50 Quotes to Help You Stay Strong in Difficult Times (2024)

Life has never been more uncertain than it is right now, and with the COVID–19 pandemic hitting nearly every corner of the world, it can feel like the uncertainty will never end.

We wanted to do our part in helping our users and everyone affected by putting together a list of 50 quotes or mantras to help us stay strong in difficult times and know that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

On days you’re feeling down, find a few quotes you love within this list and save them. Turn them into phone or desktop wallpapers to look at often, or share them on social media to help others stay strong too.

50 Quotes to Help You Stay Strong

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“Surprise yourself everyday with your own courage.” – Denholm Elliott

“Courage is only an accumulation of small steps.” – George Konrad

“I like to use the hard times in the past to motivate me today.” – Dwayne Johnson

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart

“There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.” – Michael Phelps

“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

“When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it.” – Jim Rohn

“You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.” – Joel Osteen

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller

“Every problem is a gift. Without problems we would not grow.” – Tony Robbins

“Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis

“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

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt

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

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“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

“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.” – Doe Zantamata

“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert Schuller

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa

“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

“Use what you’ve been through as fuel, believe in yourself and be unstoppable!” – Yvonne Pierre

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb

“Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.” – Albert Schweitzer

“It’s not exactly like you thought it would be, you think it’s a failure. What about the spectrum of colors in between.” – Sara Evans

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.” – Robert Frost

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” – James Allen

“When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.” – Malcolm S. Forbes

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Every generation has their challenge. And things change rapidly, and life gets better in an instant.” – Jon Stewart

“In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

“There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

“There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.” – Paulo Coelho, ‘The Fifth Mountain’

“One word of encouragement can be enough to spark someone’s motivation to continue with a difficult challenge.” – Roy T. Bennett

“All of life is a test and we all have our challenges to meet.” – Marjory Sheba

“Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.” – Muhammad Ali

“Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal.” – Nathan Chen

“Going through challenging things can teach you a lot, and they also make you appreciate the times that aren’t so challenging.” – Carrie Fisher

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa

“You start with a darkness to move through, but sometimes the darkness moves through you.” – Dean Young

“Hard times may have put you down sometimes but they will not last forever. When all is said and done, you will be wise and strong.” – Anurag Prakash Ray

Create Your Own Quotes to Stay Strong

Have another quote in mind? Share it with your friends and family, or just create your own quote graphic to look at when you’re feeling lost and hopeless. We’re all in this together, and we will all get through it together.