61 End of the Year Quotes To Inspire Reflection

Quote Graphic: 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

The end of the year is a poignant time for reflection and contemplation. As the final pages of the calendar turn, we often find ourselves looking back at the months gone by, pondering the lessons learned, the challenges faced, and the memories made. 

It’s a period that brings a mix of emotions — gratitude for what was, nostalgia for what has passed, and anticipation for what is yet to come.

Throughout time, writers, thinkers, and various influential figures have often captured the essence of this transitional period in their words. Their quotes touch on the significance of closing one chapter and preparing to embark on another. 

As the year draws to a close, these end-of-the-year quotes can serve as a source of inspiration and introspection. They encourage us to take stock of our journey, celebrate our achievements, and look forward with hope to the future. 

Whether you’re in a reflective mood or gearing up for new beginnings, let these words resonate with you as you say farewell to this year and welcome the next…

You might also like: Best Quotes About the New Year | Word of the Year IdeasNew Year’s Resolution Ideas | January Awareness Holidays CalendarMonths of the Year

The Best End of the Year Quotes

Famous Quotes To Celebrate the End of the Year

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
— Oprah Winfrey

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey

“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

“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

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

“There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
— C.S. Lewis

“There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — C.S. Lewis

“Let us embrace the coming year with a living hope for everyday life.”
— Lailah Gifty Akita

“Let us embrace the coming year with a living hope for everyday life.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” — T.S. Eliot‍

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.”
— Benjamin Franklin

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.” — Benjamin Franklin

Motivational Quotes To Celebrate the End of the Year

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
— Abraham Lincoln

“Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
— Neil Gaiman

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
— Confucius

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”
— Peter F. Drucker

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
— Socrates

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.”
— Anne Frank

“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t even happened yet.” — Anne Frank

Quotes About Gratitude and Good Wishes To Celebrate the End of the Year

“The year end brings no greater pleasure then the opportunity to express to you season’s greetings and good wishes. May your holidays and new year be filled with joy.”
— Charles Dickens

“The year end brings no greater pleasure then the opportunity to express to you season’s greetings and good wishes. May your holidays and new year be filled with joy.” — Charles Dickens

“Well, we have a whole new year ahead of us. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, a little more loving, and have a little more empathy, and maybe, next year at this time we’d like each other a little more.”
— Judy Garland

“When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.”
— Shauna Niequist

“In our perfect ways. In the ways we are beautiful. In the ways we are human. We are here. Happy New Year’s. Let’s make it ours.”
— Beyoncé

“As the new year begins let it be a year where you try new things, learn new things and develop to the potential within you.”
— Theodore W. Higginsworth

“As the new year begins let it be a year where you try new things, learn new things and develop to the potential within you.” — Theodore W. Higginsworth

→ Read more quotes about gratitude

New Year’s Resolutions Quotes

“Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.”
— Susan Sontag

“Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.” — Susan Sontag

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.”
— Henry David Thoreau

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!”
— Joey Adams

“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
— Oscar Wilde

“Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”
— Helen Keller

“Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”
— Eric Zorn

“One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.”
— John Burroughs

“Never make a resolution which won’t be as important on the eighth of April or the tenth of July as it is on the first of January.”
— Cary Grant

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
— William Shakespeare

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare

→ Explore our list of the best New Year’s resolutions and the best ‘word of the year’ ideas

Short Quotes

“A new heart for a New Year, always!”
— Charles Dickens

“A new heart for a New Year, always!” — Charles Dickens

“Paths are made by walking.”
— Franz Kafka

“A new year can begin only because the old year ends.”
— Madeleine L’Engle

“Maybe this year, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives not looking for flaws, but looking for potential.”
— Ellen Goodman

“It wouldn’t be new year’s if I didn’t have regrets.”
— William Thomas 

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
— Dr. Seuss

“Year’s end, all corners of this floating world, swept.”
— Matsuo Basho

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier.’”
— Alfred Lord Tennyson

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier.’” — Alfred Lord Tennyson

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
— Stephen King

“For me the end of the year is always a time to reflect and recharge my energies.”
— Gisele Bundchen

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”
— Thomas Jefferson

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.”
— Gilbert K. Chesterton

“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.”
— Taylor Swift

“Every single year, we’re a different person. I don’t think we’re the same person all of our lives.”
— Steven Spielberg

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”
— David Bowie

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” — David Bowie

→ Read more short quotes

More Quotes

“I’ve become fascinated by the idea that it’s really achievable to make two or three small improvements in a week and by the end of the year, it’s 150 improvements.”
— Darrell Hammond

“I’ve become fascinated by the idea that it’s really achievable to make two or three small improvements in a week and by the end of the year, it’s 150 improvements.” — Darrell Hammond

“The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on our spiritual progress. Whether you set goals at the beginning of this year or not, it is certainly good to ask where you have been this year and whether you are heading in the right direction.”
— Christopher Perry

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”
— Neil Gaiman

“A year of ending and beginning, a year of loss and finding and all of you were with me through the storm. I drink your health, your wealth, your fortune for long years to come, and I hope for many more days in which we can gather like this.”
— C.J. Cherryh

“At the end of every day of every year, two things remain unshakable, our constancy of purpose and our continuous discontent with the immediate present.”
— Roberto Goizueta

“Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas.”
— Charles Kettering

“Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities.”
— Michael Josephson

“Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities.” — Michael Josephson

More Captions

“Let this new year bring wisdom, inspiration, and joy.”

“The end of a year might seem bittersweet, but it’s a new start that brings clarity.”

“With the end of this night, new possibilities open up that you never knew existed.”

“The ending of a year is like closing a window. Even though it is shut, fresh light will still shine through.”

“Close the chapter of last year with a smile and reflection. Allow excitement and joy to bring in your new tomorrow.”

“New Year, New Feels, New Chances, Same Dreams, Fresh Starts.”

“You’ve finished the race that was strong this year — it’s time to welcome a new challenge.”

“Grateful for every day of the last year, and excited for each day ahead.”

“It’s not about this year or the next, but rather, right now. Today is all that matters.”

Article Details

December 26, 2023 6:18 AM
Quote Graphic: One person can make a difference, and everyone should try. — John F. Kennedy

59 Powerful Quotes from John F. Kennedy

Kennedy’s quotes resonate as much today as they did over half a century ago, reflecting a timeless perspective on democracy, freedom, and the responsibilities of citizens and their governments.
Quote Graphic: The challenge is not to be perfect… it’s to be whole. — Jane Fonda 

52 Best Jane Fonda Quotes About Doing Good

With a career spanning more than six decades, Fonda has not only been celebrated for her achievements in film and television but also revered for her commitment to social, environmental, and political causes. 
No items found.

Want to stay up-to-date on positive news?

The best email in your inbox.
Filled with the day’s best good news.