Quote Of The Day By Sophia Loren: 'It's Better To Explore Life And Make Mistakes Than...'

Sophia Loren has had the kind of life where you keep thinking, "Okay, that has to be the craziest part." But then there's another story, and it's wilder than the previous. After being abandoned by her father as a child, she fell in love with the cinema and eventually used money from a beauty contest to get her start in acting when she was just 15.

Backed by sheer talent and determination, Loren eventually became a major Hollywood star while being an Italian-born woman in a notoriously misogynistic industry and living a very diva lifestyle. She had rumored flings, numerous passionate admirers, and married the same person twice, despite their 20-year age gap. She was known for her undeniable stage presence and the passion, elegance, and sensuality she brought to her craft.

However, it wasn't just all highs for Loren in Hollywood. She had at least one highly publicized affair despite being in a relationship. She was branded a concubine by Italian authorities (a crime) for marrying her husband, who was already married, and even once served 17 days in prison for alleged tax evasion. Needless to say, Sophia Loren knows a thing or two about mistakes, and this is why her wise words are today's quote of the day.

Sophia Loren once said, "After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." Although the actual date that Loren shared this quote is unknown, it is perhaps one of the most famous statements attributed to her. It shares her thoughts on living, learning, growth, and the journey of self-discovery that is life.

To most of us, mistakes are those smudges on our otherwise clean slates. We obsess over them, internalize them, and imagine just how much better our lives would be if we'd never made them. But to Sophia Loren, mistakes are a necessary price to pay if you want a full, interesting, and meaningful life.

She believes it's impossible to experience everything life has to offer without occasionally getting things wrong. Mistakes are a logical part of self-discovery, which is super important since life constantly throws new things at us each day. One option is to approach this reality with fear. You can choose to carefully measure each step you take to avoid uncertainty, embarrassment, rejection, or failure, but this approach is a double-edged sword. Not only is it impossible to actually avoid everything negative in life, but approaching everything with fear will also lead to missing out on experiences.

Another option is to live life freely enough to make mistakes, and smartly enough to learn from them to better your future. In other words, if you want something real out of life, you must make your peace with the mistakes of the past (and the fact that there are many more to come) while growing and discovering yourself. It's not a formula for safety, but it is one for new, positive experiences and a meaningful life.

• "I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now."
• "Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go so much further than people with vastly superior talent."
• "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."
• "When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself, and once for her child."
• "Success introduces you to the world. But failure introduces the world to you."