Life Mottos
Life mottos are simple words that guide our choices, shape our attitudes, and remind us how we want to live each day.
A life motto is not about perfection, but about direction and choosing what matters most.
Updated December 30, 2025, by Catherine Pulsifer
A life motto can quietly guide us through both ordinary days and challenging moments. It reflects what we believe, how we treat others, and the values we try to live by. These short poems about life mottos offer gentle reminders to stay focused on what is good, meaningful, and lasting. As you read through the verses, take time to reflect on the words that speak to your heart and consider what motto best represents the way you want to live your life.
My Motto Is
I am content. In trumpet tones
My song let people know;
And many a mighty man with thrones
And scepter is not so.
And if he is I joyful cry.
Why, then he's just the same as I.
My motto is — Content with this;
Gold — place — I prize not such.
That which I have my measure is:
Wise men desire not much.
Men wish and wish, and have their will.
And wish again as hungry still.
And gold and honor are besides
A very brittle glass;
And time, in his unresting tides
Makes all things change and pass:
Turns riches to a beggar's dole;
Sets glory's race an infant's goal.
Be noble — that is more than wealth;
Do right — that's more than place;
Then in the spirit there is health
And gladness in the face:
Then thou art with thyself at one
And, no man hating, fearest none.
Start your new year with inspiration! My Mottoes offers simple yet powerful words to guide you through the year with wisdom, kindness, and purpose.
Never Go Back On A Friend!
In the pathway of life,
Mid its trials and strife,
There's a motto to you I commend:
In life's ups and its downs,
In its crosses or crowns,
You must never go back on a friend!
Thou your friends may be few,
Let them feel that in you
And your word they can ever depend;
To preserve your good name
From contumely and shame
You must scorn to go back on a friend!
There are times when you can't
Keep engagements you want;
Don't neglect explanations to send;
Just as true as you live,
They will freely forgive
And not say you went back on a friend!
Should a friend be in need
Of advice or kind deed,
Don't begrudge him your comfort to lend;
He will bless you at last,
When his troubles are past
In adversity stand by your friend!
Thou the seas ebb and flow,
Let your friends ever know,
You are faithful and true to the end;
Should misfortune betide,
They will stand by your side,
For YOU never went back on a friend!
God's Will
I asked the New Year for some motto sweet,
Some rule of life by which to guide my feet;
I asked and paused. It answered, soft and low:
"God's will to know."
"Will knowledge then suffice, New Year?" I cried;
But ere the question into silence died,
The answer came: "Nay; this remember, too,
God's will to do."
"To know; to do; can this be all we give
To Him in Whom we are, and move and live?
No more, New Year? "This, too, must be your care:
God's will to bear."
Once more I asked: "Is there still more to tell?"
And once again the answer sweetly fell;
"Yea, this one thing, all other things above,
God's will to love."
Good In The Day
Get all the good there is today,
Don't fret about tomorrow.
There's trouble 'round us all the time,
What need is there to borrow?
The wise man gets what joy he can,
And leaves the fool his folly.
He knows too much to waste his life
In gloom and melancholy.
Look on the bright side every time.
Don't waste your days repining.
When any cloud looks dark and dull,
Turn out the silver lining.
Be wise! Be cheerful, bright and glad.
Leave to the fool his folly,
And let your motto be: "Cheer up!"
Your rule of life: "Be jolly!"
A True Hero
Here's a hand to the boy who has courage
To be loyal to God and the right,
Who so faithfully stands by his colors
In the most trying tests of the fight.
Do not say that a boy has no trials
And that he has no crosses to bear;
For 'tis often the foe would engulf him,
And then drive his dear soul to despair.
There is striving against self and companions,
And temptations are many and strong;
He has all life's great battles before him,
That is trying and testing and long.
Yet how sweetly God aids as he struggles,
Against the vain workers of wrong,
With "The Right" as his watch-word and motto,
And with "Trueness to Jesus" his song!
God Is Love
Some years ago a church was built
To lead men out of sin and guilt;
Its steeple pointed to the skies
As angels point to Paradise,
While o'er its pulpit just above
Was placed in gas-jets - "God Is Love."
They thought perhaps this flaming sign
Might make some sinful soul divine,
They knew that preaching could not bring
All men unto their God and King,
But hoped by using fiery darts
They'd burn this motto in men's hearts.
One night a sinner passed along
Upon his awful way of wrong
And sin-sick sorrow, to behold
Much like a sign of molten gold,
That motto through the door ajar
In letters brilliant as a star.
"God does not love me," then he cried,
"His love for me has long since died,
I am a sinner poor and vile,
Not worthy of His gentle smile.
It may be so in Heaven above,
But God on earth comes not to love."
He could not pass the door but turned
To where that splendid motto burned
Above the pulpit while its flame
Made fiercer his debasing shame;
Though hearing not the pastor's voice,
It taught his spirit to rejoice.
It taught him in a moment's span
God's everlasting love for man;
It taught him in a moment's space
God's everlasting love and grace;
It taught him with its golden light
To live, to love, to think aright
And though from God we often stray
Into some dark and sinful way,
And though we often are in night
Because we seek to hide His light,
And though we doubt He reigns above
We feel and know that - "God Is Love."
At It All The Time
There's a prosy kind of motto that you'll find is very rife
With the people you most envy for their rare success in life.
I'll admit it's not romantic, has no touch of the sublime,
But it's just the rule to work by, namely, At it all the time.
You'll observe that men and women who, 'tis said, have made their mark
Do not drop the chalk of effort at the first approach of dark;
And you'll find them at life's blackboard when the sun begins to climb,
For, obedient to their motto, they keep at it all the time.
The thing God sets them doing gets to be their chief delight;
'Tis their first thought in the morning and their last concern at night.
They will turn away from pleasure just as promptly as from crime;
Simple duty is their safeguard, for they're at it all the time.
It's the noblest of all passions, this consuming zeal for work,
This wholesome dread of failure or of being called a shirk;
And I'm sure the wisest motto for success, in prose or rhyme,
Is that plain rule of the workers keeping at it all the time.
A Lesson Worth Enshrining
A lesson in itself sublime, a lesson worth enshrining,
Is this: “I take no note of Time, save when the sun is shining.”
These motto words a dial bore: and Wisdom never preaches
To human hearts a better lore than this short sentence teaches.
As Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
Let us forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.
There is no grove on earth’s broad chart but has some bird to cheer it,
So Hope sings on in every heart, although we may not hear it;
And if, to-day, the heavy wind of sorrow is oppressing,
Perchance to-morrow’s sun will bring the weary heart a blessing.
For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.
We bid the joyous moments haste, and then forget their glitter;
We take the cup of life, and taste no portion but the bitter:
But we should teach our hearts to deem, its sweetest drop the strongest,
And pleasant hours should ever seem to linger round us longest.
For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.
The darkest shadows of the night are just before the morning;
Then let us wait the coming light, all fancied phantoms scorning;
And while we’re floating down the tide of Time’s fast ebbing river,
Let’s pluck the flowers that grace its side, and thank the gracious Giver.
For Life is sometimes bright and fair, and sometimes dark and lonely,
Then let's forget its toil and care, and note its bright hours only.
I'll Never Despair
How golden the motto,
"I'll never despair! "
Within the heart's centre
I'll treasure it there:
In sorrow and pain,
Fools only complain;
I'll never despair.
When shadows and darkness
Hide glories that were,
And hope flies the bosom,
I'll never despair,
But rise, and rejoice
With Nature's glad voice,
And never despair.
When trials are pressing,
I'll joyfully bear,
And wait for the blessing,
But never despair:
The sun will illume,
And chase the thick gloom,
If I never despair.
Right onward and upward,
With prudence and care,
I'll mock at and conquer
The demon Despair:
Look never behind,
And glory I'll find,
If I never despair.
Four Mottos
"Look up, not down!" Do you see how the tree-top
Rejoices in sunshine denied to its root?
And hear how the lark, gazing skyward, is flooding
The world with his song, while the ground-bird is mute?
"Look out and not in!" See the sap rushing outward,
In leaf, bud, and blossom; all winter it lay
Imprisoned, while earth wore a white desolation;
Now nature is glad with the beauty of May.
"Look forward, not back!" 'Tis the chant of Creation,
The chime of the seasons as onward they roll;
'Tis the pulse of the world, 'tis the hope of the ages,
'Tis the voice of our God in the depths of the soul.
"Lend a hand!" Like the sun that turns night into morning,
The moon that drives storm-driven sailors to land.
Ah, life were worth living, with this for the watchword:
"Look up, out, and forward, and each lend a hand!"
What I Do
My life motto what would
do
others say it is?
Do they see it in my actions
or do I miss?
You see what I say,
and what I do
Should be a reflection
of my motto true!
If I say be happy,
but I am always blue
Then I am not following my motto
in what I do.
Decide your motto
and follow through
In not only what you say,
but in what you do.
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Conclusion
So if someone were to ask you, “What is your life motto?” how would you answer? A motto is more than a phrase. It is a reminder of the values you choose to live by each day. May these poems encourage you to reflect on your own words to live by and inspire you to follow them through your actions, even in life’s everyday moments.
More Poems About Life to Inspire
Let your life motto be seen not just in your words, but in the kindness, faith, and choices you make each day.