1 One of the scariest things in our lives is actually doing what we know we want to do. -Cheryl Strayed
It takes a really brave heart to do what one wants to do. It’s scary to deal with the possibility of failure while you are doing something you desire.
2 You don’t have to get a job that makes others feel comfortable about what they perceive as your success. -Cheryl Strayed
Your success should be what you decide it to be. Don’t have to conform to what others want you to do. Be you and do what you want to do.
3 Be about ten times more magnanimous than you believe yourself capable of. Your life will be a hundred times better for it. -Cheryl Strayed
You have much more in you than you think you do. Aim for higher goals than you think you are capable of. Your life will only get better.
4 Alone had always felt like an actual place to me, as if it weren’t a state of being, but rather a room where I could retreat to be who I really was. -Cheryl Strayed
Being alone gives you the freedom to be yourself. If you’re comfortable with yourself, you won’t feel like you have to please anyone else and that gives you the freedom to be what you want to be.
5 Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be ‘over it’ by now. -Cheryl Strayed
Take your time to move on from something. Don’t listen to what others say. You can take as long as you want to be over something. After all, it takes time to accept reality.
6 Sometimes you’ll put up a good fight and lose. Sometimes you’ll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. -Cheryl Strayed
Sometimes, it will take you a long time to move on from something. It’s okay if you fail at it sometimes. Sometimes, you’ll hold on really tight to something and then, in the end, you’ll realise that it’s best to let go and move on.
7 We are all entitled to our opinions and religious beliefs, but we are not entitled to make shit up and then use the shit we made up to oppress other people. -Cheryl Strayed
We all have the right to have opinions and hold religious beliefs. But that right should never be practiced by encroaching upon the rights of others. Your religious beliefs don’t give you the right to oppress other people.
8 Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore. -Cheryl Strayed
All of us have an idea of what kind of a person we ouselves are. But that doesn’t mean that we should give up all our joys and happiness for an idea that isn’t true anymore.
9 Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will. -Cheryl Strayed
Every experience that you have is your own. Each experience brings lessons for you. Learn from those experiences. Let it help you grow up and nurture you.
10 It is impossible for you to go on as you were before, so you must go on as you never have. -Cheryl Strayed
Every experience in life will change you. Once you’ve been through enough, it’s impossible to go back to the way you were before. So, all you can do then is to go like you’ve never gone before.
11 The place of true healing is a fierce place. It’s a giant place. it’s a place of monstrous beauty and endless dark and glimmering light. -Cheryl Strayed
Healing is never a tranquil process. It takes a lot of effort to heal your wounds. You’ll be stuck in a place of darkness and despair for a long while. But once you make it out, you’ll only become stronger and mature.
12 If there’s one thing I believe more than I believe anything else, it’s that you can’t fake the core. The truth that lives there will eventually win out. -Cheryl Strayed
No matter how much you try to hide it, eventually, our true character will surface. There’s only so much you can do to hide your core. The mask will eventually fall off and reveal one’s true character.
13 You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. -Cheryl Strayed
As a human, it is your duty to act with kindness, with love and bravery. You will learn a lot about yourself when you move in the direction of forgiveness and love.
14 You cannot convince people to love you. This is an absolute rule. -Cheryl Strayed
No one will ever give you love because you want him or her to give it. Real love moves freely in both directions, not if you force it.
15 Sometimes the greatest truth isn’t in the confession but rather in the lesson learned. -Cheryl Strayed
The most important aspect of any experience is how much you learn from it. Every experience in life has some lesson to offer. It’s all about how much you take from it.
15 Most Thought-Provoking Cheryl Strayed Quotes
1. One of the scariest things in our lives is actually doing what we know we want to do. -Cheryl Strayed
2. You don’t have to get a job that makes others feel comfortable about what they perceive as your success. -Cheryl Strayed
3. Be about ten times more magnanimous than you believe yourself capable of. Your life will be a hundred times better for it. -Cheryl Strayed
4. Alone had always felt like an actual place to me, as if it weren’t a state of being, but rather a room where I could retreat to be who I really was. -Cheryl Strayed
5. Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be ‘over it’ by now. -Cheryl Strayed
6. Sometimes you’ll put up a good fight and lose. Sometimes you’ll hold on really hard and realize there is no choice but to let go. -Cheryl Strayed
7. We are all entitled to our opinions and religious beliefs, but we are not entitled to make shit up and then use the shit we made up to oppress other people. -Cheryl Strayed
8. Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore. -Cheryl Strayed
9. Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will. -Cheryl Strayed,
10. It is impossible for you to go on as you were before, so you must go on as you never have. -Cheryl Strayed
11. The place of true healing is a fierce place. It’s a giant place. it’s a place of monstrous beauty and endless dark and glimmering light. -Cheryl Strayed
12. If there’s one thing I believe more than I believe anything else, it’s that you can’t fake the core. The truth that lives there will eventually win out. -Cheryl Strayed
13. You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. -Cheryl Strayed
14. You cannot convince people to love you. This is an absolute rule. -Cheryl Strayed
15. Sometimes the greatest truth isn’t in the confession but rather in the lesson learned. -Cheryl Strayed