Life is filled with highs and lows—valleys and peaks that will test your resilience, that will push you to overcome challenges—and the lessons you’ll learn on your way to the top will only make you stronger, better.
Find your will to keep climbing with these motivational quotes about strength.
Related: 7 Reasons You Need Mental Strength to Be Successful
Quotes about staying resilient
- “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
- “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” —Ernest Hemingway
- “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” —Walt Disney
- “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
- “I like criticism. It makes you strong.” —LeBron James
- “Be very strong… be very methodical in your life if you want to be a champion.” —Alberto Juantorena
- “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ’Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” —Thomas Paine
- “Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” —Susan Gale
- “Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.” —Sarah Dessen
Uplifting quotes about strength
- “There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” —Booker T. Washington
- “A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.” —Vernon Howard
- “He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.” —Louisa May Alcott
- “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” —Robert H. Schuller
- “Nothing is more beautiful than the smile that has struggled through the tears.” —Demi Lovato
- “Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.” —Drew Barrymore
- “We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” —Isabel Allende
- “When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision—then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” —Audre Lorde
- “Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.” —John H. Zenger
Quotes about persevering
- “Make up your mind that no matter what comes your way, no matter how difficult, no matter how unfair, you will do more than simply survive. You will thrive in spite of it.” —Joel Osteen
- “I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.” —Audrey Hepburn
- “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” —Christopher Reeve
- “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” —Oprah Winfrey
- “We are stronger, gentler, more resilient and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” —Mark Nepo
- “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” —Steve Maraboli
- “It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.” ―J.R.R. Tolkien
- “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” ―Helen Keller
Strength quotes that will encourage you to keep going
- “There are better starters than me, but I’m a strong finisher.” —Usain Bolt
- “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” —Napoleon Hill
- “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.” —William Ellery Channing
- “Stay strong. Stand up. Have a voice.” —Shawn Johnson
- “I like feeling strong. It keeps my mental floor higher.” —Pink
- “Look well into yourself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if you will always look there.” —Marcus Aurelius
- “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” —Mahatma Gandhi
- “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Conquering others is power; conquering oneself is strength.” —Lao Tzu
This article was updated June 2024. Photo by Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock.com
