inspirational quotes for difficult times
Inspirational Quotes for Difficult Times
This article is a collection of some of the most inspirational quotes I have come across. These quotes may change your perspective towards life and give you strength to deal with difficult times.
Life is unpredictable and difficult. That is the fundamental truth we all must learn to accept. In that acceptance, lies strength. If it wasn't difficult, it wouldn't be worth living. The moment you think you've got a hang of how it all works, the very instant you have figured it all out, life changes. The strength to overcome the challenges posed by life lies within you.
In the silent chambers of your soul lies the quiet confidence that no matter what, you will overcome this and rise again as a wiser and stronger being. Greater the difficulty, sweeter and grander the victory. Every insult, every disappointment, every pain and hurt that breaks your heart is fuel for the inner fire. It only serves to make you stronger in the long run.
Inspirational quotes can be life changing in hard times. Sometimes, when you are feeling down and out, one thought, one idea can turn it all around for you. Writing such thoughts down and keeping them in front of you all the time helps. Make them your inspirational mantras. These should be your quotes to live by.
When the spiraling chaos of confusion plagues your mind, repeat these mantras like nothing else matters. Drown out the chaos and listen to your soul's calling from within. Such thoughts have the power to lift you out of misery, by putting things in perspective. That's because these insightful quotes about dealing with difficult times come from the depths of experience and wisdom of people who have been there and done that. They are testimony to humankind's indomitable spirit. So here are some great quotes which will stop the whirling chaos of thoughts in your mind and put you back on the path towards your goal, help you keep moving on.
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"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas Edison
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"To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." - Bertrand Russell
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"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." - Edmund Hillary
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"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
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"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach
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"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan
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"All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
a light from the shadows shall spring;
renewed shall be blade that was broken,
the crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien
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"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." - Randy Pausch
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"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." - Buddha
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"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." - Albert Camus
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"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha
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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu
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"This too shall pass." - Unknown
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"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford
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"There is no need to justify what we are. There is no need to work hard to become what we are not. We just need to return to our integrity, to the way we were before we learned to speak. Perfect. As little children, we are authentic. Only the present time is real for us; we don't care about the past, and we aren't worried about the future. We enjoy life; we want to explore and have fun. Nobody teaches us to be that way; we are born that way." - Don Miguel Ruiz
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"The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." - Albert Camus
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"Life is like riding a bicycle, in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein
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"Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong." - Muhammad Ali
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"Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it." - Joseph Conrad
Inspirational Quotes to Live By
"Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow."
- Anonymous
"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." - Buddha
"Don't Take Anything Personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering." - Don Miguel Ruiz
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert Schuller
"You may not realize it when it happens, but at kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." - Walt Disney
"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." - Seneca
"Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached." - Swami Vivekananda
"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward." - Abraham Lincoln
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi
"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." - Kenji Miyazawa
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going." - Joseph Kennedy
"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." - Kahlil Gibran
"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." - Joseph Campbell
"Fall seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb
"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." - Charles Darwin
"After all, tomorrow is another day!" - Margaret Mitchell
"I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me. Its because of them I'm doing it myself." - Albert Einstein
"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests." - Epictetus
"Energy and persistence conquers all things." - Benjamin Franklin
"Loss makes artists of us all as we weave new patterns in the fabric of our lives." - Greta W. Crosby
"Out of difficulties grow miracles." - Jean de La Bruyère
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!" - Rocky Balboa (Movie Quote)
"If you want everything, you first have to give everything up." - Lao Tzu
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." - Nelson Mandela
"Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul." - Ezra Taft Benson
"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials." - Chinese Proverb
"He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity." - William Samuel Johnson
"The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity." - Seneca
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." - Buddhist Saying
"By the darkness, stars are revealed." - Evette Carter
"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self, so therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility." - Kahlil Gibran
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength." - Michael Jordan
"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
"Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit." - Bern Williams
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." - Buddha
"...But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost
"New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings." - Lao Tzu
"Affliction is a good man's shining time." - Edward Young
"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott
"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King
"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Mark Twain
"Once you have perceived that life is very cruel, the only response is to live with as much humanity, humor and freedom as you can." - Sarah Kane
"Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines." - Leroy Satchel Paige
"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth - not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha
"Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up." - Sylvester Stallone
"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders." - Jewish Proverb
"Little minds have little worries, big minds have no time for worries." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Only the man who is not hungry says the coconut has a hard shell." - Ethiopian Proverb
"As long as you keep getting born, it's alright to die some times." - Orson Scott Card
"You'll be able to spit nails, kid. Like the guy says, you're gonna eat lightning and you're gonna crap thunder. You're gonna become a very dangerous person." - Mickey Goldmill (Movie Quote from Rocky Balboa)
"Start where you are, with what you have. Make something of it and never be satisfied." - George Washington Carver
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan
"There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope." - Bern Williams
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." - Helen Keller
"The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work." - Harry Golden
"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway
"Never, never, never, never ever give up!" - Winston Churchill
"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed." - Buddha
"If the wind will not serve, take to the oars." - Latin Proverb
"Everything is possible for him who believes." - Holy Bible (King James Version)
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." - Buddha
"It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give, and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live." - Amanda McBroom
"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
"The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work." - Oprah Winfrey
"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." - Roger Crawford
If anything came easy, it wouldn't be worth it. So I say, welcome difficult times, they teach you a lot and ones you are through them, you will be a better person. Our only defeat is in not trying. Instead of letting circumstances control you, take charge of your own life and start living it on your own terms. It won't be easy. You will fall down hundreds of times before you find a footing, but eventually your will shall prevail over all odds. If this collection of inspiring thoughts serve to ignite a spark within you to keep going on with the smile that comes from the relish of a challenge, my work here is done. Enjoy the roller coaster ride that's life.