When you are stuck in a state of pain brought upon by difficult life challenges, it’s easy to feel isolated and hopeless. When the future is covered in a thick layer of gloom and doom, we tend to forget that literally billions of other humans have endured similar emotional experiences.
Remembering that we are all on this journey together, regardless of how much someone has or how they are viewed in society, can be a very powerful step towards returning to your emotional center.
17 great minds share their words on overcoming hard times:
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. -Chinese proverb
When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. – Paulo Coelho
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do. –
Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. – Arthur Golden
Fresh activity is the only means of overcoming adversity. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
One of the finest beliefs I developed years ago that helped me to enjoy all of my life experience was the idea that there are no bad experiences, that no matter what I go through in life – whether it’s a challenging experience or a pleasurable one – every experience provides me something of value if I look for it. – Anthony Robbins
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Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body. -Seneca
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. – Francis of Assisi
No one can be responsible for where or how we each begin. No one has the freedom to do anything or everything, and all choices bring consequences. What we choose to do next, though, how to spend our resources or attention or effort, this is what defines us. – Seth Godin
I love a success story, but even more than a success story; I like a dude who messes his life up and gets his life together again story. – Joe Rogan
I’m just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards. – Gary Vaynerchuk
If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill
To remain indifferent to the challenges we face is indefensible. If the goal is noble, whether or not it is realized within our lifetime is largely irrelevant. What we must do therefore is to strive and persevere and never give up. -Dalai Lama
I’ve missed more than 9,000 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
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
Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone. – Paul Tillich
We acquire the strength we have overcome. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Further Reading:
