“My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.”~ Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens imparted invaluable wisdom through his characters and their journeys, offering profound insights into the human condition and the life-changing power of compassion, resilience, and personal growth.
In this blog post, we dive into 35 life-changing lessons gathered from his works, a treasure chest of guidance that will resonate with readers of all ages and backgrounds.
35 Life-Changing Lessons to Learn from Charles Dickens
“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”~ Charles Dickens
2. Never be ashamed of your tears.
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own in gratitude, more gentle.”~ Charles Dickens
3. “Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of us and not the worst.”~ Charles Dickens
“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” ~ Charles Dickens
5. Never give up believing in real love and truth.
“I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world.”~ Charles Dickens
6. “I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” ~ Charles Dickens
7. Whether great or small, devote yourself completely to your goals.
“My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.”~ Charles Dickens
“My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.” ~ Charles Dickens
12. Do all the good you can, but do it in silence.
“Do all the good you can and make as little fuss about it as possible.” ~ Charles Dickens
13. Happiness is a gift so delight in it when it comes.
“Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.” ~ Charles Dickens
14. Difficulty is that which influences and molds our lives.
“The forces that affect our lives, the influences that mold and shape us, are often like whispers in a different room, teasingly indistinct, apprehended only with difficulty.” ~ Charles Dickens
15. “A very little key will open a very heavy door.” ~ Charles Dickens
16. No on is useless in this world if they lighten someone else’s burden.
“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else.”~ Charles Dickens
17. Arms yourself with self confidence and good humour and you can conquer the world.
“The world belongs to those who set out to conquer it armed with self confidence and good humour.” ~ Charles Dickens
18. “We forge the chains we wear in life.” ~ Charles Dickens
19. A thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.
“The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.” ~ Charles Dickens
20. Aim to be like the Sun.
“The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” ~ Charles Dickens
26. Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of a loved one.
“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.”~ Charles Dickens
27. Every failure teaches a man something.
“Every failure teaches a man something, if he will learn; and you are too sensible a man not to learn from this failure.”~ Charles Dickens
28. Make the best of the people you meet, not the worst.
“Do the wise thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of us and not the worst.”~ Charles Dickens
29. “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” ~ Charles Dickens
30.Try to do unto others as you would have them do to you.
“Try to do unto others as you would have them do to you, and do not be discouraged if they fail sometimes. It is much better that they should fail than you should.”~ Charles Dickens
31. Expect just about anything from the world.
“I know enough of the world now to have almost lost the capacity of being much surprised by anything”~ Charles Dickens
32. Truth is strength in everything.
“There is nothing so strong or safe in an emergency of life as the simple truth.” ~ Charles Dickens
33. Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to humanity.
“Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”~ Charles Dickens
34. Success and failure make a man.
“I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together make me.”~ Charles Dickens
35. “Some people are nobody’s enemies but their own” ~ Charles Dickens
Bonus:
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!”
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.”
“In every life, no matter how full or empty ones purse, there is tragedy. It is the one promise life always fulfills. Thus, happiness is a gift, and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes, and to add to other peoples store of it.”
“In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.”
“Most men unconsciously judge the world from themselves, and it will be very generally found that those who sneer habitually at human nature, and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant samples.”
“The two commonest mistakes in judgement … are, the confounding of shyness with arrogance – a very common mistake indeed – and the not understanding that an obstinate nature exists in a perpetual struggle with itself.”
“The dreams of childhood – it’s airy fables, its graceful, beautiful, humane, impossible adornments of the world beyond; so good to be believed in once, so good to be remembered when outgrown.”
“And can it be that in a world so full and busy the loss of one creature makes a void so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of eternity can fill it up!”
“It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”
