50 Powerful Quotes for Anyone Facing Serious Adversity

I’ve always loved a good quote.

There’s just something so satisfying about seeing a simple truth distilled out of a complex idea. The right quote, seen at the right time, can change the direction of a person’s life.

It can uplift us when we’re down and motivate us when we need a push. It can inspire us to be better, do better, and try harder.

Over the last few years, I’ve collected hundreds of quotes. 

But these are my 50 favorite quotes for anyone facing serious adversity:

1) “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie

2) “She made broken look beautiful and strong look invincible. She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings.” – Ariana Dancu

3) “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

4) “You wake up every morning to fight the same demons that left you so tired the night before, and that, my love, is bravery.” – unknown

5) “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.” – Thomas Edison

6) “Regret for the things we have done will be tempered by time. It is regret for the things we did not do that is 7) inconsolable.” – Sydney J. Harris

8) “You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can, and be one of the exceptions.” – Steve Case

9) “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside of you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson

10) “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” – Vince Lombardi

11) “You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.” – Timber Hawkeye

12) “Live to inspire, and one day people will say, because of you, I didn’t give up” – unknown

13) “The truth is we’re all a little bit broken. We must learn to love the broken pieces of ourselves – be gentle and empathetic with ourselves, and others.” – Karen Salmansohn

14) “You are strong when you know your weaknesses. You are beautiful when you appreciate your flaws. You are wise when you learn from your mistakes.” – unknown

15) “You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” – Josh Shipp

16) “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

17) “I often say now I don’t have any choice whether or not I have Parkinson’s, but surrounding that non-choice is a million other choices that I can make.” – Michael J. Fox

18) “The strongest people I’ve met have not been given an easier life. They’ve learned to create strength and happiness from dark places.” – Kristen Butler

19) “At any given moment, you have the power to say this is not how my story is going to end.” – unknown

20) “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill

21) “Maybe it’s not always about trying to fix something that is broken. Maybe it’s about starting over and creating something better.” – unknown

22) “The reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go, instead of how far they have gotten.” – unknown

23) “Never let the things you cannot do prevent you from doing the things you can. ” – Coach John Wooden

24) “What would the hero of your life’s movie do right now? Do that!” – Joe Rogan

25) “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

26) “There is no person living who isn't capable of doing more than they think they can do.” – Henry Ford 

27) “You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Apologizing? Regretting? Hating yourself? Dieting? Running after people who don’t see you? Be brave. Believe in yourself. Do what feels good. Take risks. You have this one life. Make yourself proud.” – Beardsley Jones 

28) “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” – Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

29) “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

30) “Don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life." – Unknown

31) “Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert 

32) “A goal without a plan is only a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

33) “Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.” – Herman Hesse 

34) “Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” – Doris Lessing

35)“The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered there is opportunity for growth.” – Unknown

36) “Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” – Iain S. Thomas

37) “The truth that many people never understand is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt.” – Thomas Merton 

38) “It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement.” – Isocrates

39) “You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” – Edwin Louis Cole

40) “You're under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago.” – Alan Watts 

41) “Have compassion for everyone you meet, even if they don't want it. What appears bad manners, an ill temper or cynicism is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.” – Miller Williams 

42) “A single feat of daring can alter the whole conception of what is possible.” – Graham Green 

43) “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger 

44) “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

45) “Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” – Theodore Rosevelt

46) “When we no longer are able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor E. Frankl 

47)“If opening your eyes, or getting out of bed, or holding a spoon, or combing your hair is the daunting Mount Everest you climb today, that is okay.” – Carmen Ambrosio

48) “We are stronger in the places we have been broken.” – Ernest Hemingway

49) “I don’t want my pain and struggle to make me a victim. I want my battle to make me someone else’s hero.” – unknown

50) “Sometimes it takes an over-whelming breakdown to have an undeniable breakthrough.” – Kelly Hemingway