Ed Sheeran's Most Inspiring Quotes and Lyrics to Live a Happier Life

Ed Sheeran loved playing guitar since he was a young boy. At the age of 11, he met singer-songwriter Damien Rice who encouraged him to write his own music. So the next day he started to do just that.

It wasn’t long before the young musician began selling his music, as in 2004 he put together his first official EP, The Orange Room. With that accomplishment and an incredible drive to succeed, Sheeran went to London to find some gigs. Leaving home with nothing but a guitar and a backpack full of clothes, Ed began his journey to stardom.

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Since the release of his debut single The A Team (2011) - a beautiful, yet dark song about a woman he met after singing at a homeless shelter - Sheeran has been highly successful. Thinking Out Loud, Shape of You, Perfect and Photograph are just a few of Ed Sheeran’s songs that brought him international attention.

In 2017, the singer has become a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to music and charity. 

Here are 10 of Ed Sheeran’s most inspiring quotes and lyrics:

“I chased the picture perfect life, I think they painted it wrong.” - From Eraser

Eraser is a song from Ed Sheeran’s third album, Divided. The record reveals details about the singer’s personal life and it is basically a way for him to vent about all the problems he encountered since he became famous. The envy his family and friends felt once he became successful really affected him as Ed did his best to remain the same, regardless of the amount of money he was making.

However, this specific lyric has a very deep meaning to it that we can all relate to. We all chase the picture perfect life that the society “painted” for us. And that life usually revolves around money, fame and beauty standards. But the majority of people who managed to achieve all these goals are not necessarily happy because a happy life consists of so much more. So make sure you’re the one painting your picture perfect life because at the end of the day, you’re the only one who knows what makes you happy. 

“You want to make sure that someone is there for you when you really need them, and not just there for you for the good times.”

Sadly, we all know people who are there for us only for the good times and once the going gets tough it’s like they don’t even exist. They don’t even bother to send us a text message to ask us how we’re doing, but they miraculously reappear when things are back on track.

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The ugly truth is that not many people are willing to burden themselves with somebody else’s problems. So if you have a few friends that don’t bail out on you when you really need them, keep them close.

“Do what you love, work as hard as you can, and make people happy.”

This quote from Ed Sheeran sounds somewhat like a recipe for a happier life. Doing the things you love help you recharge and if you can do what you love for a living, even better! 

Maybe some won’t agree that hard work can make one happy, but it kinda does. Keeping yourself busy means that you won’t have too much time left to dwell on the negative things in your life. Besides, nothing compares to that feeling of accomplishment you get once your hard work pays off.

And if we’re to refer to the last thing mentioned in this quote, making people happy will make you a better person. Helping someone in need, offering a gift or a pep talk - all these things will also make you a happier person.

“I'm all for people following their dreams/ Just remember life is more than fittin’ in your jeans./ It’s love and understanding, positivity.” - From What Do I Know

What Do I Know was written by Ed Sheeran on the spot and it’s part of his third album. The main idea behind this song is that love can change the world.

In these lyrics, the singer makes it clear that he supports anyone who wants to follow their dreams. But at the same time he wants us to understand that life is about so much more than the silly things we are sometimes too preoccupied with - like fitting in our jeans. 

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To sum it up, make sure you don’t invest too much time and energy in things that don’t count as much as love, understanding and positivity.

“I think to be successful at anything you have to put in a hell of a lot of effort. Pick your battles. I picked music, put in a lot of effort, and it’s worked.”

Sometimes it may seem like for some people success simply happens over night. But if you look closer, you’ll realize that a lot of those people have worked really hard and made a lot of compromises to get where they are today - And they still do.

Like Sheeran says, pick your battles. Discover what you like or what you’re good at, then put in some effort to become really good at it. Your hard work will eventually pay off. 

“Even if you have quirks and weirdness you should not be worried about that. Just be yourself because there is no one in the world that can be a better you than you. And if you try to be the cool kid from class, you end up being very boring,”

In 2015, Ed Sheeran offered an inspiring speech at the AIS Gala while opening up about overcoming his stutter and other things that made others see him as a weird kid.

He went through tough speech therapy and homeopathy, but what really helped him overcome his stutter was trying to rap very fast and melodically, like Eminem. The bottom line here is that Sheeran sought treatment, but he didn’t see his condition as an obstacle to fulfill his dreams or live the life he wanted. He pushed forward, embraced his weirdness, didn’t care about what people had to say and now he encourages everyone to do the same.

“The worst things in life come free to us.” - From A Team

Obviously no one asks or pays for the horrible things they have to go through in this life. They come for free, they sometimes leave terrible marks and there is nothing we can do about it. Except for, of course, trying to overcome them.

But on a more positive note, the best things in life are also free of charge. Whenever something bad happens to you, don’t forget about your blessings. Life’s often not fair and kicks us in unexpected ways, but it also gives us wonderful memories and great things to look forward to.

“Try to find someone with a sense of humor. That's an important thing to have because when you get into an argument, one of the best ways to diffuse it is to be funny.”

I remember reading a funny meme a long time ago. It said that whenever your significant other is mad at you, put a cape on them and say “Now you’re Super Mad.”

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Having a sense of humor and knowing when and how to use it will help you diffuse a lot of unnecessary arguments. Of course, for this to happen, your significant other also needs to have a sense of humor. So try to find someone that’s your kind of crazy and whenever you have a disagreement, throw in a joke or two. But be sure to pick your moments because there will be times when you’ll have to be serious about what’s happening.  

“Be nice to everyone, always smile, and appreciate things because it could all be gone tomorrow.”

Why be rude and grumpy when you can be nice and smile to everyone? Don’t you hate it when you go to a restaurant and the waitress is rude to you because she’s having a bad day? If yes, don’t act the same way. Most people that we interact with are not responsible for our problems.

 Also, don’t forget to be grateful for everything you have, especially for the people that care about you. Material things can be replaced, but not people. So make sure they know how much you appreciate them before it’s too late.

“Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul… “ - From Photograph

Now, truth to be told, the development of the song Photograph began while Ed Sheeran was humming “loving can hurt”.

But love doesn’t hurt. It can lead to suffering when the ones that we love betray or reject us, but that’s something else. Maybe it’s a matter of perspective, but love is the only thing in this world that can mend a soul and make it feel wonderful again. Love means happiness, so if your heart has been broken, don’t run away from love and allow yourself to be happy again.

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