Hoda Kotb - 15 Oct

You Are My Happy

Ive Loved You Since Forever

Where We Belong: Journeys That Show Us the Way

Ten Years Later: Six People Who Faced Adversity and Transformed Their Lives

Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee

APHORISM noun aphorism
the finest thoughts in the fewest words

That word! Aphorism. Rhymes with... nothing. Id never heard of it until I started doing some digging into why so many of usincluding melove inspirational quotes. Sociologist Murray Davis describes aphorisms as the finest thoughts in the fewest words. Dont you just love that? I agree wholeheartedly. A great quote is just what you need, right when you need it, in the span of a hot second.

Davis says that aphorisms inspire us because theyre both profound and universal. For example, Absence makes the heart grow fonder. See? The quote nails a tender pang felt round the world in just six words.

Ive always loved a meaningful quote, and I know so many of us do. They fill books and are celebrated on websites, T-shirts, coffee mugs, calendars, and posters. (Remember the Hang in There! cat dangling from a branch?) Sometimes a quote reminds us of an old memory, reflects a hope, or maybe it hits home where were sitting right now. If we laugh, all the better. Seemingly simple words tucked between quotation marks become the powerful elixir we need for so many reasonsto improve, renew, heal, guffaw, or just release. Ward Farnsworth, dean of the University of Texas School of Law, describes inspirational quotes as little triumphs of rhetoric. I agree. Theyre like silent soldiers we carry with us into battle each day. After all, the unvarnished truth about the human condition is that being alive is both beautiful and painful, so we need ways to deal with that deep emotional arc. Quotes are both the bubbly and the balm to help us make it through our unpredictable journeys. Maybe quotes are the prayers we cant compose, the wings our spirits need to soar.

Have you ever sought out a quote? Searched for it as if your life depended on it, with tears of joy or sadness dripping onto the keyboard? Perhaps its late into the night, or predawn, and the glow of your screen is acting as a lighthouse, beckoning those perfect words to safely navigate their way to your yearning head and heart. Quotes have saved so many of useven for a momentas life stitches its inevitable patterns of goodness and grief into the fabric of our lives. When my best friends husband was in the fight of his life battling cancer, this quote jumped out at me: God will, very likely, give you more than you can handle. He will not, however, give you more than He can handle. As I waited to find out if Id ever be lucky enough to adopt a baby, these words, from Elizabeth Stone, bolstered my hope: Making the decision to have a childit is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

I cant imagine life without all of these B12 shots for the soul.

Almost daily, Im pointing to a page or at a screen, saying to someone, Look at this one! Like I wrote the quote. Theres something so fun about sharing one, and you want the person youre engaging with to laughor cryright along with you. So many times I think, Wow... that handful of words just changed my day. One sentence and youre enlightened, and it doesnt cost one penny! On the days you feel happy and motivated, a quote can serve as a booster rocket, launching you even further into that Good Day zone. If you wake up grumpy or lazy, a few well-crafted words can sell you on the idea that putting on a smile or a pair of running shoes might just be worth it.

Certain quotes stick with me from speeches Ive watched. I remember one delivered by professional speaker Patricia Russell-McCloud. The crowd was totally with her as she talked about how we all carry burdens and have mountains to climb. She confirmed to nodding heads how challenging life can be, with a mountain always looming. And then, her quote: You know what I say to that mountain? Mount-aaaaaaaain, I say, get out of my way! Preach!

Im a sucker for a good speech or song or quote that inspires and motivates me. Ive always leaned in to people with goose-bump-raising stuff to share. After all, how many experiences are we going to have in our lives? Plenty. But were never going to have them all, so I look for people whove gone through something I havent. I get to feel what they felt and be moved by what moved them. It makes me feel alive, and even more prepared for challenges. Get out of my way!

We may just be wired to seek out a boost for our heart and soul. Media psychology expert and communications consultant Scott Sobel says that inspirational quotes affect us on a primal level. Describing human nature as aspirational, performance psychologist Jonathan Fader says quotes can be powerful in changing our thinking and helping us see something in ourselves that we want to change or overcome.

I suppose thats what drove me to post an inspirational quote on Instagram back in December 2013, when the app hadnt yet turned three. It was New Years Eve, so the quote I chose, attributed to C. S. Lewis, reflected hope for a fresh start and positive year ahead: There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. To my surprise, nearly 2,900 people liked the quote. Wow! I thought I was just trying to encourage myself.

For the next month I continued to post quotes, but not regularly. By the time February rolled aroundand more and more people were actively engagingI had committed to several days of sharing quotes on my Insta page. The whole process easily became part of my morning routine, and there was (and still is) a safe feeling about Instagram, right? Its a kind space for the most part, and when youre there you feel like no ones out to get you. I also love the cozy format, the way the words and images nestle together inside the rounded square.