180 Reflective Quotes To Inspire You

Following is our list of reflective quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about positive reflection.

Famous Reflective Quotes

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Reflective thinking turns experience into insight. — John C. Maxwell

Self-reflection is the school of wisdom. — Baltasar Gracian

Reflection is a flower of the mind, giving out wholesome fragrance; but revelry is the same flower, when rank and running to seed. — Desiderius Erasmus

People not only gain understanding through reflection, they evaluate and alter their own thinking. — Albert Bandura

When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous. — Confucius

Mirrors should think longer before they reflect. — Jean Cocteau

One who thinks and reflects develops his foresight and vision. — Ali ibn Abi Talib

Become a reflective negotiator - someone who learns everyday from their experiences and applies the art of continuous improvement. — William Ury

Whoever reflects recognizes that there are empty and lonely spaces between one’s experiences. — Jerome Bruner

Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful. — Margaret J. Wheatley

There is one art of which people should be masters - the art of reflection. — Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Without reflection, we go blindly on our way. — Margaret J. Wheatley

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. — James Levin

We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience. — John Dewey

Short Reflective Quotes

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• Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. — Mark Twain
• Being black is not a matter of pigmentation - being black is a reflection of a mental attitude. — Steven Biko
• There are two ways of spreading light: to be The candle or the mirror that reflects it. — Edith Wharton
• Since everything is a reflection of our minds, everything can be changed by our minds. — Buddha
• Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it. — Ernest Holmes
• The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass. — Dogen
• Everything that happens to us is a reflection of who we are. — Deepak Chopra
• The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. — William Makepeace Thackeray
• There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. — Edith Wharton
• Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. — Carl Jung

Reflective Image Quotes

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True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. — Audrey Hepburn

Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment. — Learned Hand

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. — Edmund Burke

Style is a reflection of your attitude and your personality. — Shawn Ashmore

Lord Byron is only great as a poet; as soon as he reflects he is a child. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Being Reflective Quotes

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The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. — Thomas Merton

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. — Leonardo da Vinci

Without the ability to think about yourself, to reflect on your life, there’s really no awareness, no consciousness. Consciousness doesn’t come automatically; it comes through being alive, awake, curious, and often furious. — Maxine Greene

Each finite creature can reflect only a fraction of the divine nature; thus, in the diversity of His creatures, God's infinity, unity and oneness appear to be broken into an effulfgence of manifold rays. — Edith Stein

We are not taught to be thinkers, but reflectors of our culture. Let's teach our children to be thinkers. — Jacque Fresco

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world. — Etty Hillesum

My purpose is to allow people to move closer to actually being creatures of free choice, to genuinely reflect individual creativity and emotion, freeing the body of habitual tensions and wired-patterns of behaviour so that it may respond without inhibition to do what the person wants. — Moshe Feldenkrais

Reflect upon your present blessings — Charles Dickens

I could not say I believe. I know! I have had the experience of being gripped by something that is stronger than myself, something that people call God. — Carl Jung

As long as our brain is a mystery, the universe, the reflection of the structure of the brain will also be a mystery. — Santiago Ramon y Cajal

Positive Reflection Quotes

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The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of the state of your mind. — Wayne Dyer

Surround yourself with those who won’t compete but will revel in your success and see your ascent as a reflection of their own possibilities. — Sayings

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. — Nelson Mandela

Sometimes you've got to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding. — Christopher Barzak

I might rap about a lot of stuff, but that’s just a reflection about what I’ve been through. But in real life, everything I do is positive. — 21 Savage

Anything positive you do will be remembered by the world as a good Emirati deed, but any negative step you make, will reflect on your country. So you have a responsibility of protecting your country's image, especially when you are abroad. — Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are. — Thomas Dreier

Make sure the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you — Jim Rohn

I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life. — Sidney Poitier

Rainbows introduce us to reflections of different beautiful possibilities so we never forget that pain and grief are not the final options in life. — Aberjhani

Inspirational Reflection Quotes

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The love you feel in life is a reflection of the love you feel in yourself. — Deepak Chopra

Time and reflection change the sight little by little 'till we come to understand. — Paul Cezanne

Look within!... The secret is inside you. — Huineng

It is necessary ... for a man to go away by himself ... to sit on a rock ... and ask, 'Who am I, where have I been, and where am I going? — Carl Sandburg

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. — Carl Jung

We turn outward, attracted by the beauty we see in created things without realizing that they are only a reflection of the real beauty. And the real beauty is within us. — Ernesto Cardenal

If you are willing to look at another person's behavior toward you as a reflection of the state of their relationship with themselves rather than a statement about your value as a person. then you will, over a period of time, cease to react at all. — Harbhajan Singh Yogi

You just gotta study your thought cause like that's all it is it's just what you think about and what inspires you. — MrBeast

My heart trembles when I reflect that God is just — Thomas Jefferson

Most people believe the mind to be a mirror, more or less accurately reflecting the world outside them, not realizing on the contrary that the mind is itself the principal element of creation. — Rabindranath Tagore

Good Reflection Quotes

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Precious jewel, you glow, you shine, reflecting all the good things in the world. Just look at yourself. — Maya Angelou

There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is. — Jane Frances de Chantal

Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him. — John Locke

I know I've done good things, I know I've done bad things. — Jared Kushner

The unconscious is not just evil by nature, it is also the source of the highest good: not only dark but also light, not only bestial, semihuman, and demonic but superhuman, spiritual, and, in the classical sense of the word, "divine." — Carl Jung

For me, art can reflect the celebration of the simple and good things in life. This is most important to me! — Romero Britto

We have had good and bad Presidents, and it is a consoling reflection that the American Nation possesses such elements of prosperity that the bad Presidents cannot destroy it, and have been able to do no more than slightly to retard the public's advancement. — Henry Clay

A good reputation for yourself and your company is an invaluable asset not reflected in the balance sheets. — Li Ka-shing

But if you're doing something and you don't know why you're doing it, then it's good to reflect on the intentionality behind it. — Jay Shetty

What you see in other people is a reflection of yourself. A person of goodness sees goodness in others and a person of evil sees evil in others. — Omar Suleiman

Life Reflection Quotes

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Everyone and everything that shows up in our life is a reflection of something that is happening inside of us. — Alan Cohen

A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living. — Rudolf Steiner

A dog reflects the family life. Whoever saw a frisky dog in a gloomy family, or a sad dog in a happy one? Snarling people have snarling dogs, dangerous people have dangerous ones. — Arthur Conan Doyle

I am so grateful for my troubles. As I reflect back on my life, I have come to realize that my greatest triumphs have been born of my greatest troubles. — Steve Maraboli

Your body is the ground and metaphor of your life, the expression of your existence. It is your Bible, your encyclopedia, your life story. Everything that happens to you is stored and reflected in your body. In the marriage of flesh and spirit divorce is impossible. — Gabrielle Roth

Real craftsmanship, regardless of the skill involved, reflects real caring, and real caring reflects our attitude about ourselves, about our fellowmen, and about life. — Spencer W. Kimball

The questions you ask yourself will determine the course of your life. — Tom Bilyeu

We all have an internal life clock. Each day, we make decisions that cause the clock to tick over much faster or slower, depending on when & how much we eat, sleep & exercise. It's hard to be perfect but it helps to ask: What would my future self want me to do today? — David Sinclair

One right question asked at the right time can change the direction of our intelligence, and thus change the direction of our life. — Mahatria Ra

It took a lot of time and constant feedback to realize what wasn't working in my life, and it will be an ongoing journey until the day I die. — Lewis Howes

Mirror Reflection Quotes

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The mirror is a worthless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is in the reflection of someone else's eyes. — Voltaire

Dear friend, Your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it dean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets. — Al-Ghazali

Do you know what you are? You are a manuscript oƒ a divine letter. You are a mirror reflecting a noble face. This universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you are already that. — Rumi

Like water which can clearly mirror the sky and the trees only so long as its surface is undisturbed, the mind can only reflect the true image of the Self when it is tranquil and wholly relaxed. — Indra Devi

The more souls who resonate together, the greater the intensity of their love... and, mirror-like... each soul reflects the other. — Dante Alighieri

Our words reveal our thoughts; our manners mirror our self-esteem; our actions reflect our character; our habits predict the future. — William Arthur Ward

Sunlight is one and the same wherever it falls; but only a bright surface like that of water, or of a mirror reflects it fully. So is the light Divine. It falls equally and impartially on all hearts, but the pure and pious hearts of holy men receive and reflect that light well. — Ramakrishna

As fragrance abides in the flower As reflection is within the mirror, So does your Lord abide within you, Why search for him without? — Guru Nanak

You have to self-reflect. If you forget who you actually are, then what's the use of even looking in the mirror. — Lil Wayne

A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. — Colin Powell

Reflections Of Life Quotes

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Photography is about a single point of a moment. It’s like stopping time. As everything gets condensed in that forced instant. But if you keep creating these points, they form a line which reflects your life. — Nobuyoshi Araki

If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want to get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks' vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days. — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs. — James Lane Allen

One of the reasons boxing is one of the greatest things to happen to my life is because it made me human again. — Logan Paul

The training is a set of interpersonal interactions that lead to emotional and intellectual experiences that provide a circumstance and an intrument for self awareness, self observation and reflection on the circumstances of the subject trainee, both in his individual life and as a social being. — Humberto Maturana

Anybody who has gone through a life-changing experience will tell you there is a different understanding of what is real and what is important, and when you are going through different moments, you can reflect and go, 'I have been through worse.' — Delta Goodrem

One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something. — Peter Jacobsen

I reflected a lot, I thought a lot on my 50th birthday. It has been one of the most important birthdays in my life, not in terms of celebration but in terms of retrospect. — Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Theater is, of course, a reflection of life. Maybe we have to improve life before we can hope to improve theater. — William Ralph Inge

Reflecting on these complex relationships between reader and story, fiction and life, can constitute a form of therapy against the sleep of reason, which generates monsters. — Umberto Eco

Self Reflection Quotes

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Any child who is self-sufficient, who can tie his shoes, dress or undress himself, reflects in his joy and sense of achievement the image of human dignity which is derived from a sense of independence. — Maria Montessori

Realize that your world is only a reflection of yourself and stop finding fault with the reflection. Attend to yourself, set yourself right; mentally and emotionally. The physical self will follow automatically. — Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

What you see in yourself is what you see in the world. — Afghan Proverbs

I will think twice in the future about what I post. Probably three times. — Logan Paul

Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away. — Barbara De Angelis

Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. — T. Harv Eker

When individuals feel listened to, they tend to listen to themselves more carefully and to openly evaluate and clarify their own thoughts and feelings. — Chris Voss

Don’t tweet the emotion. Process the emotion then tweet the wisdom. — Tom Bilyeu

If you're not shocked by the thought of who you were 10 years ago, you're not growing. — David Sinclair

Your judgement of others reveals more about you than them. And their judgement of you reveals more about them than you. A monkey will not find a Mona Lisa in the mirror. It takes a Mona Lisa to reflect a Mona Lisa. Our judgements are a true reflection of ourselves. — Mahatria Ra

Reflective Thinking Quotes

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When I'm writing, I'm constantly thinking about myself, because it's the only experience I have to draw on. And I don't see an exact reflection of myself in every face in the audience, but I know that my songs have validity to them, and that's why the fans are there. — Chester Bennington

You know when you're young you think you will always be. As you become more fragile, you reflect and you realize how much comfort can come from the past. Hymns can carry you into the future. — Andy Griffith

The clear thinking comes from having time to reflect and to pursue your genuine intellectual curiosity. — Naval Ravikant

If we think everyone is a reflection of ourselves, we fail to see things as they are. We see things as we are. — Jay Shetty

Think of your lover and his love, think of his actions and forget him. — Moroccan Proverbs

People spend too much time doing and not enough time thinking about what they should be doing. — Naval Ravikant

When eating chew well, think before speaking. — Vietnamese Proverbs

Quite Franc-ly, I think I am an asset to this world we live in. I know that if I didn’t exist, there would be some truly upset people just waiting for me. A life without Franco is like a kitten without fur. That’s what my reflection told me. — James Franco

When you're winning, you're not as great as you think you are. When you're losing, you're not as bad as you think you are. — Patrick Bet-David

Whatever you do, think about it seven times. — Filipino Proverbs

Reflection Of Yourself Quotes

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You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for independence. — Charles Austin Beard

In the last analysis, provincialism is your belief in yourself, in your neighborhood, in your reality. It is patriotism without belligerence. Convincing cases have been made to show that all great art is provincial in the sense of reflecting a place, a time, and a Zeitgeist. — Richard M. Weaver

This is the key to life: the ability to reflect, the ability to know yourself, the ability to pause for a second before reacting automatically. If you can truly know yourself, you will begin the journey of transformation. — Deepak Chopra

Surround yourself with people who inspire and challenge you. Your network is a reflection of who you are. — Steven Bartlett

Everybody is like a magnet. You attract to yourself reflections of that which you are. If you're friendly then everybody else seems to be friendly too. — David R. Hawkins

And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of. — William Shakespeare

Your surroundings, home, personal care, pets, clothing & body are all reflections of how you see and express yourself. Do these reflect your true self? — Christiane Northrup

Forgiveness is a reflection of loving yourself enough to move on. — Steve Maraboli

Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth. — Iyanla Vanzant

When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self. — Confucius

Reflection Of Self Quotes

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When the thoughts are presented, you should never lose sight of the question: Who is working for whom? — Mo Gawdat

Kids look up to me. I'm not saying I make my music for kids, I do what I feel, its just a self reflection of how I am as a person and it relates to a lot of people. — Tyga

How many of us can honestly say that we have plumbed the depths of our minds and hearts? How many of us regularly listen to ourselves with empathy and understanding – in the supportive way that a trusted friend can? — William Ury

Keep no secrets of thyself from thyself — Greek Proverbs

Good manners reflect something from inside-an innate sense of consideration for others and respect for self. — Emily Post

Changing your interpretation of your past is often just as good as changing your past. — Naval Ravikant

People of the world don't look at themselves, and so they blame one another. — Rumi

How much of the day is spent doing things out of obligation rather than out of interest? — Naval Ravikant

The Self is the heart, self-luminous. Illumination arises from the heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind; so you see the world by the reflected light of the Self. — Ramana Maharshi

The people who could most benefit from the self-reflective ego-dissolving qualities of cannabis are the ones that want it to be illegal. — Joe Rogan

People Writing About Reflective

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Name	Quotes	Likes
Margaret J. Wheatley quotes on education, life and love	109	1876
Edith Wharton quotes on marriage, love and friendship	244	1627
John C. Maxwell quotes on leadership, success and growth	1073	7437
Baltasar Gracian quotes on life, love and worldly wisdom	261	1642
Desiderius Erasmus quotes on humanism, education	123	1747
Albert Bandura quotes on social learning ory, child development and observational learning	104	1537

More Reflective Quotes

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By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. — Confucius

Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. — Immanuel Kant

You never identify yourself with the shadows cast by your body, or with its reflection, or with the body you see in a dream or in your imagination. Therefore you should not identify yourself with this living body either. — Adi Shankara

Sunset is so marvellous that even the sun itself watches it every day in the reflections of the infinite oceans! — Mehmet Murat Ildan

Most human behavior is controlled by images. Image is a factor in how people look at themselves and what they use to reflect themselves. The control of images is a major factor in world power. — John Henrik Clarke

We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock. — Queen Elizabeth II

...a person and an organization must have goals, take actions to achieve those goals, gather evidence of achievement, study and reflect on the data and from that take actions again. Thus, they are in a continuous feedback spiral toward continuous improvement. This is what 'Kaizan' means. — W. Edwards Deming

I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death. — Thomas Paine

Most of us are reflecting life and not affecting it. Your inner speech mirrors your mind, and your mind mirrors God. If you do not change your thoughts, you haven't changed their activity. And if you do not change their activity, the conditions of your life cannot change, for they are only bearing witness to the inner action of your mind. — Neville Goddard

Learning is a process where knowledge is presented to us, then shaped through understanding, discussion and reflection. — Paulo Freire

A KEY TO BEGIN FORGIVING: Become soft and tender with the person. The first step is to become soft in your mind and spirit. Lower your voice and relax your facial expressions. This reflects honor and humility; and as Proverbs 15:1 suggests, "A gentle answer turns away anger." — Gary Smalley

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years. — Audrey Hepburn

In Conclusion

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