a woman looking stressed out

85 Top Motivational Quotes About Struggle In Life

If there’s one truth about life, it’s that you are going to face your fair share of struggles. I have faced many incredibly painful challenges that have tested my strength and resilience in ways that I never imagined.

But now that I am on the other side of these challenges, I can say with certainty that within the depths of these struggles lies the opportunity for growth. Overcoming the obstacles of life shapes us into stronger, wiser, and more compassionate individuals.

But let’s be honest, it is really hard to see that struggles are growth opportunities when you are in the middle of whatever tough challenges life wants to throw your way.

That’s why I have put together this collection of motivational quotes about struggle! My goal is to help you acknowledge and wrestle with the reality of the pain you are going through while charting a path forward toward the personal growth that awaits you on the other side!

Motivational Quotes About Struggle

  1. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
  2. “Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.” – Oprah Winfrey
  3. “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” – Harry Golden
  4. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
  5. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
  6. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
  7. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
  8. “The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
  9. “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
  10. “You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” – Brene Brown
  11. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
  12. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
  13. “Only those who dare to fail greatly, can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy
  14. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
  15. “There are far, far better things ahead than anything we’ve left behind.” – C.S. Lewis
There are far, far better things ahead than anything we've left behind. - C.S. Lewis

Struggle Quotes

  1. “All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today.” – Pope Paul VI
  2. “Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal.” – Nathan Chen
  3. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
  4. “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” – Barbara De Angelis
  5. “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” – Greg Kincaid
  6. “Grief and resilience live together.” – Michelle Obama
  7. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
  8. “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” – Albert Camus
  9. “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill
  10. “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 those depths.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
  11. “I like to use the hard times in the past to motivate me today” – Dwayne Jonhson
  12. “Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.” – Nicole Reed
  13. “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” – Eric Burdon
  14. “Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.” – Elie Weisel
  15. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus on the light.” – Aristotle
It is during our darkest moments that we must focus on the light. - Aristotle

Best Quotes About Facing Problems In Life

  1. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
  2. “Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds.” – Marta
  3. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
  4. “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou
  5. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
  6. “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” – John F. Kennedy
  7. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
  8. “Don’t feel entitled to anything you didn’t sweat and struggle for.” – Marian Wright Edelman
  9. “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Khalil Gibran
  10. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway
  11. “I allow myself to fail. I allow myself to break. I’m not afraid of my flaws.” – Lady Gaga
  12. “Inside of a ring or out, ain’t nothing wrong with going down. It’s staying down that’s wrong.” – Muhammad Ali
  13. “Energy and persistence conquers all things.” – Benjamin Franklin
  14. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
  15. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” - Margaret Thatcher

Best Motivational Quotes To Help You When Life Gets Tough

  1. “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” – Oprah Winfrey
  2. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
  3. “We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” – Barbara De Angelis
  4. “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.” – Dale Carnegie
  5. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  6. “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” – John Steinbeck
  7. “Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger.” – Dalai Lama
  8. “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  9. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” – Stephen R. Covey
  10. “To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle.” – William Osler
  11. “Your own life struggles are enough to motivate you.” – Sonal Takalkar
  12. “The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
  13. “The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.” – Swami Sivananda
  14. “The truth is, we all face hardships of some kind, and you never know the struggles a person is going through. Behind every smile, there’s a story of a personal struggle.” – Adrienne C. Moore
  15. “There are better people in the world. Do not let the worst do the worst to you. You deserve the best in life.” – Michael Bassey Johnson
There are better people in the world. Do not let the worst do the worst to you. You deserve the best in life. - Michael Bassey Johnson

Quotes About Strength and Resilience

  1. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
  2. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
  3. “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Newt Gingrich
  4. “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” – Gail Devers
  5. “We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” – Albert Einstein
  6. “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
  7. “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” – Mary Lou Retton
  8. “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
  9. “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
  10. “Hard times always lead to something great.” – Betsey Johnson
  11. “What we all need to do is find the wellspring that keeps us going, that gives us the strength and patience to keep up this struggle for a long time.” – Winona LaDuke
  12. “All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.” – Michael John Bobak
  13. “I have seen good times and bad times, struggle and success.” – Himani Shivpuri
  14. “A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the way to that new world, than stand idly on the shore.” – Florence Nightingale
  15. “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts

Best Inspirational Quotes

  1. “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
  2. “If you can’t yet do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
  3. “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
  4. “Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it’s done right.” – Walt Disney
  5. “The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.” – Seneca
  6. “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  7. “Look at my success. I didn’t achieve it overnight. It has been the product of many years’ struggle, and every year, my times have shown gradual improvement.” – Mo Farah
  8. “The only person you should strive to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” – Tony Robbins
  9. “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
  10. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

How to Use Motivational Quotes About Struggle

One of the best ways I have learned to overcome the struggles I have faced in my life is by using a journal. Writing in my favorite journal helps me wrestle with the obstacles I face. It helps me get honest with myself and express my feelings in a safe space that is designed to support my personal growth. I am then able to move forward along a clear path to overcome my life’s struggles.

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Try choosing your favorite quote from this list and using it as a journal prompt. Let these inspirational words empower you to acknowledge the emotions that come with whatever current struggle you are facing right now. Then, use these quotes as powerful reminders that you can and will conquer your own struggles!

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family on social media! If you know someone who could use motivational quotes about struggle, this post could be just what they need!


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