43 "What If" Quotes to Enrich Your Mind and Help Find Certainty

"What if?" This is one question that has plagued the minds of many. While it stops some from moving forward, it has helped others achieve great things. Read these 43 what-if quotes if you love to ask this question before taking any step in life.

For creative people, "What if?" is the most important question. Asking this question about things that have never happened helps them create new paths for others to follow. It also helps build new ideas or work on existing ones.

'What if?' is also an important question when thinking critically, as it causes you to review every possibility. It helps you think of the problems that may arise and deal with them.

In addition, because the question challenges the status quo, you are forced to face and change your assumptions. These 43 quotes will help you know when to ask the question and how to live by it.

Venus Williams' quote: "So what if you fail? At least you'll know what not to do when you try again." | Image: AmoDays

'What If' Quotes Filled with Motivation

"What if today.. you were inspired and fed by your thoughts instead of being confined by them?" — Marjo-Riikka Makela

"And what if I fail?" "Ah! Then you'll have a story to tell." — Julie Orringer

"What if the only resolution you made was to love yourself more?" — Cheryl Richardson

"What if I never stop inventing?" — Jonathan Safran Foer, "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close"

Marjo-Rikka Makela's quote: "What if today.. you were inspired and fed by your thoughts instead of being confined by them?" | Image: AmoDays

"What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" — Erin Hanson, "Winnie The Pooh"

"It's better to shoot and miss, than to let time run out and wonder what if?" — Michael Jordan

"'What if I fall?' Tim cried. Marilyn laughed. 'Sooner or later, we all do.'" — Stephen King, "The Wind Through The Keyhole"

"What if everything that happened here, happened for a reason?" — John Locke

Erin Hanson's "Winnie the Pooh" quote: "What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" | Image: AmoDays

"What if you had the ability to make every day the BEST day of your life?" — Hal Elrod

"What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" — Paul Tough, "New York Times"

"What if instead of focusing on what you don't have, you concentrate on what you've got?" — Jodi Picoult

"I'm not a what-if and could-have person. I'm happy with my decisions." — Kajol

Hal Elrod's quote: "What if you had the ability to make every day the BEST day of your life?" | Image: AmoDays

'What If' Quotes That Teach Us to Be Proactive

"Never wait for tomorrow, what if tomorrow never comes?" — Elvis Presley

"When you ask "why," "what if" and "why not" you force yourself to explore what's possible and not just what is." — Josh Linkner

"Ask yourself: If I can't avoid it, change it, or make it go away, what if I changed my response to it? What if I decided to stop letting it bother me?" — Al Siebert

"Things usually work out in the end." "What if they don't?" "That just means you haven't come to the end yet." — Jeannette Walls

Elvis Presley's quote: "Never wait for tomorrow, what if tomorrow never comes?" | Image: AmoDays

"You'd think, 'What if I make a mistake today, I'll regret it'. I don't believe in regret, I feel everything leads us to where we are and we have to just jump forward, mean well, commit, and just see what happens." — Angelina Jolie

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You see, we have the opportunity to make everyday our best, through the power of our perspective. The quality of our lives has little to do with what happens to us, but is always determined by the perspective we choose to view our lives from." — Hal Elrod

"If what you're doing isn't working, change it." — Phil McGraw

Angelina Jolie's quote: "You'd think, 'What if I make a mistake today, I'll regret it'. I don't believe in regret, I feel everything leads us to where we are and we have to just jump forward, mean well, commit, and just see what happens." | Image: AmoDays

"The what if's and the should have's will eat your brain." — John O' Callaghan

'What If' Quotes Full of Deep Thoughts

"What if we knew what tomorrow would bring? Would we fix it? Could we?" — Cecelia Ahern

"But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder." — Matt Groening, "Simpsons Comics Madness"

"What if I bade you leave / The cavern of the mind? / There's better exercise / In the sunlight and wind." — William Butler Yeats, "Those Images"

John O'Callagahn's quote: "The what if's and the should have's will eat your brain." | Image: AmoDays

"What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream?" — Woody Allen

"But what if all the tranquility, all the comfort, all the contentment were now to come to a horrifying end?" — Franz Kafka, "Metamorphosis and Other Stories"

"What if…? A question we ask to hurt ourselves." — Susan Fletcher

"So what if you fail? At least you'll know what not to do when you try again." — Venus Williams

Woody Allen's quote: "What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream?" | Image: AmoDays

"What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend? What if you were the one, and you refused to say those simple words?" — Richard Russo

"What if capitalism is sustainable, and socialism is impossible?" — Ken MacLeod

"What if nothing needs to change other than our perception of what we see?" — Lee L Jampolsky

"For the rest of my life I would always be thinking about her. She would always be my biggest what if." — Perseus Jackson

Richard Russo's quote: "What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend? What if you were the one, and you refused to say those simple words?" | Image: AmoDays

"You can't choose where you belong, and where you don't. But what if the place you don't belong is the only place you have left?" — Stuart Neville

"What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet." — Woody Allen

"What if someone gave a war and Nobody came?" — Allen Ginsberg

"What unimaginable luxury, never to wrestle with whether or why, never to lie awake nights wondering what if." — Hillary Jordan

Hillary Jordan's quote: "What unimaginable luxury, never to wrestle with whether or why, never to lie awake nights wondering what if." | Image: AmoDays

Asking the "what if" question will also force you to push your boundaries. It allows you to be creative and create new opportunities. Sometimes, it could also reveal the cause of a problem.

Never stop questioning things as you may hold the next game-changing idea that will benefit the world. These quotes will get you started if you are ready to shoot for the moon with your questions and ideas.