What I Know For Sure

by Oprah Winfrey

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.

What I know for sure is that every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and step out and dance—to live free of regret and filled with as much joy, fun, and laughter as you can stand. You can either waltz boldly onto the stage of life and live the way you know your spirit is nudging you to, or you can sit quietly by the wall, receding into the shadows of fear and self-doubt.

I hope you’ll look back and remember today as the day you decided to make every one count, to relish each hour as if there would never be another.

I make an effort to do something good for somebody every day, whether I know that person or not.

What I know for sure is that pleasure is energy reciprocated: What you put out comes back. Your base level of pleasure is determined by how you view your whole life.

Life is full of delightful treasures, if we take a moment to appreciate them.

More to the point, if your life ended tomorrow, what would you regret not doing?

The gift of deciding to face your mortality without turning away or flinching is the gift of recognizing that because you will die, you must live now.

Your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out, and live fully.

Eat foods that make you thrive.

I want every day to be a fresh start on expanding what is possible. On experiencing joy on every level.

Everything I do all day, I do in preparation for my reading time. Give me a great novel or memoir, some tea, and a cozy spot to curl up in, and I’m in heaven. I love to live in another person’s thoughts; I marvel at the bonds I feel with people who come alive on the page, regardless of how different their circumstances might be from mine. I not only feel I know these people, but I also recognize more of myself. Insight, information, knowledge, inspiration, power: All that and more can come through a good book.

Books, for me, used to be a way to escape. I now consider reading a good book a sacred indulgence, a chance to be any place I choose. It is my absolute favorite way to spend time. What I know for sure is that reading opens you up. It exposes you and gives you access to anything your mind can hold. What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.

There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life.

If you’re holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you’re wasting your time. You must be fearless enough to give yourself the love you didn’t receive.

When you have nothing to be ashamed of, when you know who you are and what you stand for, you stand in wisdom.

Whenever I’m faced with a difficult decision, I ask myself: What would I do if I weren’t afraid of making a mistake, feeling rejected, looking foolish, or being alone? I know for sure that when you remove the fear, the answer you’ve been searching for comes into focus. And as you walk into what you fear, you should know for sure that your deepest struggle can, if you’re willing and open, produce your greatest strength.

No matter what challenge you may be facing, you must remember that while the canvas of your life is painted with daily experiences, behaviors, reactions, and emotions, you’re the one controlling the brush.

So when life gets difficult, I’ve found that the best thing to do is ask myself a simple question: What is this here to teach me?

every experience is a valuable teacher.

I know for sure that all of our hurdles have meaning. And being open to learning from those challenges is the difference between succeeding and getting stuck.

One of my greatest lessons has been to fully understand that what looks like a dark patch in the quest for success is the universe pointing you in a new direction.

Who you’re meant to be evolves from where you are right now. So learning to appreciate your lessons, mistakes, and setbacks as stepping-stones to the future is a clear sign you’re moving in the right direction.

What I know for sure is that there is no strength without challenge, adversity, resistance, and often pain.

You are still here, still standing.

Look inward—the loving begins with you.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘Thank you,’ it will be enough.” —Meister Eckhart

Sometimes we get so focused on the difficulty of our climb that we lose sight of being grateful for simply having a mountain to climb.

I’m continuously grateful for having the stamina to keep going.

I know for sure that appreciating whatever shows up for you in life changes your whole world. You radiate and generate more goodness for yourself when you’re aware of all you have and not focusing on your have-nots.

And the more grateful you become, the more you have to be grateful for.

When you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.

You’re not the same woman you were a decade ago; if you’re lucky, you’re not the same woman you were last year. The whole point of aging, as I see it, is change. If we let them, our experiences can keep teaching us about ourselves.

That’s why you must decide that no matter how difficult the path ahead seems, you will push past your anxiety and keep on stepping.

“So long as you’re still worried about what others think of you, you are owned by them. Only when you require no approval from outside yourself can you own yourself.”

And learn that, ultimately, you have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself.

The true measure of your courage is not whether you reach your goal—it’s whether you decide to get back on your feet no matter how many times you’ve failed.

You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up.

If you can get paid for doing what you love, every paycheck is a bonus. Give yourself the bonus of a lifetime: Pursue your passion. Discover what you love. Then do it!

The most important adventure of our lives doesn’t have to involve climbing the highest peak or trekking around the world. The biggest thrill you can ever achieve is to live the life of your dreams.

If life teaches you nothing else, know this: When you get the chance, go for it.

Only when you make that process your goal can your dream life follow.

I’ve learned that, yes, wealth is a tool that gives you choices—but it can’t compensate for a life not fully lived, and it certainly can’t create a sense of peace within you.

“In the word question, there is a beautiful word—quest. I love that word.”

I know for sure that every day holds within it the possibility of seeing the world with wonder.

The older I get, the less tolerance I have for pettiness and superficial pursuits. There’s a wealth that has nothing to do with dollars, that comes from the perspective and wisdom of paying attention to your life. It has everything to teach you. And what I know for sure is that the joy of learning well is the greatest reward.

Everyone has had her share of life lessons. How well you learn from them is up to you.

When you choose to see the world as a classroom, you understand that all experiences are here to teach you something about yourself. And that your life’s journey is about becoming more of who you are.

After everything that’s happened to me in all my years on this earth, what I’m most proud of is that I remain open to evolving.

A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, resonated so deeply with me that it caused a shift in the way I perceived myself and all things. The book is essentially about recognizing that you are not your thoughts, and seeing, then changing, the way your ego-based mind dominates your life.