Omnia Essawy
When it comes to friendship, love, and navigating life in your twenties and thirties in the Big Apple, How I Met Your Mother is one of the most relatable TV series and sitcoms out there.
Over the course of its nine seasons, How I Met Your Mother managed to mix some truly valuable and authentic life lessons with some of the most uniquely hilarious and memorable situations, dialogues, and storylines. In return, it was responsible for making us laugh out loud, ball like babies, and reminisce over our own precious memories and life anecdotes.
Naturally, an epic ballad of a sitcom like How I Met Your Mother had to leave its fans with precious souvenirs in the form of heart-warming memorable quotes to remind us of our time with the show and to keep with us through our own journey in navigating through life.
Whether you were a fan of Ted Mosby’s endless stories, Barney’s flirtatious care-free demeanour, or Robin Scherbatsky’s witty remarks, there’s something for everyone in this list of “How I Met Your Mother” quotes. Relive some of your favourite moments from the show, and share them with your friends to see who can come up with the best responses!
1. “And most importantly, whatever you do in this life… it’s not legendary unless your friends are there to see it.” – Barney Stinson
If there were one quote that could sum up the entirety of How I Met Your Mother, one could argue that it would be this one. Almost every precious or special moment that occurred over the span of the show’s nine seasons of running was shared and cherished by all five members of the group, which -like Barney so eloquently put it- is what made it “legendary”.
2. “You may think your only choices are to swallow your anger or throw it in someone’s face, but there’s a third option. Let it go.” – Ted Mosby
Talk about therapy! Ted Mosby has been known to capture the lesson behind what could otherwise seem like a mundane situation. And this is preciously what he did when he so effortlessly shed light on something we all face: the struggle to manage and handle our anger and frustration without causing further damage. The ideal redemption, as Ted tells us, is in letting go.
3. “I don’t get sad. When I start getting sad, I stop and start being awesome. True story.” – Barney Stinson
Although this one may not be as wise and therapeutic as the previous ones, we can’t deny that it is quite empowering. How I Met Your Mother’s Barney only cared about ‘being awesome, he had his priorities straight, and he behaved accordingly. We could learn a thing or two from him.
4. “I really don’t like feelings” – Robin Scherbatsky
We can be in tune with our emotions all we want, but we’d be lying if we said that we don’t go through moments where we just can’t do feelings anymore. Whether it gets too much, too overwhelming, or too hard to contain, sometimes, feelings are just an unescapable burden that we – just like Ms Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother- do not like.
5. “Why not just say goodbye to the bad things? Say goodbye to all the times you felt lost. To all the times it was a No instead of a Yes. To all the scrapes and bruises. To all the heartache. Say goodbye to everything you really want to do for the last time.” – Lily Aldrin
Lilly was the wise mother of the group; she gave us numerous quotes that touched our hearts, made us laugh, and, more often than not, made us cry. This one tops the cry-provoking Lilly Aldren quotes.
In the third episode of the ninth and final season of How I Met Your Mother, Lilly had one of the emotional and heart-warming talks with Ted about his list of things to say goodbye to before moving to Chicago. And although it was intended for Ted, this particular part of the conversation felt like it was intended for every single person watching who had to part ways with something or someone they love and were faced with a difficult and devastating goodbye.
6. “It’s not about proof; it’s about faith. Faith is what gives life shape and meaning.” – Marshall Eriksen
Every character in the How I Met Your Mother five had their thing. Just like flirting was Barney’s thing, sarcasm was Robin’s thing, wisdom and sass were Lilly’s thing, and Romance was Ted’s thing; hope and blind faith were Mashall Eriksen’s forte. He was nothing if not the hopeful goof of the group. His strong belief in something bigger, wider, and more powerful than what he can see, feel, and touch was infectiously beautiful and faith-affirming.
7. “If you’re looking for a word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have everything they want, no matter how much it destroys you, it’s ‘love.'” – Ted Mosby.
If you ever find yourself stuck trying to define the big uncontainable four-letter word that baffles us all, ‘love’, feel free to borrow this astonishingly accurate quote about what love truly means and feels like. Just make sure to credit Ted Mosby when you do.
8. “We’ll always be friends. It’s just never gonna be how it was. It can’t be. And that doesn’t have to be a sad thing.” – Lilly Aldren
Most, if not all, of us, struggle with the exact same thing in our thirties and forties as we try to keep our friendships as steady and strong as they used to be in our twenties while at the same time trying to navigate our lives and growing up along with it. This one is one of life’s most classic struggles between holding onto the past and looking forward to the future.
However, it can be freeing and even empowering to understand that change is a natural part of life and that resisting it will only make things harder for all parties. Just take from one of TV’s most dependable friends, the iconic Lilly Aldren.
9. “The Future Is Scary, But You Can’t Just Run Back To The Past Because It’s Familiar.” – Robin Scherbatsky
This is another classic How I Met Your Mother gem about accepting change and letting go of the past, regardless of how safe and familiar it may feel, only this one is by the one and only sarcastic Ms Scherbatsky. It is simple, true, and relatable. In other words, it has everything one could look for in a relatable sitcom quote.
10. “You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am is yours. Forever.” – Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson has lots of ‘legen-wait for it-dary’ moments; however, one of the best and most significant Barney Stinson moments had to be the moment when he held his baby daughter for the very first time, and you could almost visibly see everything we know about the playboy Mr Stinson completely shift and alter forever.
11. “If you’re not scared, you’re not taking a chance, and if you’re not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing?” – Ted Mosby
Often in life, we get held back by fear, too overwhelmed by the ‘what ifs’ to leap. This quite too familiar feeling is what Ted Mosby drums at here when he talks about the importance of taking a chance no matter how scary it is because otherwise, what is the point of it all?!
12. “Think of me as Yoda. Only instead of being little and green, I wear suits, and I’m awesome. I’m your bro. I’m Broda.” – Barney Stinson
If there were one sentence that could sum up what kind of a friend Barney Stinson is, it would be this effortlessly eloquent quote. And let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want a “Broda” in their corner?!
13. “I’m cuddly. Deal with it.” – Marshall Eriksen
Talk about self-love goals! Marshall Eriksen is not competing for anyone’s approval; he is cuddly and proud of who he is, and so should we be.
14. “If you keep lying to me, if you keep cutting me out of decisions, if you keep using words like winning and losing when you talk about our marriage, you are going to lose me.” – Lilly Aldren
Another priceless Lilly Aldren life lesson about how to sustain a healthy marriage. Couples often get lost in an unspoken competition in marriage over who wins more fights or who is more right. However, one could argue that nothing destroys the intimacy and sanctity of a marriage faster than fighting against your spouse instead of fighting together for your relationship.
15. “Here’s the thing about mistakes. Sometimes, even when you know something’s a mistake, you gotta make it anyway.” – Ted Mosby
Some mistakes are inevitable and even necessary, even if you know it is a mistake. Sometimes, it is essential to experience and go through this mistake to grow and come out the other side a different, more mature person. Sometimes it is just necessary so you don’t go on wondering, ‘what if?’
There were only fifteen out of hundreds of How I Met Your Mother quotes that stayed with us much longer after the show even ended.