Resilience isn’t an umbrella you store away for a rainy day. It is an empowering set of skills, attitudes, and behaviors that can benefit you in a hundred different ways.
Every. Single. Day.
There are many ways you can build and strengthen your capacity for resilience, one of the most important is to foster a positive outlook.
But let’s be honest, even the most resilient among us have our down days, moments when we struggle to keep a good thought or remember all that we have to be grateful for.
This is normal, especially during these challenging times, and it’s important to acknowledge these feelings and emotions.
You just don’t want to get stuck there.
One way to shift your thoughts is by having on hand a collection of quotations that inspire you.
Quotations are powerful. They can comfort and encourage us when no one else is around. They prove to us that we are not alone, that someone else has experienced the same thing, and survived. If they can, so can we!
The best quotations resonate with something deep inside our spirit and anchor us to the things that matter most.
They capture a tiny piece of the reality of the struggle to be larger than our challenges – and condense and capture some essential characteristics of our experience.
The following collection of quotations include a few familiar, more that are not, and several that are original.
What they all have in common is that the underlying message to trust that no matter how difficult things may seem today, if you will just keep moving forward you will find a way.
You will be okay.
Reflections on the Power of Resilience
The strongest tree in the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun. ~Author Unknown
Never mistake endurance for resilience. Endurance is about hanging on long enough to survive while the goal of resilience is to thrive. ~Author Unknown
The notion that adversity makes you stronger is a myth. Growth is not the result of the experience of adversity but rather your response to it. ~M. Herald
People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh, and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under. ~Charles Swindoll
Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carry with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. ~Napoleon Hill
Life is not fair. It never was and it never will be. Do not fall into the entitlement trap of feeling like you’re a victim. You are not. ~Matthew McConaughey
A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships. ~Helen Keller
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
The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is the way in which we use them. ~Author Unknown
The first place we lose a battle is in our own thinking. If you think the problem will defeat you, then it will. If you think you’ve reached your limit then you have. If you think you’ll never get well then you won’t. If you want better results, if you want to change your life, change your thinking. ~Author Unknown
A crisis creates the opportunity to dip deep into the reservoirs of our very being, to rise to levels of confidence, strength, and resolve that otherwise we didn’t think we possessed. ~Jon M. Huntsman Sr.
Know your direction and stay focused, but be open to small detours that show another path forward. Some journeys appear to take you farther from where you intended when in reality, they are leading you to where you belong. ~M. Herald
We all need resilience to live a fulfilling life. With resilience, you’ll be more prepared to take on challenges, to develop your talents, skills, and abilities so that you can live with more purpose and more joy. ~Eric Greitens
Life is hard and it isn’t fair, and it really hurts like hell sometimes. But if you focus on what is within your power to change for the better. You can. And you will. ~Zero Dean
Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is and there’s got to be a way through it. ~Michael J. Fox
Stop waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel and light that sucker up yourself! ~Author Unknown
You’re not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up, draw on it when you need it. In that process, you will figure out who you really are and you just might become the very best version of yourself. ~Sheryl Sandberg
There are no dead ends. There is always a way out. What you learn in one failure you utilize in your next success. ~Henry Ford
Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down. ~Ray Bradbury
My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present. ~Steve Goodier
When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure that we realize that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives. ~A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin. ~Gregory S. Williams
Related reading:
- Why We Need to Keep Moving Forward
- Endurance vs. Resilience: Why the Difference Matters
- Stories of Resilience: W. Mitchell
Will you be the passenger or the driver in your life journey?
About Marquita A. Herald
Marquita is an author, resilience coach, and the chief evangelist at Emotionally Resilient Living. She’s also an unapologetic workaholic who loves red wine, rock n’ roll, road trips (and car dancing!), peanut butter cookies, and (especially) a dog named Lucy.
She’s saddened and frustrated by excuses and cruelty and believes authentic compassion is the most powerful force in the world.
To learn more about Marquita and the mission of Emotionally Resilient Living Start Here.
