I love quotes and I was inspired by this post by George Couros to gather some quotes to continue my 2026 with intentions to live my word of the year, EASE.

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~ Hal Borland

You won’t look back and remember the time you didn’t complete your to-do list, but you may look back and remember the beautiful life you lived. ~ Courtney Carver

Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing. ~ Leo Babauta

So in fact, narrowing down our choices means less overwhelm, and more creativity. ~ Courtney Carver

Being at ease with himself put him at ease with the world. ~ John Steinbeck

Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. ~ Bryant McGille

Some quotes you find about ease are derogatory, which feeds into that culture of busy and hustle that I’m trying to step away from this year. Many quotes imply that a life of ease is a lazy life or one not worth living. That is cultural message I am challenging for myself this year. My goal for the year when I chose the word ease was to bring presence, calm, gentleness, contentedness, and peace of mind into my life. As we near the halfway point of the year (how is this possible already?!), I think that I’ve done this well in some ways and I’ve struggled and had to remind myself of the goal many other times. But that is the joy of failure and the value of having a goal; EASE is always there for me when I’m ready for it.