Facing tough times can sometimes feel overwhelming, but the right words can be a source of strength and encouragement. This list of 165 quotes about being strong during difficult times offers you a powerful collection of thoughts on resilience, inner strength, and the undying spirit of humanity amid adversity. Each quote is a small beacon of courage, designed to uplift and inspire you. These words are a reminder that even in the darkest moments, the capacity to overcome remains within you.
- “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” – Jodi Picoult
- “You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.” – Bob Marley
- “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
- “What does not kill me, makes me stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
- “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
- “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” – William Ellery Channing
- “Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” – Susan Gale
- “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
- “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” – J.K. Rowling
- “He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.” – Lao Tzu
- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas A. Edison
- “Strength is a matter of the made-up mind.” – John Beecher
- “Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne
- “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu
- “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” – Steve Maraboli
- “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
- “It’s not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
- “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.” – Joshua Graham
- “You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.” – Anonymous
- “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
- “Do not wait for the storm to pass, but learn to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene
- “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowling
- “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – Christopher Robin to Pooh, A.A. Milne
- “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” – Chinese Proverb
- “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
- “The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change.” – C. JoyBell C.
- “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
- “Sometimes when you are in a dark place you think you have been buried, but actually you have been planted.” – Christine Caine
- “Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore
- “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou
- “The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” – C.C. Scott
- “Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until someone tries to take advantage of your weaknesses.” – Anonymous
- “Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men.” – Seneca
- “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what the storm’s all about.” – Haruki Murakami
- “Scars show toughness: that you’ve been through it, and you’re still standing.” – Theo Rossi
- “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- “The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost
- “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve
- “He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity.” – William Samuel Johnson
- “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” – Horace
- “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman
- “The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” – Robert Tew
- “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'” – Mary Anne Radmacher
- “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran
- “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” – Unknown
- “A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” – Duke Ellington
- “Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter.” – Dan Reeves
- “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali
- “Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but the ability to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “You don’t realize how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” – Cayla Mills
- “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
- “Adversity is the first path to truth.” – Lord Byron
- “When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” – Peter Marshall
- “Storms make trees take deeper roots.” – Dolly Parton
- “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong
- “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – Francis of Assisi
- “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle
- “You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” – Brian Tracy
- Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
- “I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
- “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” – Barbara De Angelis
- “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” – Walter Elliot
- “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
- “Strength does not come from winning. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- “Hard times may have held you down, but they will not last forever. When all is said and done, you will be increased.” – Joel Osteen
- In my experience, people who don’t stick around during the hard times weren’t worth having around anyway.” – Kimberly Belle
- “The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.” – Marjorie Pay Hinckley
- “You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- No matter how much it hurts now, someday you will look back and realize your struggles changed your life for the better.” – Unknown
- “In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” – Lee Iacocca
- “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
- “Resilience is knowing that YOU are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.” – Mary Holloway
- “Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart.” – Rumi
- “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot
- “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert H. Schuller
- “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher
- “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
- “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
- “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” – Harry Golden
- “Prosperity is not without many fears and disasters, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.” – Francis Bacon
- “A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.” – Henry Kissinger
- “Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does anyone else.” – Unknown
- “The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered, there is opportunity for growth.” – Unknown
- “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
- We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” – Elbert Hubbard
- “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” – Marilyn vos Savant
- “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking.” – William Butler Yeats
- “Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement.” – Albert Camus
- “To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.” – Gail Sheehy
- “I like to use the hard times of the past to motivate me today.” – Dwayne Johnson
- “The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.” – Bernard M. Baruch
- “Hard times lift the seeking souls to higher spiritual realms.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
- “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” – William Barclay
- “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins
- “You can’t really be strong until you see a funny side to things.” – Ken Kesey
- “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
- “A hero is someone who, in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway.” – Christopher Reeve
- “Don’t pray for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Adversity introduces a man to himself.” – Albert Einstein
- “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
- “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” – A.A. Milne
- “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin
- “You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.” – Unknown
- “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.” – Bern Williams
- Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
- “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela
- “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
- “We grow because we struggle, we learn and overcome.” – R. C. Allen
- “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
- “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu
- “You were given this life because you’re strong enough to live it.” – Unknown
- “The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” – Meg Cabot
- “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” – Zig Ziglar
- “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” – Unknown
- “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
- “Strength isn’t about bearing a cross of grief or shame. Strength comes from choosing your own path, and living with the consequences.” – Jenny Trout
- “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
- “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injustice.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
- “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” – Francis Chan
- “Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.” – William Arthur Ward
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he’s dead.” – Bette Davis
- “Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.” – L.M. Montgomery
- “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “We must meet the challenge rather than wish it were not before us.” – William J. Brennan, Jr.
- “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert Schuller
- “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” – T.S. Eliot
- The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.” – Barack Obama
- “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
- “The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” – William Ellery Channing
- “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill
- “Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson
- “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Lou Holtz
- “No matter how much it hurts now, someday, you will look back and realize your struggles changed your life for the better.” – Unknown
- “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” – Helen Keller
- “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
- “The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.” – Charles Kingsleigh
- “You are so much more than what you are going through.” – John Tew
- “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.” – Seneca
- “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” – Epicurus
- “It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.” – Dalai Lama
- “Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” – Drew Barrymore
- “Never give in to the obstacles that lie in your path towards the achievement of your dreams.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
- “You must tell yourself, ‘No matter how hard it is, or how hard it gets, I’m going to make it.'” – Les Brown
- “Adversity has a way of introducing a man to himself.” – Shia Labeouf
- “She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” – Elizabeth Edwards
- “A heart is a muscle, and what do muscles do when they are torn? They grow back stronger!” – Unknown
- “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan
- “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa
- “It is worth remembering that the time of greatest gain in terms of wisdom and inner strength is often that of greatest difficulty.” – Dalai Lama
- “You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” – Bob Marley
