During this time of year, many of us are thinking about the goals we want to achieve or the habits we want to start or stop. However, change is hard, and it can be a discouraging effort, particularly when we don’t get the results we want. However, the mere act of trying is a massive step forward. After all, change is an ongoing process, not a light switch.

So for all of you out there who want to make change in your lives, here are inspirational quotes about change from 17 incredible historic figures that will help keep you fired up.

Oprah Winfrey

“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.”

– Oprah Winfrey

Sheryl Sandberg

“It is the hard days, the times that challenge you to your very core, that determine who you are.”

– Sheryl Sandberg

Mother Theresa

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”

– Mother Teresa

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Maya Angelou

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

– Maya Angelou

Albert Einstein

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

– Albert Einstein

Golda Meir

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”

– Golda Meir

Estée Lauder

“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”

– Estée Lauder

Dolly Parton

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

– Dolly Parton

Mark Twain

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

– Mark Twain

Norman Vincent Peale

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

– Norman Vincent Peale

Shonda Rhimes

“You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.”

– Shonda Rhimes

Theodore Roosevelt

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Erica Jong

Erica Jong

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”

Lucille Ball

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”

– Lucille Ball

Michael Jordan

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

– Michael Jordan