Motivational Quotes

Adversity

The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character.

- Scott, Sir Walter

Best Quotes about Adversity

Your dips an falls do not confound me, half as much as your heights astound me.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

Bible

When something an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.

Russell, Rosalind

Constant success shows us but one side of the world; adversity brings out the reverse of the picture.

Colton, Charles Caleb

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

James, William

Humanity either makes, or breeds, or tolerates all its afflictions.

Wells, H.G.

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.

Schweitzer, Albert

Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through all the darkest valleys you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So will you learn things in adversity that you would never have discovered without trouble. There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper.

Mandino, Og

It is odd but agitation or contest of any kind gives a rebound to my spirits and sets me up for a time.

Byron, Lord

10.

If your cup seems too bitter, if your burden seems to heavy, be sure that it is the wounded hand that is holding the cup, and that it is me who carried the cross that is carrying the burden.

11.

In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.

Collier, Robert

12.

Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. [Isaiah 48:10]

Bible

13.

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.

Devito, Danny

14.

Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes.

Aesop

15.

I used to hurt so badly that I'd ask God why, what have I done to deserve any of this? I feel now He was preparing me for this, for the future. That's the way I see it.

Jackson, Janet

16.

Two frogs fell into a bowl of cream. One didn't panic, he relaxed and drowned. The other kicked and struggled so much that the cream turned to butter and he walked out.

17.

Things were bad but now they are OK.

Seymour, Harold J.

18.

If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed down hill and don't know it.

19.

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.

Proverb, Maori

20.

When I dig another out of trouble, the hole from which I lift him is the place where I bury my own.

21.

A reasonable amount o fleas is good for a dog -- keeps him from brooding over being a dog, maybe.

Westcott, Edward Noyes

22.

Adversity draws men together and produces beauty and harmony in life's relationships, just as the cold of winter produces ice-flowers on the window-panes, which vanish with the warmth.

Kierkegaard, S°ren

23.

No one would ever have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in a storm.

24.

Cushion the painful effects of hard blows by keeping the enthusiasm going strong, even if doing so requires struggle.

Peale, Norman Vincent

25.

If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?

26.

Out of love and hatred, out of earnings and borrowings and leadings and losses; out of sickness and pain; out of wooing and worshipping; out of traveling and voting and watching and caring; out of disgrace and contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

27.

It would not be better if things happened to men just as they wish.

Heraclitus

28.

Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity.

Holtz, Lou

29.

We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.

Beecher, Henry Ward

30.

They that sow in tears shall reap joy. [Psalms 126:5]

Bible

31.

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.

Seneca

32.

We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them.

Jung, Carl

33.

The proof of gold is fire...

Franklin, Benjamin

34.

We need tough days to drive us to our knees.

35.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Casey, M Kathleen

36.

As iron put into the fire loseth its rust and becometh clearly red-hot, so he that wholly turneth himself unto God puts off all slothfulness, and is transformed into a new man.

Kempis, Thomas

37.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

Ford, Henry

38.

Misfortunes leave wounds which bleed drop by drop even in sleep; thus little by little they train man by force and dispose him to wisdom in spite of himself. Man must learn to think of himself as a limited and dependent being; and only suffering teaches

Weil, Simone

39.

When walking through the valley of shadows, remember, a shadow is cast by a Light.

Barclay, H.K.

40.

Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat.

Kapuscinski, Ryszard

41.

There will be no crown bearers in heaven who are not cross bearers on earth.

42.

Suffering! We owe to it all that is good in us, all that gives value to life; we owe to it pity, we owe to it courage, we owe to it all the virtues.

France, Anatole

43.

Had there been no difficulties and no thorns in the way, then man would have been in his primitive state and no progress made in civilization and mental culture.

Joshee, Anandabai

44.

It's a matter of ABC: When we encounter ADVERSITY, we react by thinking about it. Our thoughts rapidly congeal into BELIEFS. These beliefs may become so habitual we don't even realize we have them unless we stop to focus on them. And they don't just sit there idly; they have CONSEQUENCES. The beliefs are the direct cause of what we feel and what we do next. They can spell the difference between dejection and giving up, on the one hand, and well-being and constructive action on the other. The first step is to see the connection between adversity, belief, and consequence. The second step is to see how the ABCs operate every day in your own life.

Seligman, Martin E. P.

45.

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, grow, grow.

Talmud, The

46.

A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind.

Neal, John

47.

The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don't let it get the best of you.

Rogers, Will

48.

Adversity is a great teacher, but this teacher makes us pay dearly for its instruction; and often the profit we derive, is not worth the price we paid.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques

49.

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.

Rogers, James

50.

God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.

Augustine, St.