40 Life Phrases to Teach Your Sons and Daughters for Resilience, Success, and Confidence

Parents, here’s your cheat sheet to instilling wisdom and strength in the next generation. These timeless phrases are like mental armor—helping your kids navigate life’s ups and downs with grace, grit, and gratitude.

(HINT: Helpful for healthy parent mindset too😉

Challenge: How many of these do you already use in your household? Which one will you introduce today?

Here are the 40:

1. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

2. Good manners don’t cost anything.

3. Always ask. They can only say no.

4. You’re not marrying one; you’re marrying the whole family.

5. Find the good in everybody.

6. Don’t cry before you try.

7. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

8. Pretty is as pretty does.

9. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

10. You can’t control what others do, only your own reactions.

11. Don’t buy what you can’t afford.

12. Remember that things don’t make you happy, your attitude does.

13. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

14. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

15. Watch what you step in.

16. Cow turds are a cattlemen’s dollar signs. It all depends on how you look at it.

17. Teamwork makes the dream work.

18. Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

19. What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds.

20. Fair? The fair is two weeks in the fall.

21. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

22. The greatest day in your life is when you take total responsibility for your attitudes. That’s the day you truly grow up.

23. True freedom is understanding that we have a choice in who and what we allow to have power over us.

24. You’re only as old as you think.

25. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

26. Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

27. Happiness is not by chance but by choice.

28. If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.

29. A rising tide lifts all boats.

30. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

31. You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

32. The early bird catches the worm.

33. Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbon.

34. Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.

35. Confession is good for the soul.

36. You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.

37. The grass is greener where you water it.

38. The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.

39. There is no single recipe for success. But there is one essential ingredient: Passion.

40. Never lose hope. And never underestimate the power of prayer.

Parent Pro Tip: Choose a phrase a week, and turn it into a mini family discussion or journaling prompt. Plant these seeds early—they’ll grow into resilient, wise, and confident young adults.

Which phrase resonates with you most today?

Drop your thoughts below 👇

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