20 Quotes To Encourage You To Keep Going

It is human nature to question our ability to accomplish our goals and reach our dreams. However, this past year has brought so much more doubt, confusion, and pain than any of us could have ever imagined.

With the world changing around us and tension at every corner, it may feel impossible to stay above water. You are not alone.

2020 was a difficult year for a lot of people, and 2021 hasn’t exactly gotten off to the most joyous start. Personally, a lot has changed for me. I left my “big city” and lost my “big job.” I was forced to move back home, and have doubted every single choice I’ve made over the last year. Nothing has felt right and my dreams feel so far away. I have failed countless times and had no other option but to keep going. I felt like giving up with every obstacle that I faced, but I have also found encouragement around every corner. Sometimes that encouragement is hard to find, but you just have to keep looking.

Since we’re all still dealing with the repercussions of the past year and how it has impacted our mental health and our well-being, I wanted to share some quotes that have inspired me to stay strong and stick to my goals no matter how hard it’s gotten.

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“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” — Nelson Mandela

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.” — Winston Churchill

“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

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” — Maya Angelou

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” — Peter Marshall

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.” — Thomas A. Edison

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” — Marcus Aurelius

“The human capacity for burden is like bamboo — far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” — Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper

“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” — Isabel Allende

“Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” — Gever Tulley

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Nelson Mandela

“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” — Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

“Grief and resilience live together.” — Michelle Obama, Becoming

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”– Ernest Hemingway

“Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.”– Drew Barrymore

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”– Khalil Gibran

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.”No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.”– 14th Dalai Lama

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”– Vincent Van Gogh

“He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.”– Louisa May Alcott

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”– Maya Angelou

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Most of these quotes are from people you probably already know and maybe even love. When I was looking for people to take inspiration from it was comforting to think that so many other “greats” had faced adversity and managed to come out on top.

Finding your strength in difficult seasons of life is easier said than done, but we all have the capacity to take our life into our own hands and stop letting the world dictate our futures. Even when things seem bleak you are strong, and you are capable of creating your dream life.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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