103 Quotes About Having Strength During Hard Times

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True strength is not about how much you can bench, squat or curl. It is not a measure of your chest and biceps. Strength is about what you can face and overcome.

Strength is only found in adversity, and sometimes the strongest people are the most unlikely ones.

When times get tough, when you fall down, when you fail catastrophically when those you care for leave you or pass away – those are the times that we discover our strength.

By getting back up and facing the world again, we discover and grow our true strength. For some concrete examples, check out this collection of 10 successful people who have failed.

This post is a collection of the best quotes about strength to help you get through those tough times and come out on the other end stronger and more resilient than when you started.

These quotes on strength and the tough times are a great reminder that many people fail, and that failure is often a stepping stone to success.

Finding Courage

It can sometimes be difficult to find courage when we need it the most. Did you know that our thoughts have a significant impact on how we feel and what we do? If we think about our failures and our weaknesses, we may begin to feel weak or insecure about ourselves.

Controlling how we think isn't always an actionable and realistic plan. Instead, we have to learn to pay attention to our thoughts and our dreams and find the courage and bravery we have within. Think about all the regrets you will have if you don't muster up enough courage to do something or say something.

All of the inspiring quotes we have included on this list are meant to inspire you and spark that courage and bravery inside of you so you can overcome your tough time and make it through stronger than ever. Courage is power.

Enough of that, let's get to the inner strength quotes….

Quotes About Strength in Hard Times

  1. ​“Anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, that’s true strength.”– Chris Bradford
  2. ​“Build upon strengths, and weaknesses will gradually take care of themselves.”– Joyce C. Lock
  3. ​“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
  4. ​“Strength is the product of struggle; you must do what others don’t to achieve what others won’t.”– Henry Rollins
  5. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway
Quotes About Strength in Hard Times - “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway
  1. ​“My strength did not come from lifting weights. My strength came from lifting myself up when I was knocked down.”– Bob Moore
  2. ​“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”– Napoleon Hill
  3. ​“The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered, there is an opportunity for growth.”– Unknown
  4. ​“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”– Martin Luther King, Jr.
  5. ​“The struggle of you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.”– Unknown

​“It’s not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.”– J.R.R Tolkien

  1. “You're going to go through tough times – that's life. But I say, ‘nothing happens to you, it happens for you.”– Joel Osteen
  2. “I think you need to go through some stuff to really appreciate life and understand what it means to persevere, overcome, and have faith. I think those tough times make you a stronger person.”– Judith Hill
  3. “Once you have been through tough times, you can only become stronger.”– Alesha Dixon
  4. “Tough times don't last, but tough people do. And I've been through some tough times, and I know a lot of people can recall tough times, and maybe are going through some tough times right now, but they don't last.”– Alonzo Mourning

Sometimes the most powerful quotes are short, direct, and to the point. The following quotes on having strength when times are tough are examples of this.

These short strength quotes to inspire do not have words to spare, but they are still powerful and inspirational.

Short Strength Quotes

  1. ​“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot, and hang on.”– Franklin D. Roosevelt
  2. ​“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure.”– Henry Kissinger
  3. ​“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”– John F Kennedy
  4. ​“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”– Jewish Proverb
  5. “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” – Oprah Winfrey
Short Strength Quotes - “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength” – Oprah #inspirationalquotes #truth #personaldevelopment #selflove #quotesoftheday #motivationalquotes #qotd #quotes
  1. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”– Friedrich Nietzsche
  2. ​“Concentration is the secret of strength.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson
  3. ​“He knows not his strength who hath not met adversity.”– William Samuel Johnson
  4. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”– Frederick Douglass

​“Tough times never last, but tough people do.– Robert H. Schuller

  1. ​“The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.”– Author Unknown
  2. ​“There are better starters than me, but I’m a strong finisher.”– Usain Bolt
  3. ​“The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.”– Japanese Proverb

Courage and strength go hand-in-hand.

It takes courage to start again after you have failed. It takes courage to face the world alone after a breakup. It takes courage to do the right thing when nobody's watching.

Life is full of peaks and valleys. Strength will help you reach the peaks, and courage will give you the resilience to start climbing again when you hit the next valley. Strength and courage are two essential habits of success, that will help you succeed at just about anything you do in your life.

Good Quotes About Strength and Courage

Our tough times could really be blessings in disguise because they are teaching us about strength and courage. The following inspiring quotes are here to remind you what it means to be courageous in the face of adversity despite our mistakes.

  1. ​“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”– Mary Anne Radmacher
  2. ​“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear; The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.”– Meg Cabot
  3. ​“Strength isn’t about bearing a cross of grief or shame. Strength comes from choosing your own path and living with the consequences.”– Jenny Trout
  4. “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” – Cayla Mills
Good Quotes About Strength and Courage - “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” – Cayla Mills
  1. ​“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us but those who win battles we know nothing about.”– Unknown
  2. ​“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
  3. ​Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.”– Sarah Dessen
  4. ​“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can, and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”Buddha
  5. ​“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time, we fall.”– Confucius
  6. ​“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”– Louis Pasteur

In the past, some have called women the “weaker sex.” While this may sometimes be true for physical strength. It is certainly 100% false when it comes to resilience and the type of internal strength we are talking about in this quotes post.

Women are just as strong as men and most likely stronger. Just check out this study about how women are stronger than men or just think about carrying around a baby for nine months and then suffering through childbirth. I have never doubted the strength of women!

The following are strength quotes to help women get through the tough times.

Strength Quotes for Her

  1. ​“And yet, anything real, anything strong, was never easy. She'd been taught from an early age that the things that mattered most were the hardest to obtain.”– Nora Roberts
  2. ​“Better to be strong than pretty and useless.”– Lilith Saintcrow
  3. ​“Sometimes, the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.”– Barbara Kingsolver
  4. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
Strength Quotes for Her - “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon #motivationalquotes #personalgrowth #happiness #quotestoliveby #quotes #quotesoftheday
  1. ​“Strength isn't about bearing a cross of grief or shame. Strength comes from choosing your own path and living with the consequences.”– Jennifer Armintrout
  2. ​“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles; it empties today of its strength.”– Corrie ten Boom
  3. ​“I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”– Eric Roth
  4. ​“Old age is not a disease – it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.”– Maggie Kuhn
  5. ​“Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.”– Paulo Coelho

​“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”– Mahatma Gandhi

Most people who have experienced have also experienced deep and profound loss sometimes. As the rock band, Nazareth, once sang, “Love hurts.”

Love can pick you up and inspire you to do great things. But when it ends, it can also lead to the darkest of despairs and even the feeling that we are unloved or unlovable.

Living a meaningful life often means loving ourselves, others, and the world we live in. This is not always easy particularly when you have been hurt badly before.

But having the strength to try love again, even if you have been hurt before is an important part of finding happiness. So hopefully the strength and love quotes below will help you get through those tough times.

Want more? Check out our collection of strong woman quotes!

Good Quotes About Strength and Love

  1. ​“Being deeply loved gives you strength; loving deeply gives you courage.”– Unknown
  2. ​“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”– Ann Landers
  3. ​“Being strong doesn’t mean you’ll never get hurt. It means even when you get hurt, you’ll never let it defeat you.”– Unknown
  4. ​“Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible – it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment and offer you more joy than any material possession could.”– Barbara De Angelis
  5. ​“Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.”
Good Quotes About Strength and Love - “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.”
  1. ​“Love is a fabric which never fades, no matter how often it is washed in the water of adversity and grief.”– Robert Fulghum
  2. ​“When something bad happens, you have three choices: You can either let it define you, let it destroy you or let it strengthen you.”– Unknown

​“Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.”– Unknown

  1. ​“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.”LaoTzu
  2. ​“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
  3. Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran
  4. You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” – Ain Eineziz
  5. Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
  6. The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
  7. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
  8. When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” – Peter Marshall
  9. Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome.” – N. R. Walker
  10. If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  11. We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” – Isabel Allende
  12. You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
  13. It is worth remembering that the time of greatest gain in terms of wisdom and inner strength is often that of greatest difficulty.” – Dalai Lama
  14. Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.” – Brigitte Nicole
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it.” – C. JoyBell C.
  18. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

“A brave man acknowledges the strength of others.” —Veronica Roth.

  1. Step into my shoes and walk the life I’m living and if you get as far as I am, just maybe you will see how strong I really am.” – Author Unknown
  2. No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” – Greg Kincaid
  3. The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance.” – Jodi Picoult
  4. There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.' No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” – Dalai Lama
  5. Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin
  6. Go ahead tell me that I’m not good enough, tell me I can’t do it because I will show you over and over again that I can!” – Author Unknown
  7. We are stronger, gentler, more resilient, and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” – Mark Nepo
  8. 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
  9. She was always fighting a battle but her smile would never tell you so.” – Nikki Rowe
  10. Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
  11. The woman who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet.” – Mohadesa Najumi
  12. 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
  13. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” – Ambrose Redmoon
  14. Getting weak is easy. It's staying strong that makes you.” – Avinash Rao
  15. The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.” – R. G. Ingersoll
  16. “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.
Good Quotes About Strength and Love - “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. | quotes about strength | courage quotes | quotes about strength in hard times
  1. Smile and let everyone know that today, you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday.” – Drake
  2. Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.” – Demi Lovato
  3. I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou
  4. You didn’t find strength when you couldn’t live without it. You found it when you had someone or something you loved so much that it forced you to stretch the edges of yourself further than you thought was possible.” – Martina Boone
  5. There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage.” – Seneca
  6. Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” – Bruce Lee
  7. A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve
  8. It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf
  9. There is strength for every situation.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
  10. We will either find a way, or make one.” —Anibal Barca.
  11. If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it.” Toni Morrison
  12. When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.” Thomas A. Edison

[Steps to Gaining More Strength In Your Life]

Final Thoughts about Quotes on Strength

I hope you enjoyed this collection of quotes about strength.

Tough times happen to everyone sooner or later. When you face these tough times with strength and courage, they will always make you a better person in the long run.

I hope that some of the quotes on this page (and the hope quotes in this post) have inspired you a bit and help encourage you if you are facing your own tough times.

For more inspiration, check out our roundup of the best movies about courage and bravery and our list of the best songs about bravery and courage.

If you enjoyed these quotes on strength, please let me know in the comment section below. Feel free to share your own strength quotes if they are not already included in this list. I would love to discover more great strength quotes to share with others.

If you have a moment, please share a quote from this page on your favorite social media platform.

And if you're looking for more resources related to having strength during hard times, be sure to check out these blog posts:

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..

Live strong. Stay strong. Be strong!

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