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I was reminded of a humorous quote today to influence the quote of the day section – Trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know what is true. I’d like to ask three key questions before we delve into the quote analysis and reflect what it means to us.

• What is the source of the quote?
• Context of the quote – what was the situation in which this quote was uttered?
• How much of it is an author’s opinion and how does that influence you?

Ultimately, these quotes are about influencing your line of thought to empower or inspire you. Sometimes, these quotes play a role of questioning our beliefs. If these quotes are not having a positive influence on you then you’ll need to ask – why am I reading this in the first place?

Why do you search for quotes?

Let’s go back to the basics. Why do you search for quotes on the internet? Most of it is filled with bloggers like me or some better quality websites which collate a wide range of quotes. But why do you search for them?

My answers are – to feel motivated, to engage a new line of thought and be inspired to work on something. Sometimes, I’d like to know the meaning of these quotes and make an analysis of them which results in a blog post. What makes you look for quotes? I’m very curious to know what motivates you to look for them.

Having said the above, I think these quotes are powerful ways of making us stop and think. They give us a break from our busy lives and make us wonder about ourselves in general. Perhaps this is the biggest reason why I keep searching for quotes.

Related: Self Belief: Being yourself when the world is trying to make you someone else

Trouble with Quotes – Are they true?

Before letting a quote influence us – I’d like to question. Is this quote true? And what if it is not? Does it change the way a quote influences you if Abraham Lincoln said it instead of Abdul Kalam?

Let’s face it, at the end of the day, these quotes are just words. The author only provides a context of when and where they said it. Sometimes it can even extend to how they said it.

But my question is – what does the quote make you feel? Isn’t the purpose of the quote to have an influence on you? I do however agree that they need to be true and provide clarity about who said it, when and a historical context to make more sense. The only point I’d like to make is that your thoughts are more important than just the quote!

Trouble with Quotes – What difference does it make to you?

And now, I’d like to stop on the final point I’d like to make. You can easily see that this entire article is about you. How the quote makes you feel, your thoughts and precious beliefs. None of these words are bigger than these beautiful thought processes.

It finally boils down to who you are as a person and the type of influence you let these quotes have on you. So before fully believing in any quotes, I’d request checking the below:

• Find out the source of the quote. It might help in knowing the context and engaging a thought about whether you want to be influenced by it or not.
• Take it with a pinch of salt – every quote is an opinion. Surely it makes you feel something, but doesn’t necessarily need to influence you unless you let it
• Bring yourself to the front of the thought process. The quote or its influence is secondary. Your world is centred around you and so are these quotes because it all about their influence on you.

Hope these thoughts make sense, I’m very curious to know how it makes you feel and whether you agree/disagree. Equally both are important to make the conversation impactful.

Trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know what’s true