Since long before the creation of Pinterest, I have been an enthusiast of inspirational quotes. I even instituted a daily quote whiteboard in my house. Though I’ve encouraged my family to write their own favorite words on the board, it really only ever gets updated when I’m home from school.

Clearly, not everyone shares my love of inspiring words, but anyone can find solace, motivation, or a little bit of joy in the sentences deemed worth recording and remembering. Sometimes, the words of great people can describe how you’re thinking or feeling in a way that seems so much better than any way you could have described it yourself. These quotes can remind us that other people have felt the same way we do, and that somehow, we are more connected than we think to all the incredible authors, artists, and minds that came before us. Best of all, they can inspire us to work harder, find our creativity, or to consider things in ways we had not before.

When we think of inspiring quotes, the same 10-15 that circulate the popular page on Pinterest generally come to mind. However, with so many people that have lived and so many important and profound words that have been said, it can be worth digging a little deeper into the archives of inspirational quotes to find a few that really move you.

If this seems unappealing or like a slight waste of time to you, I have provided a collection of quotes to start your week off right. Hopefully, one or two will strike a cord, change the way you see some aspect of your day or week, or inspire you to do something you normally would not have considered. Perhaps (though it's fairly unlikely), you will even become as enthusiastic about quotes as I am!

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”~Matthew 6:27

“Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” ~Elizabeth Gilbert

“I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life…if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.” ~Roald Dahl

“The sexiest thing in the world is being really smart and thoughtful, and being generous. Everything else is crap.” ~Ashton Kutcher

“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”~Albert Einstein

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." ~Vincent Van Gogh

“So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them.” ~Sylvia Plath