As difficult as it is to accept, we are all going to be faced with hard times — moments where “life happens,” little is under our control, and we feel as though we might not be able to make it through. Some say that the key to surviving times like this is a little thing called resilience. And sometimes all it takes to get kick started is perusing some inspiring quotes about resilience.
But what is resilience, really? And how do you go about cultivating it, especially when it feels like the rug is being pulled right out from under you?
Cultivating Resilience Is Simpler Than You Might Think
The important thing to keep in mind is that being resilient doesn’t mean that you have it all together all the time. It doesn’t mean that you don’t sometimes feel like you have lost all faith and courage. It just means that you have the mindset of perseverance despite all the difficulties thrown your way. It simply means that you showed up — you tried.
The good news is that experts agree that resilience is a learned behavior, and something you can strengthen throughout your life. And what better way to start your journey toward resilience than with some motivating and empowering quotes from incredible women and men who have been through it all and come out the other inside stronger than ever?
10 Inspiring Quotes About Resilience
- “My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present.” —Steve Goodier, author and minister
- “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” —Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist
- “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” —Maya Angelou, poet, memoirist, Civil Rights activist
- “Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” —J.K. Rowling, writer
- “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, poet
- “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness meditation teacher, author, and clinician
- “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player
- “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” —Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter and author
- “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” —Elizabeth Edwards, attorney, author, and health care activist.
- “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 do we realise 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, scientist and 11th president of India
You Are More Resilient Than You Realize
One of the amazing things about resilience is that many of us didn’t realize how resilient we were until we looked back at difficult times in our lives and saw the simple fact that we made it through, that we learned a thing or two, and that we had enough faith to keep going.
So the next time you are in a tough spot in life — and believe me, these moments will come up whether we want them to or not — think back on a time that you did persevere. That right there is your resilience. It’s always accessible to you, and you have more of it than you know.
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