May the Fourth be with you: Best Yoda quotes to get you through university

“A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense. Never attack.”

As Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Yoda has centuries of experience right in the thick of things – 900 years, to be exact. So, it’s no surprise that many of the wisest and most powerful creatures in the galaxy sought him out for advice – even now, many people look up the best Yoda quotes on the Internet.

Ever since his introduction in The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda has been a symbol of the Star Wars series and one of the most recognisable characters in all of science fiction. Even if you don’t watch the movies, it’s likely you would still recognise the tiny green creature.

For those who aren’t Star Wars fans, let’s quickly introduce the Jedi Master to you. 

A crash course on Yoda, Grand Master of the Jedi Order

“Luke…when gone am I, the last of the Jedi, will you be. Luke… the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned.”

Even though the legendary Jedi Master is short in stature, he’s well-known throughout the galaxies (including ours) for his wisdom and immense power with the Force. 

For over 800 years, Yoda trained the Jedi, passing on his knowledge and skills. Some of his notable students include Count Dooku – who later turned to the dark side – and of course, Luke Skywalker, who emerged as a new hope for the Jedi. 

During the earlier eras, Yoda served as the leader of the Jedi High Council, a group of Jedi Masters who oversaw the Jedi Order. It was an era of peace, but darkness lurked within, growing ever so slowly with time. 

Soon, the Clone Wars began, and Yoda served as a general – somewhat reluctantly – in the Republic Army. He led the clone troopers against the Separatist forces until most of the Jedi Order fell, and he went into hiding on the swamp planet Dagobah.

On Dagobah, he eventually meets Luke Skywalker, whom he initially refuses to train. There were very few Jedi left in the galaxy, and Yoda believed Luke to be too much like his father, Anakin Skywalker, in personality – reckless, impulsive, short-tempered, and hot-headed.

But Yoda was eventually persuaded by Obi-Wan to accept Luke as his disciple. The Jedi Master then begins to train Luke in the ways of the light side of the Force and lightsaber combat but also warns him about the dangers and lure of the dark side of the Force.

For a year, master and disciple trained together before Yoda passed away, but only after revealing that – spoiler alert – Darth Vader is Luke’s father. 

While he is now one with the Force, his teachings propelled Luke to carry out Yoda’s wishes and pass on the teachings of the Jedi to future Jedi disciples. 

Some of Yoda’s teachings were incredibly quotable, made unique by his iconic speech pattern of object-subject-verb. This pattern is only found in 0.3% of the world’s languages.

Let’s take a look at some of the best Yoda quotes and how they might be useful in guiding you too, through your challenges. 

Hear his wisdom – some of the best Yoda quotes

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”

Perhaps one of the most famous Yoda quotes yet – and for good reason!

This piece of advice is all about committing yourself to your endeavours and seeing your tasks through to the end.

We get it – university and beyond can be demanding. There is a lot to get through every day, and sometimes we tend to feel overwhelmed by it all. 

We start saying, “I’ll try to get that done” or “I’ll try to squeeze in some exercise today,” but do we actually do it? Most of the time, we don’t. 

To change that, we have to start prioritising our tasks and work methodically through the others. Start communicating clearly to others – and ourselves – about what will be achieved and when. Learn about some time-management skills, and put them to good use. 

“Fear is the path to the dark side.”

There are plenty of fears that can keep a student up at night – poor results, negative feedback, exams looming ahead, conflict and other personal issues.

But worrying about what you can’t control will lead you to the “dark side.” To us, the dark side manifests as burnout, depression, anxiety and stress, to name a few. 

It’s good to replace pointless worrying and fretting with a more constructive new habit of taking control of what you can. Let go of the things you can’t do anything about – you cannot control what others say about you, for example. 

What you can choose to do, however, is ensure that your work gets done. Finish what you have to do, move on to the next task, and prepare yourself for what comes ahead. Eventually, you will be able to counter your stress and improve your outcomes. But never fear what you’re unsure of.

“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.”

Learning has changed drastically over the past few years. Sometimes it can be hard to constantly keep up with new things while the world changes around us, especially at such a young and impressionable age. 

But when you’re feeling like you’re struggling, always remember to look towards yourself – find out what your weakness is and work to address it. 

If you’re having difficulty with a language assessment, for example, pinpoint an individual or find resources online that can help you out. If you’re having a hard time keeping up in class, seek out your professor or academic advisor for tips or best practices to get back on track.

We can only fix our weaknesses if we discover them ourselves and apply what is required to correct them.

“Much to learn, you still have.”

We never stop learning – and that’s why this is one of many great Yoda quotes. There is much to learn not just from books, but from the people, animals, environment and more around you.

Perhaps the university janitor may not have had the opportunity to attend classes like you did, but the janitor also knows the best way to remove a stubborn stain or which brooms to use when sweeping concrete or marble tiles. 

Learning never stops, even after graduating, so always be open to all the possible opportunities around you.

“Always in motion is the future.”

If education had anything going for it for the past few years, it would be adapting to the future. 

Ever since the pandemic, all aspects of education had to adopt new technology, change how they assess learning, and rethink education as a whole in a changing world. Social media, gamification and hybrid learning are all just examples of how schools are changing their strategies.

Students like yourself are also changing and evolving. As Gen Z slowly morphs over to Gen Alpha and becomes the majority of learners, more and more schools are thinking of new ways to adapt to this new, diverse audience. 

And it’s only going to change even much more than that. Schools are one thing, but as a student, you should also be prepared to adapt to the future and what it may potentially bring. 

“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

This is one of the best Yoda quotes out there. Failure is one of life’s biggest challenges – but boy, does it teach us a lot.

It’s common to feel upset, enraged or discouraged when you fail. You may even feel all of those emotions at the same time. But think about it: Many successful people come from failure; just look at these celebrities who got fired from their first jobs. 

Just because you failed once, doesn’t mean you can’t try again. Remember – failure is a seed of growth and success, and it’s necessary to shake things up. You must learn to use your failure as a mechanism to reset your perspective and make a mental or physical change. 

Eventually, everyone looks back on their failures as a measurement of their current level of success or happiness. There will come a day when you too, are able to look back on your biggest failures with a fond smile.

“You must unlearn what you have learned.”

A big part of learning is actually unlearning our usual processes. 

It’s human nature to be uncomfortable with change; as creatures of habit, we tend to love our routines and our go-to methods. 

When we are forced to change those habits, our first feeling is always one of discomfort. For example, just because you’re comfortable with one way of doing a math question doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to solve it. 

But sometimes, we have to shake up our processes – and even unlearn them – to learn more about the world around us and succeed in what we do.

“Pass on what you have learned.”

Moments before he dies in Return of the Jedi, Yoda says these words to Luke Skywalker.

On a surface level, this could refer to how you can help your peers or others if they experience difficulty during university. Teaching or coaching someone else requires you to sharpen your own knowledge and helps retain information better than any memorising can.

On a deeper level, it’s crucial to realise that it’s also about teaching others throughout the course of our lives. The wisdom we gain in life is a gift to pass along — not to keep to ourselves. 

As humans, it is also a privilege to be in a position to both learn more every day and to share, to pass on what we have learned.