Some say that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. In times of uncertainty, it helps to know that we are strong and resilient, and we can face life’s challenges head-on. Knowing this, we can let go of anxiety and stress that threatens to break us down. Instead, depend on these quotes about strength. Let them serve as guidance from those who overcame adversity and see the rainbow from the other side.

15 Quotes About Strength To Help You Through Tough Times

1 – “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

People always associate strength with winning. In fact, power comes even before the win. Strength comes from struggling to get through adversity and coming out on the other side. Strength comes from never giving up, even when the odds stack up against you. If you place an egg and a potato in boiling water, one will harden and the other will fall apart. In life, you can choose to be the potato that falls apart when the water gets too hot, or the egg that gets stronger and harder.

2 – “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
-William Ellery Channing

When we encounter difficulties in life, they’re meant to spur us on to action. They’re meant to show us what we are made of. To make us see that we can do things we never thought we could. The human spirit is resilient, and difficult times remind us of that fact. Use difficulties to get stronger and more resolute. Use them as learning tools that will prepare you for future bumps in the road.

quotes about strength

3 – “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
–Christopher Reeve

The actor that played Superman was not only a hero on-screen but an inspiration in real life as well. Having faced overwhelming obstacles after being paralyzed in a horse-riding accident, Christopher Reeve taught us that strength and perseverance are the actual traits of a real-life hero. Not all heroes wear capes.

Some are just ordinary people who use their stumbling blocks as stepping stones. Others are just regular people who have endured great loss and used that loss to inspire and help others. And some heroes are the everyday people who humbly do a job that helps others without personal fanfare or recognition.

4 – “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”
–Bob Marley

People are often surprised at how well they handle adversity. They have no idea how strong they are until they must be. Then they find what was there all along. A will to endure and thrive despite obstacles.

5 – “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.”
–Steve Maraboli

Life is challenging for most people. In most cases, it doesn’t magically get easier as we get older or go through day to day. The fact is, we get stronger. We learn to roll with the punches and toughen up to deal with whatever life tosses at us.

6 – “Don’t push your weaknesses, play with your strengths.”
–Jennifer Lopez

When you find what your strengths are, play to those. Find what there is within you that makes you strong and feed that within. In many cases, your strengths are greater than your weaknesses.

quotes about strength

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

There are two types of people in the world. Some see difficulty as a sign to quit, and those who see it as a new opportunity. A roadblock can simply be a way for you to figure out your mistake and re-start. People who can see opportunity in every difficulty are the winners in life. They are the ones who keep pressing on, even when it appears that nothing is going in their favor.

8 – “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
–Maya Angelou

Without courage, what else can you do? It’s hard to be a success if you don’t have courage. It’s difficult to handle most of the more challenging parts of life without courage. This is one of the quotes about strength that reminds us that courage is the basis of getting through life’s challenges.

9 – “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”
–Earl Nightingale

When you’re on life’s journey, the road map and the plan are what will take you where you need to go. Start with the end in mind, and you will reach your destination. Once you have that in place, all you need is the courage to keep going, even when your road is filled with detours. On any trip, there may be road closures, slowdowns, and sudden storms. If we turn back or simply stop and refuse to go forward, we will never reach our destination. Pressing on, even when the going is slow, is the best way to reach our final destination.

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

This is one of the best quotes about strength that reminds us that no matter how many times we fall, the important thing is to get back up. Staying down is defeat, trying again in the face of adversity is strength. So many people see a setback as a signal just to stop. To give up. As a sign, they’re an irredeemable failure. This quote is so beautiful because it reminds us that we need to keep getting up each time we fall.

11 – “It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves.”
–Sir Edmund Hillary

Sir Edmund Hillary is known as the first man to summit Mt. Everest. He understood that the real mountain that we have to climb is not a physical one, but a mental one.

positivity quotes
12 – “Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Strength is understanding that you can control your world. Strength is believing that your actions, determination, and persistence are what get you the results you want, not luck.

13 – “Don’t pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
–Bruce Lee

This quote reminds us that life will not always be easy. In fact, most of the time, it will be difficult, with many challenges to face. Instead of praying for things to be simple, pray for the strength to be able to endure whatever life throws your way. Bruce Lee was seen as the symbol of strength during his time, but in reality, he endured many hardships and challenges in his personal life.

14 – “If you haven’t the strength to impose your own terms upon life, then you must accept the terms it offers you.”
–T.S. Eliot

Either you plan your life, or you just take what it gives you. This quote reminds us that the power of the life we want is in our hands. If we don’t use that power, then we must just take whatever life throws at us. When we see others who are living the lives of our dreams, it helps to remind ourselves that we have the power to plan and craft our lives. If we don’t, then we just have to accept that we are passengers, not drivers who control the direction of our destiny.

15 – “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
–Winston Churchill

It is an effort that produces results. The people who are most successful in life are not necessarily the most intelligent or the strongest, but those who put in effort day after day. This is one of the best quotes about strength that reminds us that chipping away at a problem a little at a time and persisting consistently is the best method of dealing with the challenges in life.

managing your stressFinal Thoughts on Reading Quotes About Strength to Face Tough Times

Whenever you get to a season in your life when you feel your relationships, your environment, or your whole world is spinning out of control, it helps to remember these quotes about strength and resilience. You may be at a crossroads where you have to decide whether to give up or keep going. This place is where you find the strength within to press on, knowing that this, too, shall pass.