There are times when we all need an injection of strength and a good dose of encouragement. Life does like to challenge us, doesn’t it!
My health struggles with Long Covid over the last six months have required me to dig deep into my inner strength well. It’s easy to get lost in a feeling of despair and hopelessness, but drawing on your strength – strength that is there, despite circumstances dictating the need for you to search harder to find it – will get you through.
One tried-and-true technique I use is to place relevant quotes where I’ll see them daily. They’re fantastic for giving you a much-needed mental boost. Below are 15 of my favourite quotes for strength and encouragement; I hope that their words reach you, too, right when you need them.
Here are my top tips for using these quotes for strength and encouragement:
- Read through and see which ones resonate the most for you right now. These are the ones to display first.
- Switch the quotes you have on display at regular intervals. Changing the quotes around the words will help them retain their power and effect.
- Find places you’ll stumble across them. Yes, I put them on my vision board, but I also place one on top of my socks in my sock drawer or inside the cupboard where we keep the mugs. OK, you’ll know they’re there, but it’s still a happy occurrence at random times of your day.
- Journal. Take some time to reflect on the quote – How does it make you feel? What comes up for you as you read it? Write without judgment of yourself or editing; just let it flow. Give yourself 5-minutes and then return to reread. Have any ideas, solutions, or action steps come up for you? Don’t be disparaged if not; if nothing else, journaling is a cathartic process.
- Make them more personal by turning the quote into your own. Let’s take the Maya Angelou quote as an example: ‘If one has courage, nothing can dim the light that shines from within’ Firstly, you could personalise it: ‘Julie, if you have courage, nothing can dim the light that shines from within’ Or, you can create an affirmation from it and repeat it daily to yourself: With courage, nothing will dim the light that shines brightly within me.
15 Quotes for strength and encouragement:
She was powerful. Not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly despite the fear.
Atticus
In my moments of doubt, I’ve told myself firmly: If not me, who? If not now, when?
Emma Watson
Difficulty calls us to rise up. And in that rising, we learn what we are capable of.
Carli Baum
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
I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.
Joshua Graham
Remember: Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.
Rocky Balboa
Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.
Maya Angelou
If you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to stand up.
Rupi Kaur
Strength does not come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t.
Unknown
Almost crumbling to the ground, she stopped. Looking at how far she had travelled and all it had taken to get there, she recognised her strength. The strengths she had inside of her, the strength she had gained along the way – her inner power. And so, she stood up; standing tall, she faced forward and continued on.
Unknown
Never trust your fears; they don’t know your strength.
Athena Singh
Go as long as you can, and then take another step.
Unknown
If you don’t fit into a certain type, there’s a lot of strength in just being who you are.
Kim Gordon
What other people think of me is not my business. What I do is what I do. How people see me doesn’t change what I decide to do.
Ru Paul
The question isn’t, ‘who is going to let me?’ it’s ‘who is going to stop me?’
Ayn Rand
Recommended: 3 Self-Reflection Journal Prompts to Help You Move Forward
I hope you enjoyed my selected quotes for strength and encouragement? Which was your favourite? Do you already have any quotes you love? Whatever you’d like to say – or ask – please do. I’m happy to help, and I always love to hear from you!
