100 Hard Times Quotes To Get You Through Anything

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We all face hard times. From health issues, to the loss of loved ones, bad breakups and more, sadly, life has a way of continually dishing out the rough with the smooth. But one of the best ways to make it through whatever difficult situation you're facing is remembering you're not, and never will be, alone. That can mean seeking solace from others, or reading empowering quotes that inspire you to pull through.

We've combined all the most inspirational quotes you'll ever need t o carry you through the hard times. This includes everything from useful mantras to repeat to yourself in the mirror on the daily, to actionable advice for moving forward, and touching words from women who have made it through their own difficult times. These quotes can also serve as inspiration if you're stuck for something inspiring to say to someone who's struggling, providing realistic ways to support a loved one with depression or anxiety.

• "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart" — Anne Frank in "The Diary of a Young Girl"
• "Sometimes it takes a wrong turn to get you to the right place" — Mandy Hale in "The Single Woman–Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence"
• "Everything in life fluctuates, especially our mood. Better days will come" — Feel Good Club on Instagram
• "Hard times, when held with open hands and a tender heart, can prepare us for the future" — Cindee Snider Re in "Discovering Hope: Beginning the Journey Toward Hope in Chronic Illness"
• "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it" — Margaret Thatcher (via Goodreads)
• "Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It's the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life—this I know" — Oprah Winfrey in "What I Know For Sure"
• "Take note of the little things that sing: there is still room to find gratitude right here" — Morgan Harper Nichols (via Instagram)
• "There are so many other people that feel the same way that I do, and they all survived" — Rowan Blanchard to Coveteur
• "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen" – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (via Facebook)
• "The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning" — Ivy Baker Priest to Parade (via LibQuotes)

• "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship" — Louisa May Alcott in "Little Women"
• "Without the dark, we'd never see the stars" — Stephenie Meyer in "Twilight"
• "With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts" — Eleanor Roosevelt in The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers
• "There are no mistakes, only opportunities" – Tina Fey in "Bossypants"
• "Sometimes when you lose your way, you find yourself" — Mandy Hale in "The Single Woman–Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass: Embracing Singleness with Confidence"
• "There is light, and you are the light in a dark society" — Nasim Eshqi to Renewable Matter
• "Wake up, kick ass, repeat. Wake up, kick ass, repeat'" — Jennifer Lopez, who also has some inspirational quotes on love and relationships, to Entertainment Tonight
• "I overcome the fear of losing. I overcome the fear of changing. I let go of what is going. I allow what is coming" — Human Angels' "365 Mantras For Today"
• "You may encounter many defeats, but you just must never be defeated" — Maya Angelou to the Los Angeles Times (via Quote Investigator)
• "I am stronger than this storm" — Elicia Rose on Instagram

• "You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it's enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up" — Richelle E. Goodrich in "Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year"
• "Don't be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered" — Michelle Obama, a First Lady who also dished out poignant advice in her own book, during a speech (via Time)
• "If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within" — Maya Angelou on X
• "When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future" — Queen Elizabeth II during a Christmas address
• "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 have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do" — Eleanor Roosevelt in "You Learn By Living"
• "If you were born with the weakness to fall you were born with the strength to rise" — Rupi Kaur in "Milk and Honey"
• "At your weakest, you end up showing more strength; at your lowest, you are suddenly lifted higher than you've ever been. They all border one another, these opposites and show how quickly we can be altered" — Cecelia Ahern in "Thanks For The Memories"
• "Sometimes that small glimmer of inner strength is all that we have to help us press forward through the darkness" — Morgan Rhodes in "Falling Kingdoms"
• "A woman's strength isn't measured by how much she can endure, but by how many times she chooses to rise, love, heal, & keep going" – Dinah Jane on Facebook
• "You can't get to courage without walking through vulnerability. Period" — Dr. Brené Brown on "Super Soul Sunday"

• "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" – the Bible (Isaiah 41:10)
• "Do you suppose that you will enter the Garden without first having suffered like those before you? They were afflicted by misfortune and hardship, and they were so shaken that even [their] messenger and the believers with him cried, 'When will God's help arrive?' Truly, God's help is near" — the Quran (2:214)
• "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" – the Bible (John 16:33)
• "When I die and happily meet my Creator, He will ask me to show Him my wounds. If I tell Him that I have no wounds, my Creator will ask: Was nothing worth fighting for?" — Nancy Pelosi in "The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House"
• "When you're troubled and worried and sick at heart, and your plans are upset and your world falls apart, remember God's ready and waiting to share the burdens you find much too heavy to bear. So with faith, 'let go' and 'let God' lead the way, into a brighter and less troubled day" — Helen Steiner Rice in "Thankfully"
• "When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with an impossibility" — Anne Lamott in "Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith"
• "God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear" – the Quran (2:286)
• "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you" — the Bible (Deuteronomy 31:6)
• "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" — the Bible (Philippians 4:13)
• "To understand everything is to forgive everything" – the Tripitaka (Dhammapada 6.1)

• "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain" — Dolly Parton on Instagram
• "Finding the gratitude in this pain has been a real journey, but the outcome is worth it" — Katy Perry, who also has an inspiring post-divorce quote, to People
• "[My mantra] is, 'Keep going and be grateful.' When you're knocked down, which everybody is, you've got to find a way to get back up. Maybe you get to your knees first and then you grab on something, you pull yourself up. Keep going and then be grateful. Every day" — Hilary Clinton on "Just B with Bethenny Frankel" 
• "Fresh starts, I've realized, don't wait for calendars or big proclamations. They happen in the quiet choices: forgiving yourself, showing up again, trusting the process even when it feels hopeless" — Jenna Dewan to InStyle
• "Even in hard times, maybe especially in hard times, our stories help cement our values and strengthen our connections" — Michelle Obama in a statement (via People)
• "You need to have faith. These blessings are coming your way, you just have to believe you're worthy of them" — Hoda Kotb to People
• "I think scars are like battle wounds — beautiful, in a way. They show what you've been through and how strong you are for coming out of it" — Demi Lovato to Glamour
• "Everything happens for a reason. The highs. The lows. It's all for a higher development. And I would not stress about the down times. That's part of one's evolution" — Halle Berry to People
• "It's okay to feel the pain you're in. It won't kill you. The sooner you allow yourself to feel the pain, the sooner you can let it go" — Laverne Cox to People
• "When you stumble, keep faith. When you're knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go on" — Hillary Clinton, who's had a stunning transformation, in a speech (via NPR)

• "I believe it may be necessary to encounter many defeats without being defeated by them. Trials shape and mold you. I think I am a result of the pressure I have endured" — Maya Angelou, whose memoir has an important story to tell, to The Lexington Herald (via Quote Investigator)
• "True bravery is when you keep fighting for what you believe in even when you are scared" — Malala Yousafzai to NPR
• "Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you" — Mary Tyler Moore to Reader's Digest (via Bustle)
• "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life" — J.K. Rowling during her Harvard University commencement speech
• "We must choose courage. I've known the darkest of days. Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination. I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word and then another. My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger" — Gabrielle Giffords during the Democratic National Convention
• "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 that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained" — Marie Curie (via Marie Curie)
• "Lying in bed crying isn't going to change the fact that my family will never be the same again. But getting out of bed and pushing forward is going to make the day better for my girls and for me. So that's what I do" — Vanessa Bryant, who got a tattoo to honor her loved ones, to People
• "Whatever difference or hardship you carry, it can become your superpower. Mine did" — Lily Brasch to People
• "Life is a journey for us all. We all face trials. We all have ups and downs. All of us are human. But we are also the masters of our fate. We are the ones who decide how we are going to react to life" — Elizabeth Smart in "My Story"
• "Someday when you don't expect it, the river may rise and carry you away to a new place. You can try to fight it, swim upstream, cling to the rocks on the shore. It's safer to stay here, you think. To hold on to what I know and who I'm supposed to be. I had those thoughts too, before I understood we are always changing, always growing into an uncertain future. Let go, I wanted to say. Trust the water to hold you, trust yourself to float" — Malala Yousafzai in "Finding My Way"

• "Healing doesn't mean the pain is gone. It means it no longer controls you" — Psychotherapist Dr. Sara Kuburic on Instagram
• "We should take comfort, that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return" — Queen Elizabeth II during a public address (via X)
• "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 to NPR
• "The past can be part of your story without running your life" — Heather Dausman Abell, therapist and behavior analyst, on Instagram
• "Finding gratitude and appreciation is key to resilience" — Sheryl Sandberg in a University of California Berkley commencement speech (via Time)
• "Don't feel bad about feeling bad. There is no need to give up when we are feeling depressed. Nor should we be dismayed at the grief which often accompanies the outgrowing of anything which needs outgrowing. We can be glad that our soul is speaking to us and pushing us onwards. We frequently need to persevere with a period of inner turmoil before the dust can settle and be swept out the door" — Donna Goddard in "The Love of Devotion"
• "The experiences that teach and shape us the most are often the most traumatic. Whether you falter or flourish after these is up to you. Choose resilience, and appreciate every way in which you can improve after a negative event — because that's what it's there for, to help you evolve" — positive psychology expert Pax Tandon to Bustle
• "I am stronger than I am broken. I don't want them, or anyone, to think I am nothing more than the worst thing that has ever happened to me" — Roxane Gay in "Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body"
• "It is taking everything within me to keep waiting, but this is the miracle that I am coming to know; this desert journey has made me weary but my heart is still slouched toward hope. And I will believe I can know peace without knowing what comes next. I will trust in the waiting everything connects" — Morgan Harper Nichols on Instagram
• "You've survived 100% of your difficult days so far. That's not luck. That's your incredible resilience, even when you can't feel it" — Angela Gouger, holistic therapist, on Instagram

• "Painful feelings are, by their very nature, temporary. They will weaken over time as long as we don't prolong or amplify them through resistance or avoidance. The only way to eventually free ourselves from debilitating pain, therefore, is to be with it as it is. The only way out is through" – Kristin Neff in "Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself"
• "You have to confront and be empowered. But first you are allowed to cry. Are we going to cry or put on the big girl panties? Both. We are going to do both," Nicole Walters to People
• "When we find ourselves worrying, obsessing, and fixating, the best salve is to pause and consciously remind ourselves that we are safe right here, right now, and in this moment" — Nicole Sachs, LCSW, psychotherapist and author, to The Healthy
• "I've found that there is always some beauty left — in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you" — Anne Frank in "The Diary of a Young Girl"
• "Gratitude is medicine for a heart devastated by tragedy. If you can only be thankful for the blue sky, then do so" — Richelle E. Goodrich in "Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year"
• "It's futile to ask why. Instead ask yourself, 'What did I learn from this?' What have I learned from all of it? There is absolutely no way whatsoever to get through this life without scars" – Viola Davis in "Finding Me"
• "When you feel the Earth moving, bring yourself back to the now. You'll handle whatever shake-up the next moment brings when you get to it. In this moment, you're still breathing. In this moment, you've survived. In this moment, you've found a new place to move your feet so you can step onto higher ground" — Oprah Winfrey to Oprah.com
• "One foot in front of the other, and you don't really need to get to the end. There's some beauty in the journey" — Patina Miller to Parade
• "We face up to awful things because we can't go around them, or forget them. The sooner you say 'Yes, it happened, and there's nothing I can do about it,' the sooner you can get on with your own life" — Annie Proulx in "The Shipping News"
• "Each time you have overcome an obstacle, it is like putting a deposit into your bank account. When you are feeling low, check the piggy bank to see that there is actually money in there. [It] shows your brain that you have gone through difficult things before, and have overcome" — Renee Exelbert, psychologist and founding director of The Metamorphosis Center for Psychological and Physical Change, to The Healthy

• "Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed" – Maya Angelou in "Letter To My Daughter"
• "Not everything will be easy, but not everything will be hard" — The Inspired Stories on Instagram
• "Hard times are good in their own way, too. Because the only way you can achieve true happiness is if you experience true sadness as well. It's all about light and shade" — Gabrielle Williams in "Beatle Meets Destiny"
• "It is our wounds that create in us a desire to reach for miracles. The fulfillment of such miracles depends on whether we let our wounds pull us down or lift us up towards our dreams" — Jocelyn Soriano in "Mend My Broken Heart"
• "The beauty of self-compassion is that instead of replacing negative feelings with positive ones, new positive emotions are generated by embracing the negative ones. The positive emotions of care and connectedness are felt alongside our painful feelings. When we have compassion for ourselves, sunshine and shadow are both experienced simultaneously" — Kristin Neff in "Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself"
• "There is power in being robbed and still choosing to dance" — Amanda Gorman in "Call Us What We Carry"
• "Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again" — Anne Frank in "The Diary of a Young Girl"
• "Don't be discouraged by life's difficulties. With hope and determination, you can triumph over any difficulties" — Lailah Gifty Akita in "Pearls of Wisdom: Great Mind"
• "Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic" — Laini Taylor in "Daughter of Smoke & Bone"
• "Even when the nervous system is convinced otherwise, feelings are temporary visitors, not permanent residents" — Angela Gouger, holistic therapist, on Instagram

• "Long story short, it was a bad time. Long story short, I survived" – Taylor Swift in "Long Story Short"
• "I know my heart will never be the same, but I'm tellin' myself I'll be okay. Even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger" – Sara Evans in "A Little Bit Stronger"
• "Starting right now, I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't really care if nobody else believes, 'cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me" – Rachel Platten on "Fight Song"
• "Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand. And what you've been out there searching for forever is in your hands. And when you figure out love is all that matters after all, it sure makes everything else seem so small" – Carrie Underwood in "So Small"
• "I will learn to let go of what I cannot change. I will learn to forgive what I cannot change. I will learn to love what I cannot change. But I will change [...] whatever I can" – LeAnn Rimes on "What I Cannot Change"
• "I'm a survivor, I'm not gon' give up. I'm not gon' stop, I'm gon' work harder" – Destiny's Child on "Survivor"
• "After a hurricane, comes a rainbow" – Katy Perry on "Firework"
• "Beat down on me, beat down like a waterfall. 'Cause I can take on so much more than I had ever dreamed" – Kelly Clarkson on "Invincible"
• "When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong. And you'll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you" — Mariah Carey in "Hero"
• "There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark. You should know you're beautiful just the way you are. And you don't have to change a thing, the world could change its heart. No scars to your beautiful, we're stars and we're beautiful" – Alessia Cara on "Scars"