Find 75+ Short (ish) quotes on resilience perfect for jotting down in your planner. Save some for later & share as many as you like.
I don’t know about you, but this year so far has been very stressful for me. Do you feel it too?
My word of the year may be ‘consistency’, but resilience was a close second choice. I light of current personal and world situations, I think the world could do with some motivational resiliency quotes.
What is Resilience?
Wouldn’t you like the ability to bounce back when you encounter something hard? Resiliency isn’t just getting knocked down and continuing on the same path. I view resilience as adjusting your vision, tweaking your plan, making room for changes, and keep going on your desired course.
What Does Resilience Mean to you?
Dictionary.com: The power or ability to return to original form. That sounds to me like resilience is an action!
Whatever it means to you, I know I could do with some inspirational resilience quotations for my planner to remind me to keep going. So I searched all over the internet and found some fantastic resilience quotes perfect for your planner. Let me know which one is your favorite! And feel free to pin any quotes you like.
To help organize the different quotes – I separated them further into themes. Let me know if you have any suggestions for the topics I’ve chosen for the list of quotes about being resilient in the comments below.
Mantras
It’s not just about quotes. Sometimes you need to see it and repeat it so you can develop resiliency.
Resilience – thriving amid adversity
I am resilient.
Resilience Quotes – Dealing with Fear & Developing Courage
Thinking will not overcome fear but action will. -W Clement Stone
Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow. – Dan Rather
“Truth be told, you will never really know just how strong and adamant you are unless adversity strikes. Then you learn courage, you build resilience, you learn to persevere, you build character.” — T. Whitmore
“No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffering can come strength – if we have the virtue of resilience.” — Eric Greitens
Know that deep inside, you are resilient, brave and so much stronger and more powerful than your fears.
“I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance. Never settle for the path of least resistance.” — Lee Ann Womack
Overcoming Failure/Quitting
There is no such thing as failure. There are only results. – Tony Robbins
Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul. – Douglas MacArthur
Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you didn’t even try. – Jack Canfield
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. – Henry Ford
Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion. – Muhammad Ali
The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first.
Success
Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be a failure. – Confucius
The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job. – Zig Ziglar
Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again. – Nelson Mandela
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” — Margaret Thatcher
Character/Strength
How do you act when things don’t go your way, or you experience setbacks? Quotes on developing a resilient character through developing strength.
As with the butterfly, adversity is necessary to build character in people. – Joseph B. Wirthlin
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. – Abraham Lincoln
Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths. – Drew Barrymore
People do not lack strength, they lack will. – Victor Hugo
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. – Abraham Lincoln
Courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have the strength. – Napoleon Bonaparte
Where there is no struggle, there is no strength. – Oprah Winfrey
For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over again. – F. Scott Fitzgerald
We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down. – Eleanor Roosevelt
You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice. – Bob Marley
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” ― Steve Maraboli
Outlook
Our outlook on life makes a huge difference! Quotes on developing a resilient attitude
There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. – Charles Dickens
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” ― Helen Keller
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” ― Elizabeth Edwards
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life.” ― J.K. Rowling
“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” ― Elizabeth Edwards
“Resilience is not about being able to bounce back like nothing has happened. Resilience is your consistent resistance to give up.” — Janna Cachola
Choice
These quotes highlight that being resilient may not come naturally, but we have a choice!
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
The only thing that can stop me, is me. – Unknown
Falling down is an accident. Staying down is a choice. – Unknown
Do what is right, not what is easy. – Roy T. Bennett
Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. – John C. Maxwell
Being weak is a choice, so is being strong. – Frank Zane
Don’t let your struggle become your identity.
Stop waiting for things to happen, go out and make them happen.
“Sleep is a key part of the requirements for resilience and good decision-making.” — James G. Stavridis
“We are not a product of what has happened to us in our past. We have the power of choice.” ― Stephen Covey
“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“No matter how bleak or menacing a situation may appear, it does not entirely own us. It can’t take away our freedom to respond, our power to take action.” ― Ryder Carroll
Work
There will be obstacles – There will be doubters -There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits. – Michael Phelps
Work gives your meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. – Stephen Hawking
Future
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength. – Corrie Ten Boom
Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extra-ordinary destiny. – CS Lewis
The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation. – Unknown
Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. – Buddha
Past
You can look at my palm and see the storm coming. Read the book of my life and see I’ve overcome it. – Mary J. Blige
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
One small crack doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means that you were put to the test and didn’t fall apart. – Unknown
Obstacles
Quotes about overcoming using resilience
Real obstacles don’t take you in circles. They can be overcome. Invented ones are like a maze. -Barbara Sher
The best view comes after the hardest climb.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. – Lao Tzu
In the middle of a difficulty lies opportunity. – Albert Einstein
One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity. – Albert Schweitzer
Move Forward – Key to Resiliency
Just a little side note here – I think that moving forward despite what’s happened is the key to being resilient. These resilience quotes are particularly impactful to me.
Keep moving forward.
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.
When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t. – Thomas A. Edison
“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” ― Japanese Proverb
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” ― Winston Churchill
Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further. – Thomas Carlyle
Growth
No rain. No Flowers.
Storms make trees take deeper roots. – Unknown
Remember, when you forgive, you heal. And when you let go, you grow. – Unknown
Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive. – Jamais Cascio
That which does not kill us makes us stronger. – Friedrich Nietzsche
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it. – Winston Churchill
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. – Edmund Hillary
“If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” ― Shane Koyczan
Habit-Related Resilience Quotes
“Although most of us don’t spend time thinking about our thoughts, increasing your awareness of your thinking habits proves useful in building resilience.” — Amy Morin
“Change what you can, manage what you can’t.” — Raymond McCauley
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
I think that resilience can become a habit, changing how we react and come back after a setback is no minor feat, so it must be developed like a habit.
As you may know – I use my bullet journal to help me work on all sorts of habits. Breaking old ones and creating new ones. You can explore my habit posts here. I love these resilient/habit quotes and hope to find more in the future.
Summary
I hope these resilience quotes have motivated you to bounce back when you have a setback and keep moving forward. If you can’t change it, manage it.
I’d love to know which one of these resilience quotes is your favorite, and if you use any in your planner or bullet journal, tag me on Instagram.
Explore more ideas & inspiration on the blog!
