I write this for you because those days will come. They will be loud and messy and they will try to tell you a story that is not true: that you are alone, that you will never get better, that you are not enough. That story is a liar. On hard days you do not need big speeches. You need soft words that land right where the worry sits. You need short truths that are easy to remember when your chest is tight.
Below you will find 115 quotes chosen to sit with you on difficult days. Some are short. Some are a little longer. Some are gentle reminders about getting through one hour at a time. Some are strong pushes to stand up and keep moving. Take whichever one speaks to you.
Read one slowly. Say it out loud. Write it on a tiny sticky note and put it where you will see it tomorrow. If you want, copy one into your notes app and read it when mornings get heavy. These words are not magic. They are small tools. Use them in the quiet moments when you need a small anchor.
Below are the 115 quotes. Read them slowly. Let one land. Keep it near you.
- “This too shall pass.” — Persian proverb
- “You are not the darkness you endured.” —
- “One day at a time.” —
- “Keep going. Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time.” —
- “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” — Christine Caine
- “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” — Mary Anne Radmacher
Read also: 43 Motivational Quotes for Students - “It’s okay to not be okay.” —
- “You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.” — Sophia Bush
- “Small steps every day.” —
- “The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.” — Juliette Lewis
- “Feelings are visitors. Let them come and go.” — Mooji
- “Out of difficulties grow miracles.” — Jean de La Bruyère
- “Hard times may have held you down, but they will not last forever.” —
- “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” — Dan Millman
- “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” — Robert H. Schuller
- “The only way out is through.” — Robert Frost
- “Not all storms come to disrupt your life; some come to clear your path.” —
- “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden
- “When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine.” —
- “Healing is not linear.” —
Read also: 45 Deep Quotes That Hit Different - “You are stronger than you think.” —
- “Let your hope be bigger than your fear.” —
- “Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.” — Naeem Callaway
- “It’s okay to give up on people who don’t value you.” —
- “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
- “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” —
- “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” — Lou Holtz
- “Progress, not perfection.” —
- “When things go wrong, don’t go with them.” — Elvis Presley
- “Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit.” — Ralph Marston
- “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” — Rumi
- “Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to keep going.” —
- “You survived 100% of your worst days.” —
- “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
- “When one door closes, another opens.” — Alexander Graham Bell
- “There is no shame in beginning again.” —
Read also: 66 Short Deep Love Quotes for Him - “This moment is a small piece of your story, not the whole book.” —
- “Even monsters have mothers.” —
- “You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself.” — Timber Hawkeye
- “Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman
- “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” — Theodore Roosevelt
- “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” — Emily Dickinson
- “You are allowed to rest. You are allowed to heal. You are allowed to be.” —
- “The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” — C.C. Scott
- “You are not your mistakes.” —
- “When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.” —
- “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” —
- “Look how far you’ve come, not how far you have to go.” —
- “On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100 percent.” —
- “Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not obsess. Just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best.” —
- “You are loved for the person you are, not for the things you do.” —
- “Slow progress is still progress.” —
- “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill
- “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” — Victor Hugo
- “When you feel weak, remember how strong you have been.” —
- “The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.” — Robert Tew
- “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Let yourself be where you are; don’t rush the healing.” —
- “It’s okay to let your story have a sad chapter; it doesn’t make the ending any less beautiful.” —
- “Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on.” — Eckhart Tolle
- “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — A.A. Milne
- “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.” — Steve Maraboli
- “You are not broken. You are breaking open.” —
- “The best view comes after the hardest climb.” —
- “Don’t be ashamed of your story. It will inspire others.” —
- “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind.” — Henry Ford
- “You are more than the mistakes of your yesterday.” —
- “There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” — John Green
- “The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come.” —
- “You are allowed to change your mind.” —
- “Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go but learning to start over.” — Nicole Sobon
- “Every storm runs out of rain.” — Maya Angelou
- “You are not what happened to you.” — Genneia Corbett
- “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “It’s okay to ask for help.” —
- “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” — Rumi
- “Light tomorrow with today.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- “Being vulnerable is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of courage.” —
- “You are allowed to put yourself first.” —
- “Pain is real, but so is hope.” —
- “Sometimes we must undergo hardships to understand how strong we are.” —
- “When you are tough on yourself, you don’t give yourself room to grow.” —
- “It is okay to fall apart sometimes. That means you are human.” —
- “You can start over at any time.” —
- “The sky is not the limit. Your mind is.” —
- “If you can’t control it, let it go.” —
- “Even when you feel alone, you are not alone.” —
- “A little progress each day adds up to big results.” — Satya Nani
- “The bravest thing you can do is keep showing up.” —
- “Let your past make you better, not bitter.” —
- “You have survived worse than this.” —
- “When the world says ‘give up,’ hope whispers ‘try one more time.’” —
- “You are capable of amazing things.” —
- “Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone.” — Roy T. Bennett
- “Your pace doesn’t matter; forward is forward.” —
- “A bad day is just a bad day, not a bad life.” —
- “You were made to come through this.” —
- “Sometimes strength is simply showing up.” —
- “You don’t have to fix everything today.” —
- “Keep your head up. You’ve got this.” —
- “Where there is hope, there is life.” —
- “You are allowed to say no.” —
- “Be gentle with yourself. You’re doing the best you can.” —
- “Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leon Brown
- “You are more than your feelings.” —
- “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” — C.S. Lewis
- “When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine for someone else—and for yourself.” —
- “You don’t need to have it all figured out to move forward.” —
- “Remember why you started.” —
- “You are allowed to make mistakes and still be worthy of love.” —
- “Sometimes the bravest thing is to keep going when you feel like you cannot.” —
- “There will be a time when you will laugh about this.” —
- “Your feelings are valid.” —
- “Be patient with yourself. Change takes time.” —
- “You are enough, exactly as you are.” —
How to use these quotes when you feel low
When a day is hard, your energy is small. You do not need a long plan. Try this: pick one line that feels like it understands you. Repeat it three times. Breathe. Let the words sit in your mouth. Then do one small thing you can manage—a glass of water, a five-minute walk, closing your eyes for a minute. If you can, tell one person how you feel. If you cannot, write the quote at the top of a short note to yourself and tuck it away until another day.
If you want a deeper move, choose a quote and ask yourself two simple questions: What does this mean for me right now? What is one tiny action it suggests? The answers do not have to be big. They only have to be possible. On days when you cannot do much, the smallest step matters.
Save the pin for later
