Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady of US from 1933 to 1945 during the four terms of her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was a political figure, diplomat, activist and United Nation's delegate to United Nations General Assembly for seven years after the end of Roosevelt's presidency. She advocated for women's role in workplaces, civil right of African Americans and Asian Americans and rights of World War II refugees.
By the time she died in 1962 at the age of 78, she has gained international respect and was regarded as one of the most esteemed women in the world and was also one of the 20th century's most admired people.
Below are a few of inspiring Eleanor Roosevelt quotes :
A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.
You may know the strength of tea leaves only when the teabag is dipped into hot water. It is then the real colour and flavour will start diffusing. Similarly, even with a woman, you will only know her true worth when she is facing a difficult situation. Her courage, will-power and wisdom come to light then.
We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.
Humans were born to be compassionate and kind. But we are plagued with all kinds of fears that stop us from loving and caring for others. We are always second-guessing other person's feelings in a relationship, wondering his extent of commitment. We are scared of caring too much and not receiving the same treatment in return. It's normal. But what if we try to love and care for others without expecting anything in return? Some might say, this unconditional love is true love.
You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.
Be ready to accept whatever life places in front of you. Things are not always going to be easy; you need to be prepared for tough situations and give it your best effort.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you'll be criticized anyway.
There is no assurance that if you choose the path that is more socially approved, you are not going to face any setback. You will see failures, no matter what you chose. With failures comes criticism, this too shall follow you almost everywhere as it is impossible to please everyone. So if you are going to have to face all these things, why not do yourself a favour and follow your heart.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Ordinarily, we talk about other people, their lives, job, relationship-the gossip. This is what easily attracts us and contributes nothing of value for us but momentary entertainment. People of higher quality discuss events that are occurring around them, which keeps them informed and aware. Greatest mind spends their time thinking and discussing new ideas as they are the more powerful things and have the power to change one's life.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
It is easy to call out and complain about the things that are wrong and need fixing. But most of the times our rant is not going to help improve the situation in any way. If you want to do away with the darkness and all that's wrong, plan and do something effective about it.
When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.
She believes that life is all about being happy in contributing to the betterment of others- your family, friends or society. Once you stop contributing to society, you are missing the most important part of life. Your contributions become your impression on this world. Once you stop doing that, its likened you are no longer present in the world.
You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.
It is human to worry about what others think of us. In fact, most of our desires and actions are consciously or subconsciously dictated by others opinion of us. Many times this tendency can lead to internal conflicts when what we want doesn't coincide with the same. Mrs Roosevelt suggests that it is easier to not worry about other's opinion by reminding yourself that they don't really care that much about you and hence, seldom think of your actions.
The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
She says the real purpose of life is to live it to the utmost potential. Participate in whatever you want, gain whatever experience you can, always reach out for new experiences that make you excited and has the potential of teaching you a lot.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
Youth is the time when most of us look our best. If you come across a beautiful young person, it's the work of nature, in the sense that they were mostly born with a genetic constitution to have such looks. However, when we grow old, our physical attraction starts fading. And so, if you happen to come across an old person who seems beautiful, its because they are good-natured and wise people with a beautiful personality. They are works of art because it is not natural or easy to be pleasing when you are mental and physical faculties are declining, yet if they come out as beautiful it is because they practised their entire lives-good values, compassion and have to build a good life for themselves.
The giving of love is an education in itself.
She believes that loving someone is a noble work that can enlighten you. When you love others, show care and kindness towards them, you have learnt how to be a good human being. Loving someone doesn't require any qualification, but in itself is proof of your ability to be a valuable member of the society.
A stumbling-block to the pessimist is a stepping-stone to the optimist.
A pessimist will go on believing in the bad aspects of everything. He will be suspicious even when encountered with a favourable event or a good-natured stranger. He won't be able to find hope in bad situations and will accept all the negativity as the default setting of the world. But even if once, he encounters something in his life that is so good that he hesitates to find anything negative about it or is unable to find one, this event or person can become his turning point. It will be his first step towards optimism.
A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
She says that a good leader is influential and can easily gain people's trust. But a better leader will influence people to start believing in themselves. He will make them confident about their abilities and make them trust their decisions. A true leader is one who empowers his followers.
No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.
According to her, its not the physical beauty of a woman that makes her attractive. It is her values and character. If she is courageous enough to always stand by the truth and never lie, she is beautiful.
Continue reading some of the best and famous Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes.....
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.
You should always be aware of your emotions. If you need to be a certain person, to be committed to a goal, to succeed in it, you can't let emotions and feelings drive you all the time. Although sometimes it might bring you a favourable outcome, mostly it can discourage you with fear and other negative feelings. You need to rely on your mind to steer you clear of all these distractions and take rational decisions.
However, when you are dealing with others, using your mind tend to make you act harshly or coldly towards them. You need to understand their perspective and tap into what they are feeling, only then you can connect with them. Hence, she suggests being gentle with others for we never know about their past experiences or what they are going through at present.
Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
She differentiates between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is all the theoretical and practical information that helps you get qualified for jobs and be good at it. Wisdom is a bigger concept, and it includes all the knowledge that you have gained in your life that helps you become a more productive and happy person, maintain healthy relationships and be a good member of society.
What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?
She gives us rhetoric that makes us wonder about our unlimited potential that is only reined back by fear of failing. She encourages to dream and start working for it, believing that it is impossible to fail. What is it would you like to accomplish if you knew that there is no way that you would fail?
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.
She believes that happiness cannot be achieved if you are always trying to plan out and indulge in things that you think will make you happy. Instead, happiness is achieved inevitably as a parallel product to every good deed. If you try to make others happy, you will gain happiness too.
No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.
There are no winners in a war. There is only a loss of humanity. No matter which side takes home more monetary and political gains, both sides are losers for both of them saw a loss of lives, infrastructure and economy. It could be avoided if both parties understand the value of human lives.
A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.
She says that maturity is about understanding the world as it is, which is not in absolutes. There won't be clearly demarcated areas of right and wrong in real life, but a spectrum of moral conduct. Most of our actions will lie somewhere in the grey zone and a mature person will not be judgemental of it. Still, he will strive to push towards the brighter side, towards the right. He will respect others even if they don't see eye to eye on certain topics because he knows every person has good as well as bad sides. He won't get easily perturbed and will maintain his cool and think objectively even when emotional or in a tough situation. He will be humble and compassionate towards others no matter his achievements as he knows that everyone has weaknesses and thus deserve charity and love.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed some of the top Eleanor Roosevelt quotes on Leadership, Friendship, Fear, Happiness and Love with their meanings. These quotes will inspire you to achieve greatness and in turn, success and heights in your life.
Co-author: Shreya Arya
A digital marketing enthusiast with experience in HR and hospital management, Shreya has wide interests ranging from philosophy, psychology to latest trends in automation. She is also a freelance content writer and loves lending beautiful words to ideas and feelings.
