I'm publishing this post on day 14 of our self quarantine during the COVID-19 virus. People are dying, economies are crashing and the world has slowed to a halt.
These quotes cheered me up and helped me refocus myself on handling these uncertain times with strength instead of frustration and anger.
I hope they do the same for you.
Oh, and be sure to leave your favorite quote about persevering through tough times in the comments!
There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet.
- William Frederick Halsey, Jr.
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people.
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucius
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.
Tough times never last, but tough people do.
-Robert H. Schuller
There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is merely the comparison of one state to the other. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.
-Alexandre Dumas
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
To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.
-Gail Sheehy
Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
-Joshua J. Marine
If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.
-H.G. Wells
The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow. For every challenge encountered, there is opportunity for growth.
-Unknown
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.
-Mary Anne Radmacher
“Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.”
-Greta Garbor
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.
Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path, and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
-Author Unknown
Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
-Earl Nightingale
“If you know the point of balance, you can settle the details. If you can settle the details, you can stop running around. Your mind will become calm. If your mind becomes calm, you can think in front of a tiger. If you can think in front of a tiger, then you will surely succeed. Mencius, Chinese philosopher