Maya Angelou quotes are so powerful, I basically consider them mantras.

Mantras are often called phrases or words of affirmation but they aren’t just positive quotes, though they certainly can be. They are meaningful words or particular phrases, charged with energy and imbued with meaning. They are repeated often to inspire and uplift ourselves. They are so transformative that they can influence positive change whether said aloud, gently murmured or contemplated internally and in silence. As you will see, they can even be lines from inspiring quotes and Maya Angelou poems. Ultimately a mantra are self-reflexive of who we are beyond external demands, subconscious programming, and assumed labels. At a time when many of us may feel divided and defeated, affirmations can connect us to a sense of “inner knowing” that can lend a certain confidence in where we’ve been and where we are headed. Mantras are most potent when they are inspiring and resonant. As they say, “what we think we become”. If we can relate to the mantra directly, it can amplify our projection and strengthen the energetic signature we broadcast out into the world.

Mantras can guide us back to ourselves and are often given by a guru, someone who can lead us from our own darkness and back in touch with our inner light. When we find someone we admire, trust and wish to follow, taking their wisdom and integrating it into our own lives can amplify our progress along the path of self-actualization and self-realization. When we have identified someone who can serve as a mirror to ourselves, contemplating their words can help us move into greater alignment with our aspirations and help us embody who we truly are.

Maya Angelou certainly does just that. Among female poets she is incomparable. Maya Angelou was a true master of the word. Her autobiographies were among the first written by a Black woman to receive public acclaim. She was also the first Black woman to have a screenplay produced and the first Black woman to direct and produce in Hollywood. She was not only a writer, poet, director, singer, dancer and actress, but she was also a civil rights activist who fought for harmony and justice alongside Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor bestowed upon her by President Obama. She was a truly phenomenal woman who never stopped believing and advocating for herself even when all odds were against her. Her words inspire strength in the face of adversity and remind us of the resilience of the human spirit. She understood the ways in which intentional word could be a powerful tool to take back our personal and collective power. Maya Angelou was fearless in her pursuit for equality and though she has passed, her awe-inspiring words continue to inspire our own personal evolution.

“I can be changed by what happens to me,
but I refuse to be reduced by it.”

“I got my own back.”

“If I am not good to myself,
how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?”

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens,
or how bad it seems today, life goes on,
and it will be better tomorrow”

“I rise.

I rise.

I rise.”

“My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive
and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

“If you’re always trying to be normal
you will never know how amazing you can be.”

“You alone are enough.
You have nothing to prove to anybody.”

“Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”

Learn more about the life and work of Maya Angelou at Poetry Foundation.