When I think of inspirational quotes that have motivated and shaped my life and philosophy, it’s hard not to think of Yogi Berra. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, Berra was one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball History over the course of his nearly 20-year career with the New York Yankees. He made 18 All-Star teams and won 13 World Series championships.
Over the years, Yogi Berra also became well-known for his malapropisms and witticisms. These “Yogi-isms” offer not just humor, but also powerful wisdom and direct truth. Some of his most famous Yogi-isms include “it’s déjà vu all over again“, “you can observe a lot by watching“, and “a nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
I didn’t realize just how powerful these Yogi-isms were until I started to directly apply them to my life to inspire everything from my hobbies to my life philosophies to my career. Here are my ten favorite Yogi-isms, which I hope you can use for inspiration and motivation in your life, too.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
One of my favorite inspirational quotes, this Yogi-ism is my go-to philosophy for travel. I love to discover and explore new places. Don’t be afraid to go down unknown paths for purposes of exploration. You never know what you’ll find. Some of the best photos I’ve ever taken were shot in places where I ventured off the beaten path and explored places I didn’t even know existed when I planned the trip.
Interestingly, the more I applied this philosophy to my travels and photography, the more I realized how well it applied to life in general. We all come to crossroads in life. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and try new things. You never know the amazing places it might take you. Inspirational quotes can only get you so far. As Michael Jordan once said, “You always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, the safer prong of that fork in the road will always be there for you to fall back on.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”
I don’t think you can sum up the COVID-19 situation in the United States any better than this Yogi Berra quote. The US response to the pandemic has been fractured and fragmented from the get-go, which has resulted in the US being one of the hardest hit countries in the world, despite the incredible medical technologies we have right at our fingertips. Even today, anything that resembles a plan for ending the pandemic varies wildly, depending where in the US you are.
At the beginning of the summer, COVID-19 cases in the United States dropped to their lowest levels since the onset of the pandemic in March, 2020. Everyone assumed the pandemic was over, so the US lifted all of its COVID-19 restrictions without a worry in the world…or any kind of contingency plan should the virus re-emerge. Then the Delta variant hit, and at the snap of a finger, it set the pandemic response back by a year. The US certainly didn’t know where it was going at the beginning of the summer, and we’re now paying a big price and winding up somewhere else.
Which is a perfect segue into our next Yogi-ism…
“Make a game plan and stick to it. Unless it’s not working.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a cruel reminder for a lot of people that we need to be flexible and adaptable in our daily lives. A year and a half after our lives were upended in an instant, many of us are still stuck in the pandemic limbo. We all want our 2019 lives back, yet at the same time, we want to embrace the positive changes that have emerged from the pandemic and embrace new opportunities going forward.
The pandemic laid bare some pretty serious flaws in my business model, my values, and my life philosophy. Instead of drowning in all of the negativity surrounding the pandemic, I decided to use the COVID-19 lockdowns as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set my future up the way I want it to be. I realized what was most important to me and revised my business model to give me more time to start checking items off my bucket list and realizing my dreams. At the same time, it both stabilizes and boosts my income. As a result, I have never been more excited to realize the incredible potential that the future holds, despite the hell we’ve all been through over the past 18 months.
At the end of the day, you should always be looking for ways you can improve both your skillset as well as yourself as a person. You’re in control of your own reactions. What will you do in the face of adversity and challenge?
“If you don’t set goals, you can’t regret not reaching them. Or like they say in golf, if you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
I can’t emphasize the importance of setting SMART goals. In case you’ve forgotted, SMART stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Breaking large goals into small, manageable tasks lets you feel a sense of accomplishment, progress, and purpose. When you climb a mountain, you don’t try to climb it in one big step. You keep putting one foot in front of the other until you reach the summit. Small, manageable goals let you easily track your progress and quickly resolve any problems you may encounter along the way.
“I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.”
It’s not the most inspirational of quotes, but it’s solid life advice. Have you ever had an important meeting or appointment in an unfamiliar location? You’re constantly going over the directions for how to get there in your head, trying to figure out when you need to leave in order to get there on time.
When in doubt, leave early to ensure you arrive on time. Yes, it looks bad to arrive late, and arriving too early can make you look desperate. But just remember, you can always find a nearby park or coffee shop to hang out at while you wait for your appointment. It’s much less stressful to just walk down the street from that park or coffee shop than rushing around trying to find a place to park or wondering if you got on the correct train.
“Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work harder. It’s also a powerful motivator.”
It always sounds weird to say, but failure is our best teacher. We should be embracing failure and learning from it, not fearing it. Some of the most successful people initially failed, but then learned from their mistakes. I needn’t remind you that Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, Albert Einstein’s teachers thought he was mentally handicapped, and Steve Jobs was once fired by Apple.
“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
I don’t know about you, but I seem to need constant reminders to live in the present. It’s second nature to plan for future success, but far too often we get caught up in the future and forget about the present. This is another Yogi-ism that doesn’t seem like the most inspirational of quotes at face value, but it’s incredibly powerful when put into context. While it is important to plan for the future, we mustn’t lose sight of the present. Live for today today, and worry about tomorrow tomorrow.
“Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.”
As someone who loves to laugh, I could write a whole post of inspirational quotes about how important it is to laugh. As the old adage says, laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is medically proven to be one of the best stress relievers. Legend has it that the Three Stooges would actually have a daily laugh, where they would just sit down together and just laugh for three to five minutes every day.
“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.”
Jimmy Buffett
But we can take the meaning of this Yogi-ism even deeper. The true therapeutics of laughter go far beyond just laughing. We must be able to laugh at ourselves when we do something stupid or when things go awry. Sure, there are always scenarios that are not funny at all, but more often than not, try to laugh at yourself when disaster strikes. Not only does it make you instantly feel better, but you’ll find that you can address the problem with much better reasoning and logic than if I was angry and frustrated. As a result, you’ll be able to resolve the problem and get back on track much quicker.
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
As manager of the New York Mets, Berra said this in July, 1973. At the time, the Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9.5 games in the National League East. Later that season, the Mets rallied to pass the Cubs and win both the division and the National League Pennant to reach the World Series. Even though the Mets ultimately lost the World Series to the Oakland Athletics in 7 games, this saying became of Berra’s most famous Yogi-isms. I still hear it routinely used today.
No matter how bleak things look, never, ever, ever give up. You never know when that one break will come that finally turns everything around. And if you do give up, just remember this. You always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
“Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise they won’t come to yours.”
Here in the United States, we live in an increasingly materialistic society. In turn, consumerism and the rat race has made us an incredibly selfish society. Modern technologies such as social media have only further compounded the problem. That’s just one reason in a very long list of reasons why I wholeheartedly reject the rat race and despise social media.
Always give before you receive. You may remember this lesson from your childhood when you went Christmas shopping. And don’t ever expect to receive, especially without giving first. That just makes you look selfish and entitled. If we all gave a little more and expected a little less, the world would be a much better place.
Conclusion
Yogi Berra’s quotes are just as powerful as they are inspirational. With a little wit and humor, Yogi-isms are short, to-the-point, and most importantly, easy to remember. When you hit a rut or are in need of a little motivation or inspiration, don’t hesitate to pull out a Yogi-ism to get back on track. Yogi-isms have certainly had a profound impact on my views and philosophies. How have they inspired you?
Top Photo: The Black River Cascades over Rocks in Queen Elizabeth II Provincial Park
Washago, Ontario, Canada – August, 2019