to go and what to do.” Whenever I think of this humorous bit of wisdom, it reminds me to not take my life so seriously.”

— Richard Carlson

46. “People who live the most fulfilling lives are the ones who are always rejoicing at what they have.”

— Richard Carlson

47. “A low mood is not the time to analyze your life. To do so is emotional suicide. If you have a legitimate problem, it will still be there when your state of mind improves. The trick is to be grateful for our good moods and graceful in our low moods – not taking them too seriously. The next time you feel low, for whatever reason, remind yourself, “This too shall pass.” It will.”

— Richard Carlson

48. “So many people spend so much of their life energy ‘sweating the small stuff’ that they completely lose touch with the magic and beauty of life.”

— Richard Carlson

49. “Rather than being afraid to ask for help, remember this: When you ask someone to help you, you are actually doing them a tremendous favor by giving them an opportunity to feel needed.”

— Richard Carlson

50. “Your job is to try to determine what the people in your life are trying to teach you. You’ll find that if you do this, you’ll be far less annoyed, bothered, and frustrated by the actions and imperfections of other people.”

— Richard Carlson