173 Uplifting Quotes for Difficult Times in Your Life

Negativity and pessimism are far too common these days.

We are bombarded with negativity in the news, on the internet, at work, and in our daily lives. When things go wrong, it is even easier to be down on ourselves when surrounded by all the negativity in the world.

Uplifting quotes are a balm to that negativity. They can give us the courage to face our fears. To get back up when we have fallen down, and to start over after we experience failure.

These mood lifting and inspiring quotes can shake off our blues and add a bit of happiness into our lives. Or at least prop us up to face more of life’s challenges.

This page is full of positive and uplifting quotes. They include inspirational quotes, mood-boosting quotes, funny happy quotes, and even a handful of cute quotes. There is a section of uplifting quotes about life, adversity, and successful people and entrepreneurs. It also features a section of uplifting quotes for women.

Let’s get to it.

Funny Motivational Quotes

1. “When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.”– Cathy Guisewite
2. “Be happy – it drives people crazy.”– Unknown
3. “Live each day like it's your second to the last. That way you can fall asleep at night.”– Jason Love
4. “Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster; it's more like a cha-cha.”– Robert Brault

Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster; it's more like a cha-cha.”– Robert Brault

5. “Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.”– Marie Con Ebner-Eschenbach
6. “People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” – Simon Sinek
7. “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Groucho Marx
8. “Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.” – Langston Coleman
9. “When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best – that is inspiration.” – Robert Bresson

10. “Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing ’til it gets there.” – Josh Billings
11. “Bad decisions make good stories.” – Ellis Vidler
12. “Think like a proton. Always positive.” – Author Unknown
13. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison
14. “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
15. “If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.” – Marie Osmond
16. “Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive it isn’t.” – Richard Bach
17. “When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard’, I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’” – Sydney Harris

Uplifting and Inspirational Quotes for Kids

Sometimes even our kids need a little pick me up to get them through some tough times. The following quotes for kids are just what they need to get past the mistakes they may make and turn them instead toward positivity and motivation to inspire them to be the best they can be.

18. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”– Japanese Proverb
19. “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.”– Buckminster Fuller
20. “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it ‘The Present.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
21. “Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”– Hans Christian Andersen
22. “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – Roald Dahl
23. “You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Irish Proverb
24. “When you know better, you do better.” – Maya Angelou
25. “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne/Christopher Robin
26. “Good words are worth much, and cost little.” – George Herbert

27. “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.” – Dr. Seuss
28. “If they don’t like you for being yourself, be yourself even more.” – Taylor Swift
29. “No one is perfect — that’s why pencils have erasers.” – Anonymous
30. “I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said.” – Thuli Madonsela
31. “We grow great by dreams.” – Woodrow Wilson
32. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have the power to imagine better.” – J. K. Rowling
33. “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss

Uplifting Quotes About Life

Life can surprise you. Sometimes life can be difficult. But we all need to be aware of the unexpected blessings that might be waiting around to corner to change our lives for the better.

These uplifting quotes about life are designed to motivate us to achieve a better life in times when we may not feel so great about the way things are going. They are meant to inspire us to want more, do more and in general to be better.

34. “A big part of being a well-adjusted person is accepting that you can’t be good at everything.”– Kelly Williams Brown
35. “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”– David Brinkley
36. “Be the attitude you want to be around.” – Tim DeTellis

37. “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.”– William James
38. “Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.” – Dalai Lama
39. “Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.”– Jacques Prevert
40. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”– Robert Frost
41. “It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.”– Confucius
42. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.”– Robert Collier
43. “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”– Anonymous
44. “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”– James Allen
45. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”– George Lorimer
46. “Your problem isn’t the problem. Your reaction is the problem.”– Anonymous

47. “Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.”– William James
48. “Choose to be optimistic; it feels better.” – Dalai Lama
49. “Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.”– Jacques Prevert
50. “In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.”– Robert Frost
51. “It doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you don’t stop.”– Confucius
52. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day-out.”– Robert Collier
53. “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”– James Allen
54. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.”– George Lorimer
55. “Three things in life – your health, your mission, and the people you love. That’s it.” – Naval Ravikant
56. “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
57. “Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein
58. “Life is not what happened back there or what might happen up ahead. Life is like the rhythm of the heart — every breath, every blink of the eye. It is beat by beat, moment by moment. This…is all there is. This…is all we need.” – Andy Puddycombe

“Life is not what happened back there or what might happen up ahead. Life is like the rhythm of the heart — every breath, every blink of the eye. It is beat by beat, moment by moment. This…is all there is. This…is all we need.” – Andy Puddycombe

59. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” – Soren Kierkegaard
60. “Life is too important to be taken seriously.” – Oscar Wilde
61. “Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness and bad days give you experience.” – Unknown
62. “You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching.” – William W. Purkey
63. “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Kayyam
64. “Don’t search for the meaning of life. Simply be present for the people you love.” – Maxime Lagacé
65. “Life is a question and how we live it is our answer.” – Gary Keller
66. “You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.” – Mae West
67. “Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things.” – Kenneth Branagh

The uplifting quotes about life in this section seem to be a lot about being satisfied with yourself and what it takes to achieve success in the things you desire from life.

I am a firm believer that the best way to achieve this satisfaction with life, and eventually, the success you desire is by changing your habits.

Nothing is going to happen overnight, but changing your habits is a way to remake yourself as a slightly better version of yourself. Sort of like a YOU 1.1 then YOU 1.2 etc. Make enough changes over a long period of time, and you will be significantly improved.

There are two great ways of making these changes in your life.

1. Habit Stacking

This is an idea I talk about in detail in my book Habit Stacking: 127 Small Changes to Improve Your Health, Wealth, and Happiness. But the concept is really simple, though I recommend reading the book to get the most from Habit Stacking, you do not need to read this book to use the concept to improve your life.

The concept is simple. Find one habit you already do every day. Then you stack habits you WANT to add into your daily routine onto that habit. All habits need to be short (5 minutes or less). I would not recommend stacking more than 2-3 habits at first.

For example, you brush your teeth every morning. But want to add some exercise and health into your daily routine. With habit stacking, you might make a habit to do 5 minutes of pushups IMMEDIATELY following your normal tooth maintenance. Then following your pushups, immediately make and drink a healthy smoothie.

2. Start a Morning Routine

It is not a mistake that my habit stacking example above was part of a morning routine. This is where we can make the biggest positive impact on our lives. All you need to make a morning routine work is the willingness to wake up 20-40 minutes earlier.

Morning routines are hard to avoid. The day has not worn you down yet. In fact, a morning routine will actually give you energy for the day. IF you are up and ready, it is tough to put things off for later. Find out all about the benefits of morning routines and some examples in the post linked below.

Uplifting Quotes for Women

68. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”– Ayn Rand
69. “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
70. “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” –  Franklin D. Roosevelt
71. “A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

72. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”– Margaret Thatcher
73. “If it’s not exactly like you thought it would be, you think it’s a failure. What about the spectrum of colors in between.”– Sara Evans
74. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”– Eleanor Roosevelt
75. ​“In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me.”– Julia Cameron

In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me.”– Julia Cameron

76. “Just because you fail once doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.” – Marilyn Monroe
77. “Life is full of screwups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence.” – Sarah Dessen
78. “One thing at a time. Most important thing first. Start now.”– Caroline Webb
79. “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”– Francis Chan
80. “To succeed, you have to do something and be very bad at it for a while. You have to look bad before you can look really good.”– Barbara DeAngelis
81. “Light tomorrow with today.”– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
82. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”– Maya Angelou

83. “If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”– Mary Engelbreit
84. “If you embrace your flaws, nobody can use them against you.”– Cara Alwill Leyba
85. “What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”– Colette
86. “Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you.”– Heidi Johnson

Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you.”– Heidi Johnson

87. “Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.” – Margaret Thatcher
88. “I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
89. “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
90. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron

91. “Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Mier
92. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
93. “Don’t let anyone speak for you, and don’t rely on others to fight for you.” – Michelle Obama
94. “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” – Madeleine Albright
95. “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou
96. “Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” – Audre Lorde
97. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” – Brené Brown

My favorite of these uplifting quotes for women comes from the inimitable Julie Cameron.

98. “In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me.”

This uplifting quote makes me think about the importance of being self-aware. A lot of the pain in life comes from the constant rush of jumping from task-to-task-to-task. It may often seem like there is never a moment to rest, just constant stress from unending goals and deadlines.

This makes the moments taken for mindful living that much more important. Taking time out of a busy schedule and paying attention to the now is an important break that can give you time to revitalize, focus, and THEN attack the day again with renewed vigor and energy.

Uplifting Quotes for Entrepreneurs

99. “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” – Earl Nightingale
100. “Blaze your own glittery, sparkly, fiery, shimmering path. Surround yourself with the things that make you shine. Create your bubble and thrive in it.”– Cara Alwill Leyba
101. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.”– Michael John Bobak

102. “Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.”– Anonymous
103. “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
104. “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
105. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”– Jim Ryun
106. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”– Winston S. Churchill

Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”– Winston S. Churchill

107. “Problems are not stop signs; they are guidelines.”– Robert Schuller
108. “The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”– Mark Caine
109. “To be successful, you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like.”– Mike Gafka
110. “Whenever you see a successful person, you only see the public glories, never the private sacrifices to reach them.”– Vaibhav Shah
111. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.”– Nelson Mandela
112. “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”– Martin Luther King

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”– Martin Luther King

113. “You may only succeed if you desire succeeding; you may only fail if you do not mind failing.”– Philippos
114. “Whatever you do, be different – that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” – Anita Roddick
115. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
116. “One of the most important things I have learned is that businesses don't fail, entrepreneurs give up. Now sometimes, giving up is the right decision. But usually you just need to dig in and figure out how to make things better. Remember: Every day is a new opportunity to get up and do it better than yesterday!” – Ada Birnir
117. “Remember why you started.” – Author Unknown
118. “If Plan A doesn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters.” – Claire Cook
119. “If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.” – Bill Gates

If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor it’s your mistake.” – Bill Gates

120. “Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
121. “I don’t want to use my creative energy on somebody else’s user interface.” – Jeff Bezos
122. “It's not about money or connections. It's the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone when it comes to your business.” – Mark Cuban
123. “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and falling over.” – Richard Branson
124. “The only thing worse than starting something and failing… is not starting something.” – Seth Godin
125. “There are lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.” – Phil Libin

Entrepreneurs may certainly need some of these uplifting quotes. By definition, being an entrepreneur means creating opportunity where none was before.

Entrepreneurs are trailblazers, and sometimes trailblazers get killed and eaten by Indians.

The life of an entrepreneur means you will have to face failure. In fact, most entrepreneurs have failed at some time. The difference between a successful entrepreneur and a failed entrepreneur may be as simple as being able to bounce back after setbacks or failures. The uplifting quotes above were tailor-made to help entrepreneurs get back into the game.

Uplifting and Inspirational Quotes for Work

126. “If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.”– Mario Andretti
127. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.”– Lou Holtz
128. “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”– Henry David Thoreau

I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”– Henry David Thoreau

129. “Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.”– Farrah Gray
130. “Someday is not a day of the week.”– Janet Dailey
131. “You get to decide where your times goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don't decide, others will decide for you.”– Tony Morgan
132. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
133. “I have learned that real angels don’t have gossamer white robes and Cherubic skin, they have calloused hands and smell of the days’ sweat.” – Richard Evans
134. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
135. “Greatness is sifted through the grind, therefore don’t despise the hard work now for surely it will be worth it in the end.” – Sanjo Jendayi
136. “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Seth Godin
137. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
138. “You are not your resume, you are your work.” – Seth Godin

139. “Happiness is the real sense of fulfillment that comes from hard work.” – Joseph Barbara
140. “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren't enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” – Viggo Mortensen
141. “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing… success will be yours.” – Ray Kroc
142. “No great achiever – even those who made it seem easy – ever succeeded without hard work.” – Jonathan Sacks
143. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson

Uplifting Quotes in Times of Adversity

144. “Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.”– Napoleon Hill
145. “He knows not his own strength who hath not met adversity.”– William Samuel Johnson

146. “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”– Jewish Proverb
147. “If you’re going through hell keep going.”– Winston Churchill
148. “In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.”– Lee Iacocca
149. “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

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

150. “Prosperity makes friends; adversity tries them.”– Publilius Syrus
151. “Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.”– Theodore N. Vail
152. “The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.”– Seneca
153. “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”– Chinese Proverb
154. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”– Robert H. Schuller

155. “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa
156. “We should always pray for help, but we should always listen for inspiration and impression to proceed in ways different from those we may have thought of.”– John H. Groberg
157. “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”– Oscar Wilde
158. “The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships.” – Tony Robbins
159. “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”– Truman Capote

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”– Truman Capote

160. “Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”– Truman Capote
161. “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”– Japanese Proverb
162. “Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.”– L.M. Montgomery
163. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine
164. “There’s nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.” – Woody Hayes
165. “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 a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
166. “I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.” – Og Mandino
167. “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C. S. Lewis
168. “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
169. “Everything that you are going through is preparing you for what you’ve asked for.” – Author Unknown

“Everything that you are going through is preparing you for what you’ve asked for.” – Author Unknown

170. “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – Anonymous
171. “The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” – Max Lerner
172. “Adversity, similar to lava, appears to destroy everything in its way. But out of the ashes and smoke, new, better, and stronger things emerge that may have not been born in any other way.” – Zoe V.
173. “Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.” – Joseph Campbell

Tough times and hard work go hand-in-hand. Mood-boosting quotes like the ones above can help put things in perspective, bringing some light to the dark days and making the hard work seem a little bit easier.

Final Thoughts on These Uplifting Quotes

Did you find any of these quotes to be inspirational? Mood-boosting? Something that would make you feel a tiny bit better when facing failure. As always, positive quotes only have as much power as you give them, but I hope you found this collection of uplifting quotes to be a good one.

If you're looking for more sources of inspiration, here are short inspirational stories that can teach you some life lessons, inspirational poems about life, and more quotes about hope to help you get through difficult times.

Want to bring more positivity to your daily vocabulary? Check out this list of positive words that start with the letter A.

Please share your thoughts on these quotes in the comments below. Did you like them? Love them or hate them? Or are there good uplifting quotes not currently on this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:

• 63 Inspirational Quotes About Life and Happiness
• 67 Motivational Success Quotes for Men to Conquer
• 35 Inspirational Quotes About Living in the Moment
• 25 Best Movies to Watch About Overcoming Adversity
• 53 Inspirational Quotes About Change and How to Embrace It

Sharing Is Caring

Before you leave the site and move on with your day, I would like to as a favor. Take a couple of these uplifting quotes and share them on your favorite social media platform, so that others may get some a positive lift when they need it the most.

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..