88 Quotes About Overcoming Adversity

Life is a journey paved with challenges, and overcoming adversity is a skill every one of us must hone along the way. Whether you're facing personal struggles, professional setbacks, or emotional turbulence, finding inspiration can make a world of difference. We've curated a collection of the top 88 quotes about overcoming adversity to uplift your spirits and encourage resilience. These words of wisdom from notable thinkers, leaders, and everyday heroes serve as powerful reminders that no obstacle is insurmountable when you have the right mindset. Dive in and let these quotes inspire you to rise above your challenges and emerge stronger than ever.

1. “To live is to war with trolls.” - Henrik Ibsen

2. “If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity — only a great man can stand prosperity. It is the glory of Abraham Lincoln that he never abused power only on the side of mercy” - Robert Ingersoll

3. “Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.” - Arthur Golden

4. “I think that little by little I'll be able to solve my problems and survive.” - Frida Kahlo

5. “Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right.” - Sherrilyn Kenyon

6. “I suppose sooner or later in the life of everyone comes a moment of trial. We all of us have our particular devil who rides us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.” - Daphne du Maurier

7. “Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It's growing out of sour earth. And it's strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.” - Betty Smith

8. “Life is, in fact, a battle. Evil is insolent and strong; beauty enchanting, but rare; goodness very apt to be weak; folly very apt to be defiant; wickedness to carry the day; imbeciles to be in great places, people of sense in small, and mankind generally unhappy. But the world as it stands is no narrow illusion, no phantasm, no evil dream of the night; we wake up to it, forever and ever; and we can neither forget it nor deny it nor dispense with it.” - Henry James

9. “Life, like classical music, is full of difficult passages that are conquered as much through endurance and determination as through any particular skill.” - Sheri L. Dew

10. “It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers.” - Gordon B. Hinckley

11. “Struggle is the food from which change is made, and the best time to make the most of a struggle is when it's right in front of your face. Now, I know that might sound a bit simplistic. But, too often we're led to believe that struggling is a bad thing, or that we struggle because we're doing something wrong. I disagree. I look at struggle as an opportunity to grow. True struggle happens when you can sense what is not working for you and you're willing to take the appropriate action to correct the situation. Those who accomplish change are willing to engage the struggle.” - Danny Dreyer

12. “However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.” - Henry David Thoreau

13. “You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” - Edwin Louis Cole

14. “All events are blessings given to us to learn from.” - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

15. “If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived. (The Inconvenient Messiah, BYU Speeches, Feb 15, 1982)” - Jeffrey R. Holland

16. “There had been times when he knew, somewhere in him, that he would get used to it, whatever it was, because he had learnt that some hard things became softer after a very little while.” - Nick Hornby

17. “It is in the whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we learn.” - M. Scott Peck

18. “Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

19. “Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.” - Aristotle

20. “The roughest roads often lead to the top.” - Christina Aguilera

21. “We can choose to throw stones, to stumble on them, to climb over them, or to build with them.” - William Arthur Ward

22. “I’ve learned that everything happens for a reason,” the yogi Krishnan told him. “Every event has a why and all adversity teaches us a lesson... Never regret your past. Accept it as the teacher that it is.” - Robin Sharma

23. “Those doves below, the ones utterly cared for, never endangered ones, cannot know tenderness.” - Rainer Maria Rilke

24. “The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.” - Horace Bushnell

25. “But if everything was always smooth and perfect, you'd get too used to that, you know? You have to have a little bit of disorganization now and then. Otherwise, you'll never really enjoy it when things go right.” - Sarah Dessen

26. “While you are going through your trial, you can recall your past victories and count the blessings that you do have with a sure hope of greater ones to allow if you are faithful.” - Ezra Taft Benson

27. “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

28. “Hardships make or break people.” - Margaret Mitchell

29. “Even in its darkest passages, the heart is unconquerable. It is important that the body survives, but it is more meaningful that the human spirit prevails.” - Dave Pelzer

30. “If you fall-and trust me, you will- make sure you fall on your back. Because if you fall on your back, you can see up. And if you can see up, you can get up. And you can keep going and going and going.” - Hoda Kotb

31. “These are the times that try men's souls.” - Thomas Paine

32. “I daresay it seems foolish; perhaps all our earthly trials will appear foolish to us after a while; perhaps they seem so now to angels. But we are ourselves, you know, and this is now, not some time to come, a long, long way off. And we are not angels, to be comforted by seeing the ends for which everything is sent.” - Elizabeth Gaskell

33. “We are like the herb which flourisheth most when trampled upon” - Walter Scott

34. “Every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it, which will 'turn the necessity to glorious gain.” - C.S. Lewis

35. “Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.” - Martin Luther

36. “Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.” - Joseph B. Wirthlin

37. “It takes darkness to be aware of the light.” - Treasure Tatum

38. “On accepting adversity in our lives: Always it is initiated by an act of will on our part; we set ourselves to believe in the overruling goodness, providence, and sovereignty of God and refuse to turn aside no matter what may come, no matter how we may feel. I mistakenly thought I could not trust God unless I felt like trusting Him. Now I am learning that trusting God is first of all a matter of the will. I choose to trust in God, and my feelings eventually follow.” - Margaret Clarkson

39. “Some people is born at the start of a long hard row to hoe. Well, I am older than God's dog and been in this world a long time and it seems to me that right from the git-go, Larkin Stanton had the longest and hardest row I've ever seen.” - Sheila Kay Adams

40. “My voice was a bare rasp of fear. "In the weaving room, the women say it's never been this bad before..." "They always say that when things get difficult," she answered softly. Then she sat up suddenly as though coming fully awake. Reaching down, she took my chin in her hand and tipped my face to look up at hers. "Remember, Gwen, no matter who says what, the important thing is to understand what needs to be done, and then do it. No matter how hard it is, or how much pain you feel. It's as simple as that, really. Once you know what you have to do, you just do it.” - Persia Woolley

41. “Bullying builds character like nuclear waste creates superheroes. It's a rare occurrence and often does much more damage than endowment.” - Zack W. Van

42. “But little Carlos's most important defense was not his good punch but rather the beginnings of a great education.” - Gina Capaldi

43. “It's only as bad as you make it.” - Benjamin J. Carey

44. “Funerals aren't scheduled.” - Benjamin J. Carey

45. “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. Thats the essence of it.” - Vince Lombardi

46. “The pressure of adversity is the most powerful sustainer of accountability. It's as though everything you do is multiplied by 50 in order to surpass those with a head-start. I was never capable of slacking when at the threshold of failure.” - Criss Jami

47. “It's hard at times, but it makes a kid strong in ways that most people can't understand. Teaches them that even though people are left behind, new ones will inevitable take their place; that every place has something good - and bad - to offer. It makes a kid grow up fast.” - Nicholas Sparks

48. “A poet should be so crafty with words that he is envied even for his pains.” - Criss Jami

49. “You never really know what's coming. A small wave, or maybe a big one. All you can really do is hope that when it comes, you can surf over it, instead of drown in its monstrosity.” - Alysha Speer

50. “What do they say about meeting a bear in the woods? Oh right, you shouldn't. And to make sure you don't, you should make a lot of noise so that they'll will know where you are and keep their distance because, supposedly, they're as nervous of us as we are of them. Which is all goo, except this bear doesn't seem the least bit nervous. He's giving me a look like I'm Goldilocks, ate his porridge, broke his chair, slept in his bed, and now it's payback time."- Widdershins” - Charles de Lint

51. “I am unpersuaded that relative poverty and hard work are greater adversities than relative affluence and free time.” - Dallin H. Oaks

52. “Love is as simple as the absence of self given to another. God, when invited, fills the void of any unrequited love; hence loving is how one is drawn closer to God no matter its most horrific repercussions.” - Criss Jami

53. “Faithfulness imparts God's reason for all circumstances. No matter what the world says, losing is no longer an option.” - Criss Jami

54. “Easily mistaken, it is not about a love for adversity, it is about knowing a strength and a faith so great that adversity, in all its adverse manifestations, hardly even exists.” - Criss Jami

55. “No stars gleam as brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God’s strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through.” - Charles H. Spurgeon

56. “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” - J.K. Rowling

57. “If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim.” - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

58. “From the mud of adversity grows the lotus of joy” - Carolyn Marsden

59. “Life is at its best when everything has fallen out of place, and you decide that you're going to fight to get them right, not when everything is going your way and everyone is praising you.” - Thisuri Wanniarachchi

60. “A best friend is the only one that walks into your life when the world has walked out.” - Shannon L. Alder

61. “May your life be filled, as mine has been, with love and laughter; and remember, when things are rough all you need is ... Chocolate.” - Geraldine Solon

62. “...the sorrows God sent us brought comfort and strength with them, while the sorrows we brought on ourselves, through folly or wickedness, were by far the hardest to bear.” - L.M. Montgomery

63. “I wanted a woman who could get me out of a Third World prison. Life's too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful.” - Jeff Bezos

64. “by indignities men come to dignities” - Francis Bacon

65. “Often people that criticise your life are usually the same people that don't know the price you paid to get where you are today. True friends see the full picture of your soul.” - Shannon Alder

66. “I can't control the wind but I can adjust the sail.” - Ricky Skaggs

67. “Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance.” - Abigail Adams

68. “The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.” - Criss Jami

69. “...My deepest personal reason for staying in Paris is that whatever I have as a character, good or bad, is based on the fact that since the age of four I have never run away from anything however painful or dangerous when I thought it was my duty to take a stand -- the American Ambassador to France upon being asked to evacuate Paris by the State Department on the eve of Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940” - William C. Bullitt

70. “Before your reach your destination, you'll find yourself going through the wilderness. There's some survival skills that you'll need master through the wilderness journey. While in the wilderness, your faith will be tried and tested. You'll become humble. Your vision for your life will get clearer. You're in training for your purpose. You'll lose some friends, because there's some folks who are only with you because of where they think your journey will lead THEM. Don't worry, they're a little confused... but it was meant for them to get lost during this phase. Walk on. Continue on your journey. Soon, you'll be approaching the mountain. Get ready to climb!” - Yvonne Pierre

71. “Spiritual pain is when you can’t stand another moment not knowing the real truth, and when you finally do know you can’t let go.” - Shannon L. Alder

72. “Be careful who you choose as your friends because their bad habits can become your bad habits. Choose wisely...we all have a choice in life.” - Mimi Jenkins

73. “And, in the end, I knew there was nothing better in life than keeping the head and the heart up—and when you cannot see the shoreline, always putting one hand, one word, in front of the other.” - Gerald Hausman

74. “A crisis creates the opportunity to dip deep into the reservoirs of our very being, to rise to levels of confidence, strength, and resolve that otherwise we didn't think we possessed.” - Jon M. Huntsman Sr.

75. “When you observe that the fire in your room is getting dull, you do not always put on more coal, but simply stir with the poker; so God often uses the black poker of adversity in order that the flames of devotion may burn more brightly.” - Arthur W. Pink

76. “The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this. Irritation gets into his shell. He does not like them. But when he cannot get rid of them he uses the irritation to do the lovelist thing an oyster ever has the chance to do. If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl. It may have to be a pearl of patience, but…make a pearl.-In the Treasure Chest, ed. Charles L. Wallis” - Harry Emerson Fosdick

77. “I have wondered why it is that our greatest triumphs spring from our greatest extremity and adversity. Perhaps it is because we are so resistant to change, we only move when our seat becomes too hot to occupy.” - Richard Paul Evans

78. “When the winds of life are pushing you back, THAT'S when you push forward the hardest.” - Yvonne Pierre

79. “Adversity is not a bad thing~It's a God thing!” - Prophetess Dina Rolle

80. “Our triumph over sorrow is not that we can avoid it but that we can endure it. And therein lies our hope; that in spirit we might become bigger than the problems we face.” - Marianne Williamson

81. “Helen Keller became deaf, dumb, and blind shortly after birth. Despite her greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of the history of the great. Her entire life has served as evidence that no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.” - Napoleon Hill

82. “Without darkness, we may never know how bright the stars shine. Without battles, we could not know what victory feels like. Without adversity, we may never appreciate the abundance in our lives. Be thankful, not only for the easy times, but for every experience that has made you who you are.” - Julie-Anne

83. “you are not an athlete because of what you can do, but because of who you are: a team player, someone who never quits, who strives to be his personal best, and who believes in fair play.” - Rosemary Rawlins

84. “I don’t believe in the Law of Attraction. There were things I wanted in my life that no amount of positive thinking was going to make it a reality for me. However, I have learned to believe in the Law of Tough Love. Life has thrown a dozen tragedies at me. I did what any Christian would do--prayed for the outcome I wanted, but God was tough and only gave me what I needed. I now realize that life is not about fulfilling a wish list; rather a need list. Good and bad experiences are on the horizon. How else does a person change, grow and evolve? And just like any warrior woman, I won’t simply survive-- but thrive!” - Shannon L. Alder

85. “Trouble makes us one with every human being in the world - and unless we touch others, we're out of touch with life.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

86. “Every violent storm will eventually give way to sunshine; every dark night will finally fade into dawn.” - Steve Goodier

87. “God can deliver you so well that some people won’t believe your testimony.” - Shannon L. Alder

88. “Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man, but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.” - Thomas Carlyle