101 Quotes & Affirmations For Encouragement In Hard Times

Life can be really tough, and we often find ourselves in situations where things don’t go our way and we have to deal with it. To give you some motivation and perspective when facing hard times, here is a collection of 100 memorable quotes that capture the challenge of getting through hard times.

These words of wisdom provide insight into focusing on positive change instead of getting stuck in those moments of difficulty.

Use these uplifting words to continue pressing forward even when the going gets tough – trust that things will get better with courage and persistence!

101 Quotes & Affirmations of Encouragement During Adversity

1. Timing, perseverance, and 10 years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success. -Biz Stone
2. Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life’s too short to think small. -Tim Ferriss
3. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. -Henry Ford
4. You can’t fall if you don’t climb. But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground. -Unknown
5. I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game’s winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that’s why I succeed. -Michael Jordan
6. Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. -Winston Churchill
7. The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. -Vince Lombardi
8. Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again. -Richard Branson
9. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. -Anais Nin
10. When you’re ready to quit, you are closer than you think. -Bob Parsons
11. Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. -Walt Disney
12. Today is cruel. Tomorrow is crueler. And the day after tomorrow is beautiful. -Jack Ma
13. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. -Thomas A. Edison
14. It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. -Babe Ruth
15. Storms make trees take deeper roots. -Dolly Parton
16. Gray skies are just clouds passing over. -Duke Ellington
17. Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. -Jim Rohn
18. A problem is a chance for you to do your best. -Duke Ellington
19. He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity. -William Samuel Johnson
20. The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail. -Nelson Mandela
21. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt
22. Most great people have attained their greatest success one step beyond their greatest failure. -Napoleon Hill
23. 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 the hardship today. -Thich Nhat Hanh
24. Have great hopes and dare to go all out for them. Have great dreams and dare to live them. Have tremendous expectations and believe in them. -Norman Vincent Peale
25. We should always pray for help, but we should always listen for inspiration and impressions to proceed in ways different from those we may have thought of. -John H. Groberg
26. 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
27. 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
28. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. -Dale Carnegie
29. Your bravery is a revelation.
30. Resilience is your superpower.
31. Your inner goddess is about to shine.
32. Your capacity to rise above adversity is amazing.
33. You will come out even stronger on the other side.
34. Your strength has moved mountains; your story will change lives.
35. You alone have the power to unleash the potential that I know you have.
36. You are on a path to your destiny, with wonderful things within your grasp.
37. When others might not find the strength to go on, that’s when you shine the brightest.
38. You are not alone. When you feel like you can’t go on, lean on me. I will carry you when you need it.
39. You can climb this mountain. When you arrive, you’ll find peace and joy waiting for you on the other side.
40. You are stronger than you think.
41. You are the superhero of your story.
42. You have the capability to rise above adversity.
43. Your inner strength will get you through this.
44. When times get dark, find every way to see the light within you. 
45. There’s more to life than what there seems on the surface. When you find this, you’ll gain more hope for the future than ever. 
46. Your life is worth fighting for when necessary. Never give up.
47. Rather than let the world kick you when you’re down and weak, stand up and do something about it.
48. When those around you need help, don’t give up. Instead, help them get back on their feet too.
49. Every hardship you face only brings you one step closer to being a stronger person.
50. The glass is half empty only because you choose to see it that way. Therefore, make the choice to see it as half full. Doing so can give you the strength you need to persist through almost anything. 
51. Turn each of life’s disappointments and struggles into something that benefits you and makes you stronger. 
52. When the storm comes, be the soldier that survives the blizzard. 
53. Be grateful for those you care about because this can make you bond even more.
54. When life gets too difficult to bear, your inner strength can help you fight your toughest battles.
55. When no one seems to care about you, self-love can make you stronger.
56. Dark times eventually pass, and when they do, you can be grateful for the valuable lessons you’ve learned. 
57. The most peaceful actions can be the ones that save you.
58. Commit to toughing out the tough times and afterward, you’ll be more courageous than you ever were.
59. Don’t let the world tell you who you are, only you get to decide. -Jennifer Truesdale
60.  Next time life’s GPS sends you astray, take a deep breath, hold on tight and get ready for the ride. -Michelle Sutter
61. Believe in yourself, trust your gut, and surround yourself with resilient people who inspire you to be better and work hard. -Monique Hicks
62. Resilience is merely putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving–in spite of your fears. -Jennifer Pestikas 
63. Every choice makes a difference as we get ourselves unstuck and move toward the life we desire. Select your choices wisely. -Angie Engstrom
64. Being healthy is more than just a number on the scale or the number from a test. These numbers are simply a moment in time. -Sharan Tash
65. Love Well. It makes all things possible. -Marci D. Toler
66. Your mess is your message! Your resilience comes from not giving up on yourself; figuring it out is the most beautiful adventure that you’ll ever have. -Misty Totzke
67.  Do one thing each day that scares you. -Melissa Laverty
68. Resilience is the willingness to not quit, to challenge your habits, and to stay determined to make a difference – first for yourself and then for the rest of the world. -Jackie Simmons
69. By accepting personal responsibility in life, and showing your scars, you can heal yourself and excel in business. -Nancy Abramovitz
70. Live life to the fullest, keep your dreams alive, uplift each other, and share a smile and a hug. -Ylona Cavalier
71. Anything truly worth having is well worth the pain or fear it sometimes takes to get it. -Dorci Hill
72. Become your best self by investing in your education, finding positive aspects in adverse situations, and fulfilling your life purpose. -Irina Zlatogorova
73. Life is about making our own choices, our own mistakes, and fighting our own battles. We all deserve to follow our own unique path. -Svietlana Lavrentidi
74. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. –J.R.R. Tolkien,
75. Encouragement is like water to the soul, it makes everything grow. –Chris Burkmenn
76. You need to be buried deep in the dirt before you can find your bloom. –Roz Inga
77. You’ve got to stay strong to be strong in tough times. –Tilman J. Fertitta
78. Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
79. You cannot expect victory and plan for defeat. –Joel Osteen
80. Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent. –Steve Martin
81. I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive. –Frida Kahlo
82. We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. –Martin Luther King
83. Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are. –Stephanie Lahart
84. The greatest joys in life are found not only in what we do and feel but also in our quiet hopes and labors for others. –Bryant McGill
85. One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone. –Shannon L. Alder
86. 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
87. Opportunity may knock only once but temptation leans on the doorbell. –Oprah Winfrey
88. Connecting with those you know love, like, and appreciate you restores the spirit and gives you the energy to keep moving forward in this life. –Deborah Day
89. 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. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. -Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
90. You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, and how you can still come out of it. -Maya Angelou
91. When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. -Viktor E. Frankl
92. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. -Viktor E. Frankl
93. 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
94. Keep Going. Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end. -Roy T. Bennett
95. Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. -Joseph Campbell
96. Winners never quit, and quitters never win. -Unknown
97. The media wants overnight successes (so they have someone to tear down). Ignore them. Ignore the early adopter critics that never have enough to play with. Ignore your investors that want proven tactics and predictable instant results. Listen instead to your real customers, to your vision, and make something for the long haul. Because that’s how long it’s going to take, guys. -Seth Godin
98. The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition. -Ryan Holiday
99. Never wish life were easier, wish that you were better. -Jim Rohn
100. Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good. -Elizabeth Edwards
101. You cannot be trusted until you are tested. -Unknown

Hard times may leave one feeling lost and helpless, but the many inspirational quotes about overcoming these challenging situations remind us that difficult moments are only temporary.

We should be thankful for both the highs and lows for it is in facing the obstacles that we discover strength and resilience within ourselves.

Despite facing adversity, we can take comfort from the countless lessons to be learned from hard times and use them as a launching point to forge ahead with newfound confidence & courage.