The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters
Joanna Gaines
Top 10 Best Quotes
“The problem with walls is that they shield you from feelings of pain and shame, maybe, but also goodness, also beauty.”
“The view from where you stand is spectacular. I hope you’ll look up and take it in more often than not: every breath, every sight, every sound. Because when we let our senses say to our soul, This is something that matters to me, we’re reminded that we are more than we give ourselves credit for. That we have passions and true loves and a soul that sings, and that all those things really do mean more than the stuff that keeps us busy. It doesn’t matter how late in life, how tall your walls; you have not missed your chance to see it.”
“I DON’T THROW AROUND the word purpose lightly. I get that it can feel like a heavy notion. I know for me thoughts around “What is my life’s purpose?” have often kept me up at night. Mostly because I worry that if I don’t yet know, somehow I’m already behind—that I’ve already lost time. The idea of purpose also lacks tangibility—a “maybe, someday” revelation you cross your fingers hoping you’ll stumble upon. But instead of choosing a mindset that makes it all too easy to live for tomorrow, what if the very things you’re meant to breathe life into are closer than you think?”
“But there’s no direct path to being truly known if you don’t allow yourself to be fully seen.”
“But here’s what I’ve learned about perfection: it’s isolating.”
“And whether it’s shame, uncertainty, or a sense of unworthiness, we’ll remember that, as powerful as those emotions are, we are not powerless to them. They are ours to hold and to own and to wrestle to the ground. Even when they look and act and sound like protection, they are what keep us from living life with our whole hearts.”
“You likely have parts of your own history you’d rather forget, same as I do. But when I actually wrote these things down, when I got up close and personal with them—yes, there was pain, and yes, there was hurt—by giving them a name, I stripped them of their power. And what I learned is that lies will always be worth fighting against. Because what you’re left fighting for is the truth, and that is the most freeing thing in the world.”
“You can spot people who are living for something deeper. They walk out into the world differently, purposefully. What's even more appealing to me is someone living openheartedly. Someone who knows there will be highs and lows, but still finds reason to celebrate every bit between. Someone who trusts they're still in progress, but worthy of love anyway.”
“Without hurt, we can never know trust. Without pain, we can never know what wholeness feels like—to love and to belong. And without disappointment, we can never know triumph.”
“The reality is, we live in a vulnerable world. That much won’t ever change. It’s a world filled with pain and hurt and confusion. A world where unpredictable moments can cause us to want to guard our hearts, to steer clear of certain tendencies, to look out for ourselves, to blame our lack, or to prove the naysayers wrong. Some of us go on to define our lives in full pursuit of these defenses—even without noticing that we lose more of who we are every time we make ourselves small, every time we fail to remember we are more than those moments that hurt us.”
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Book Keywords:
purpose, inspiration, whole-hearted
