When the going gets tough, or when work throws unexpected results our way, sometimes we all need just a bit of inspiration to keep going. In the darkest of times, remember that there is always light at the end of the tunnel—what matters is that we push ourselves to the end.
These 17 inspiring quotes will lift your spirits and re-instill hope—and help you achieve every goal you set for yourself, no matter how challenging it might be.
1. “The degree of responsibility you take for your life determines how much change you can create in it.” Celestine Chua
2. “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.” Marie Beyon Ray
3. “The mind, properly controlled, can do just about everything. You can think your way through adversity, you can think your way through problems. It is a superpowerful instrument which so few use to maximum. And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude, one can do amazing things.” Norman Vincent Peale
4. “Bless a thing and it will bless you. Curse it and it will curse you. If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you: and even if it is troublesome for a time, it will gradually fade out, if you sincerely bless it.” Emmet Fox
5. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” Buddha
6. “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
7. “I am still learning…how to take joy in all the people I am, how to use all my selves in the service of what I believe, how to accept when I fail and rejoice when I succeed.” Audre Lorde
8. “We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy, and doubt, that peace and abundance may manifest for all.” Dorothy Day
9. “Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile…initially scared me to death.” Betty Bender
10. “The greatest act of faith some days is to simply get up and face another day.” Amy Gatliff
11. “The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment, it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone.” Orison Sweet Marden
12. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” Albert Einstein
13. “The best revenge is massive success.” Frank Sinatra
14. “It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever—the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.” Vince Lombardi
15. “Often we women are risk averse. I needed the push. Now, more than ever, young women need more seasoned women to provide that encouragement, to take a risk, to go for it. Once a glass ceiling is broken, it stays broken.” Jennifer Grahnolm
16. “This too shall pass.” Persian Sufi Poet
17. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” Robert Frost
