Quotes About Strength: In Life & Hard Times

By Julia Najm, M.A., Ph.D.
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.

Life can be tough. Finding support through quotes about strength can give you the boost you need to weather the storm of life’s toughest challenges.​

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Sometimes life throws us unexpected curveballs that can derail our life plans and make us feel down. For example, not getting accepted to the college of your dreams, losing out on the promotion you worked so hard for, or your marriage ending even after months of counseling. These curveballs and unexpected events can be challenging to navigate. Friends and family may encourage you to “move on” or “get over it.” While their​

 intention is probably to be helpful, finding the strength to move forward is easier said than done. So how can you resolve your disappointment, pick up the pieces, and find a new way to get your life back on track?

Reading quotes about strength can be one small way to help you get over disappointment; it can be the dash of support you need to pick yourself up and find an undiscovered path. 

This article will help you discover your inner strength and give you some of the support you seek in life and during hard times. 

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What Are Quotes About Strength? (A Definition)​

Strength is defined as “the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Typically when people think of strength they first imagine physical strength, like a bodybuilder lifting 200-pound dumbbells at the gym. However, inner strength and mental strength can be just as powerful and important. 

For instance, researchers have discovered that “mental toughness” or inner strength is the capacity to withstand adversity and adapt to the aftermath of such challenges. Mental toughness has been described as having four components. These components are: self-control of one’s life and emotions; commitment, or the ability to sustain motivation to pursue personal goals even in the face of difficulty; challenge, or the ability to view life’s curveballs as opportunities for self-growth; and self-confidence, or the tendency to view oneself as worthy (Clough et al., 2002; Kobasa, 1979). 

Mental toughness is malleable and can be shaped through experiences and interventions such as emotion regulation training (Gucciardi et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2017). Collectively, these findings suggest that mental toughness or strength is a characteristic that can be developed, and it can be a helpful coping mechanism.​

Why Are Quotes About Strength Important?​

Adversity in life is unavoidable and is a part of everyone’s experience at some point in their lives. The consequences of such events can lead to stress, anxiety, and interpersonal challenges (Price et al., 2002; Scott et al., 2011). 

Having mental toughness or inner strength has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms, contribute to a higher perceived quality of life, and decrease stress (Gerber et. al., 2013; Jin & Wang, 2018). It has also been shown to be helpful in educational and employment settings (Marchant et al., 2009; St Clair-Thompson et al., 2015).

Therefore, being exposed to inspirational quotes about strength can help you grow your inner strength and find the will to cope with life’s challenges. 

Quotes About Strength in Hard Times

• "Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again." — Nelson Mandela
• "This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure." — Winston Churchill
• "Don't despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don't—surrender to events with hope." — Alain de Botton
• "It is our attitude toward events, not events themselves, which we can control. Nothing is by its own nature calamitous—even death is terrible only if we fear it." — Epictetus
• "No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That's the only way to keep the roads clear." — Greg Kincaid
• "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." — Khalil Gibran
• "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." — Ernest Hemingway
• "Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat." — Ralph Ellison

Quotes About Mental Strength

• "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’" — Eleanor Roosevelt
• "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." — Nelson Mandela
• "Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears." — Demi Lovato
• "And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear." — Paulo Coelho
• "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." — Marie Curie
• "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

Quotes About Emotional Strength

• "The human capacity for burden is like bamboo—far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance." — Jodi Picoult
• "We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward." — Isabel Allende
• "We are stronger, gentler, more resilient, and more beautiful than any of us imagine." — Mark Nepo
• "If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it." — Toni Morrison

Quotes About the Strength of Family​

• "The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other." — Mario Puzo
• "When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." — Joyce Brothers
• "I think togetherness is very important to family life." — Barbara Bush
• "In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future." — Alex Haley
• "Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing." — Donna Hedges
• "The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life." — Richard Bach
• "Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter." — Brad Henry
• "There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human society, are created, strengthened and maintained." — Winston Churchill
• "The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family." — Lee Iacocca
• "My life is proof that no matter what situation you’re in, as long as you have a supportive family, you can achieve anything." — Michaela DePrince ​

Quotes About Spiritual Strength

• "The art of loving creates the unity which has unlimited spiritual strength, and that is the greatest need in the world today, and each and every one of us can make such a difference if we become humble, if we develop a service attitude rather than an exploitative attitude, if we develop the broad mind to see the oneness and to learn to love all living beings." — Radhanath Swami
• "The degree of our spiritual strength will be in direct proportion to the time we spend in God's Word." — Elizabeth George
• "Religious faith is not a storm cellar to which men and women can flee for refuge from the storms of life. It is, instead, an inner spiritual strength which enables them to face those storms with hope and serenity." — Sam Ervin
• "If we didn't have to stand against temptation, we'd never know our own spiritual strength." — Joyce Meyer
• "None of us can hope to get anywhere without character, moral courage and the spiritual strength to accept responsibility." — Thomas Watson, Jr.

Short Quotes About Strength

• "Where there is no struggle, there is no strength." — Oprah Winfrey
• "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." — J.K. Rowling
• "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." — Friedrich Nietzsche
• "We will either find a way, or make one." — Anibal Barca
• "Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems." — Gever Tulley
• "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." — Mahatma Gandhi
• "A brave man acknowledges the strength of others." — Veronica Roth
• "It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." — Edmund Hillary

Quotes About Strength in Life

• "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." — Ambrose Redmoon
• "Life is very interesting . . . in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths." — Drew Barrymore
• "Courage isn't having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don't have the strength." — Napoleon Bonaparte
• "I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it." — Maya Angelou
• "It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature. Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment." — Bram Stoker

Quotes About Strength in Numbers

• "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." — J.K. Rowling
  
• "It's easier to be ignorant and say I don't know about the problem. But once you know, once you've seen it in their eyes, then you have a responsibility to do something. There is strength in numbers, and if we all work together as a team, we can be unstoppable." — Craig Kielburger
  
• "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.’" — Patton Oswalt
  

Quotes About Strength of Character

• "When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." — Peter Marshall
• "We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." — Eleanor Roosevelt
• "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." — Christopher Reeve 
• "Physical strength (hard work), mental strength (perseverance) and spiritual strength (love & acceptance) are the keys to continuous growth." — Rickson Gracie

​Quotes About Strength in Adversity

• "It's your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life's story will develop." — Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• "There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast." — Charles Dickens
• "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." — Napoleon Hill
• "There are uses to adversity, and they don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unexpected strengths." — Sonia Sotomayor

Quotes About Strength After Loss

• "Grief and resilience live together." — Michelle Obama
• "Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart and you'll never walk alone." — Rodgers and Hammerstein
• "Look closely and you will see almost everyone carrying bags of cement on their shoulders. That's why it takes courage to get out of bed in the morning and climb into the day." — Edward Hirsch
• "She was no longer wrestling with the grief, but could sit down with it as a lasting companion and make it a sharer in her thoughts." — George Eliot

Quotes About Strength and Pain

• "Someone I once loved gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift." — Mary Oliver
• "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't." — Thomas Edison
• "You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." — Marcus Aurelius
• "It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done." — Vincent van Gogh

Quotes About Strength for Women

• "We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free." — Kavita Ramdas
  
• "I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." — Audrey Hepburn
  

Video: Overcoming Mental Blocks: Inner Strength Maximizes Outer Strength

Articles Related to Strength Quotes​

​Want to learn more? Check out these articles:

• Motivational Quotes: For Work, Life, & Success
• Confidence Quotes: For Life, Love, & Success
• Perseverance Quotes: For Students, Work, & More​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Books Related to Strength Quotes​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

• A Woman's Book of Inspiration: Quotes of Wisdom and Strength
• Resilience for Every Day: Simple Tips and Inspiring Quotes to Help You Find Inner Strength
• You Got This: Uplifting Quotes And Affirmations For Inner Strength And Self-Belief

Final Thoughts on Strength Quotes​

Life can be tough, with unexpected events that put a wrench in our plans. Finding your inner strength and tapping into your mental toughness can be one way to cope with challenges that may arise. Discover quotes about strength to support you as you weather the storm. 

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Grow Your Wellness Business Exponentially!

References

• Clough, P., Earle, K., Sewell, D., & Cockerill, I. (2002). Solutions in sport psychology. Thomson Learning.
• Merriam-Webster. (n.d.) Strength. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 15, 2023 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strength
• Gerber, M., Kalak, N., Lemola, S., Clough, P. J., Perry, J. L., Pühse, U., . . . & Brand, S. (2013). Are adolescents with high mental toughness levels more resilient against stress? Stress and Health, 29(2), 164–171.
• Gucciardi, D. F., Gordon, S., & Dimmock, J. A. (2009). Evaluation of a mental toughness training program for youth-aged Australian footballers: I. A quantitative analysis. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 21(3), 307–323.
• Jin, L., & Wang, C. D. (2018). International students’ attachment and psychological well-being: the mediation role of mental toughness. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 31(1), 59–78.
• Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health: an inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1), 1.
• Lin, Y., Mutz, J., Clough, P. J., & Papageorgiou, K. A. (2017). Mental toughness and individual differences in learning, educational and work performance, psychological well-being, and personality: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1345.
• Marchant, D. C., Polman, R. C., Clough, P. J., Jackson, J. G., Levy, A. R., & Nicholls, A. R. (2009). Mental toughness: Managerial and age differences. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24(5), 428–437.
• Price, R. H., Choi, J. N., & Vinokur, A. D. (2002). Links in the chain of adversity following job loss: how financial strain and loss of personal control lead to depression, impaired functioning, and poor health. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7(4), 302.
• Scott, K. M., Von Korff, M., Angermeyer, M. C., Benjet, C., Bruffaerts, R., de Girolamo, G., . . . & Kessler, R. C. (2011). Association of childhood adversities and early-onset mental disorders with adult-onset chronic physical conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(8), 838–844.
• St Clair-Thompson, H., Bugler, M., Robinson, J., Clough, P., McGeown, S. P., & Perry, J. (2015). Mental toughness in education: Exploring relationships with attainment, attendance, behaviour and peer relationships. Educational Psychology, 35(7), 886–907.

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