Top 22 Quotes About Adversity And Challenges: What They Mean To You

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Do you ever find yourself in a situation where, to be honest, you don’t know what to say? If the answer is yes, you’re in good company. Everyone has said something at least once in their life that seems cliché, boring, or just flat-out wrong.

But they weren’t clichés. In fact, in the end, the best and worst things we ever say are what make us who we are. So, what do you say? What would you tell a mother who’s just lost her son in a drowning accident?

What would you tell the girl who just started at the new school but has to deal with being bullied by the popular kids? What would you say to the girl who fell into a pond and couldn’t swim? What would you tell yourself after being told, “You can’t be a doctor?”

Some time ago, I sat on my couch with my family and watched my friend Masah cry over the loss of his beloved brother, Andrew. The entire time I was there, I thought about the things I could have told him, things he would understand. The ones that, if said on the right day or at the right time, would have made a difference.

It’s easy to go through life, never really noticing the times when someone was so lost, so sad, that someone wanted to help. And it’s easy to talk about how to help, and then move on.

But there are lessons in life that can help you, lessons in adversity that can change you, if only you know how to go about finding them. That’s why I want to share these 22 quotes about adversity and challenges of life, the best things we ever say, and how to put them into action.

Here are the top 22 quotes about adversity and challenges to use:

1. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss

· So true. You can learn from your mistakes, find new perspectives and make new discoveries. If you know how to look, you’ll find ways to grow and change for the better.

2. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon

· Nothing is more important than what you make of your life. There are endless things to plan, but there are only so many hours in a day. The trick is making sure your day is full of what’s important. That’s the only time when you can make real plans and reach your full potential.

3. “There's only one cure for anger: more anger.” - Groucho Marx

· The anger that comes with adversity doesn’t need to be wasted on someone who doesn’t care. It’s perfectly fine to express it. You may never find someone who cares, but it doesn’t mean you need to pretend it’s not there. You can direct your anger at those who make you angry in a way that is productive for the long term.

4. “I find if you repeat things enough, they'll start to sink in.” - Bill Cosby

· In the end, you learn more from your setbacks than you do from your victories. Adversity will teach you everything you need to know about yourself and the things that you care about most.

5. “Sometimes you want to give up, but you never can.” - Winnie the Pooh

· This is true no matter the challenge, and, frankly, no matter your age. As your life goes on, the odds become increasingly stacked against you. But you have to know what to do and keep going. You’ll never know everything there is to know about yourself if you stop trying.

6. “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try something you think you're incapable of doing.” - Maya Angelou

· That’s what I tell my daughter about the days when she was feeling down. In some cases, life makes us think it’s not worth it to try. But you don’t have to feel that way. Sometimes the only way to keep you from falling back down is to try even harder to get back up. And, as you learn more about yourself, you’ll find a way to keep yourself from falling back down.

7. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.” - Dr. Seuss

· You control your life, and you can take the path that’s right for you. Nothing can stand in your way if you choose to let it. It doesn’t matter who said it, it’s just as true now as when it was said.

8. “When you’re the only one who knows what you're going through, it's terrifying.” - Joss Whedon

· You can’t always tell someone else what you’re going through. But you can tell yourself. If you’re going through something, there’s always someone else going through something worse.

9. “I don’t know what I'm going to do, but I promise you I will get through this.” - Oprah Winfrey

· This is, of course, a cliché. We all say this at times in our lives. But clichés are clichés because they’re true. Don’t get discouraged by it. You’ll make it through whatever comes your way. You have the support of others, and you have the strength to make it through.

10."You gotta lose seventy pounds before you start eating." - David Letterman

· The more you know, the less you need. The more you learn, the less you believe. As a result, you’ll find yourself eating a lot less.

11. “The most important thing is to learn to use the things you have.” - Henry Ford

· A lot of times you won’t have the things you need. But you can always use what you have. Things, like books, people, opportunities, and memories will last forever.

12. “If you try, you will fail. If you do not try, you will succeed.” - Vince Lombardi

· You can’t learn how to be strong if you don’t get in a fight. Adversity will make you stronger.

13. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” - Lewis Carroll

· It doesn’t matter where you’re going. All roads lead somewhere.

14. “When your ship is about to sink and it's clear to you that you'll be drowned if you stay afloat, swim.” - Maya Angelou

· It’s better to live for yourself than to live for others. If there are things you have to do, you may as well do them for yourself. Don’t let your life go down for the count because you haven’t done everything.

15. “I never knew what I had till I lost it.” - William Shakespeare

· You can’t appreciate what you have until you lose it. There’s nothing you lose that you won’t miss.

16. “Keep moving forward. One step at a time.” - Jim Carrey

You may never be a master at anything. But you can always learn to keep moving forward. Each step you take will get you closer to whatever you want to reach.

17.“If you see yourself as trapped, you will be trapped. If you see yourself as a captive, you will be captured. If you see yourself as a victim, you will be victimized. And if you see yourself as a victor, you will be victorious.” - Louise L. Hay

You can’t escape from yourself. You can’t escape from your thoughts. You can’t escape from adversity. But you can always find ways to escape the things that keep you trapped.

18. “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” - Gandhi

You can make a difference in this world. You can be someone to the people around you. If you want to, you can help make it a better place.

19. “The worst thing is the waiting, and the hours seem endless.” - John Keats

· There are a lot of things in life that we don’t know how to do. You don’t know what’s next. And, sometimes, you just have to sit there and wait. You can’t do much about that, but you can’t control how long it will be either. You’ll have to just sit there and wait.

20. “Every time you think you have a problem; you have ten solutions. And every time you think you have a problem, somebody else does too.” - John Paul Getty

· You can’t find a cure for everything. But if you find the right answer to the question of how to solve your problem, it may not be the cure. You may just be able to find a solution that helps you until you can find a solution.

21. “It is the mind that makes the body what it is. If the mind is strong, then the body is sure to follow.” - Buddha

· You don’t have to be good at everything. Sometimes you just have to do the things that make you feel good. It doesn’t matter what the results are. All that matters is how you feel when you finish doing the things you want to do.

22. “There's a difference between knowing the name of the disease and living with it.” - Anthony Robbins

· You don’t have to know what you’re doing wrong to be able to do it better. You don’t have to know all the things you’re going to fail at to try harder.