A significant setback or defeat can make even the most stalwart person get down on themselves. It is in these moments when many people need a bit of inspiration from thoughts and stories about persevering even during the most difficult times. Learning from others who have triumphed over trials and challenges can instill an inner belief that anyone can overcome whatever they face provided they show perseverance, patience, and passion.
If you ever feel down about something happening in your life, then check out the following perseverance quotes that will inspire you to endure and grow.
Perseverance Quotes to Get You Back on Your Feet
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” —H.G. Wells
“Your 1st blog post will be bad, but your 1000th will be great. Your 1st workout will be weak, but your 1000th will be strong. Your 1st meditation will be scattered, but your 1000th will be focused. Put in your reps.” —James Clear
“I learned patience, perseverance, and dedication. Now I really know myself, and I know my voice. It’s a voice of pain and victory.” —Anthony Hamilton
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” —Calvin Coolidge
“Permanence, perseverance, and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: it is this that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” —Thomas Carlyle
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” —Walter Elliott
“The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this.” —Ryan Holiday
“If you are going through hell, keep going.” ―Winston S. Churchill
“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” —Margaret Thatcher
“Failure hurts but passes quickly. Regret hurts forever.” —Shane Parrish
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” —Benjamin Franklin
“Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.” —Billy Graham
“Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” —James A. Michener
“The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying.” —John C. Maxwell
“The key to success is action and the essential in action is perseverance.” —Sun Yat Sen
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” —Conrad Hilton
“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” —Samuel Johnson
“And you very soon find out, if you have not found it out before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.” —Thomas Huxley
“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm… in the real world all rests on perseverance.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“The last thing to grow on a fruit tree is the fruit.” —Tom Bilyeu
“When you think that you are done, you’re only 40% in to what your body’s capable of doing. That’s just the limits that we put on ourselves.” —David Goggins
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill
“Persist and persevere, and you will find most things that are attainable, possible.” —Lord Chesterfield
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.” —Marie Curie
“If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” —Neil Gaiman
“A winner is just a loser who tried one more time.” —George M. Moore Jr.
“Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.” —Benjamin Disraeli
“Indeed, this life is a test. It is a test of many things—of our convictions and priorities, our faith and our faithfulness, our patience and our resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires.” —Sheri L. Dew
“It always seems impossible until it is done.” —Nelson Mandela
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” —Randy Pausch
“If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.” —Marcus Aurelius
“Everyone wants some magic pill—some life hack—that eliminates the need to do the work. But that does not exist.” —Jocko Willink
“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.” —Henry Ward Beecher
“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” —Newt Gingrich
“If hard work, integrity, thrift, and perseverance have caused you to succeed, then you don’t owe anyone an apology for winning.” —Dave Ramsey
“The most entrepreneurial trait there is: the ability to persist.” —Steve Chou
“I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.” ―Abraham Lincoln
“Perhaps happiness is always to be found in the journey uphill, and not in the fleeting sense of satisfaction awaiting at the next peak.” —Jordan Peterson
“Perseverance, the secret of all triumphs.” —Victor Hugo
“Before you dream about the view from the summit, ask yourself if you’re willing to keep your head down, focus on the path, and spend your life walking up the side of a very big hill. It takes years of walking to earn a minute at the top.” —James Clear
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” —Pele
“I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.” —Og Mandino
“Through hard work, perseverance, and faith in God, you can live your dreams.” —Ben Carson
“Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.” —Julie Andrews
“Never stop just because you feel defeated. The journey to the other side is attainable only after great suffering.” —Santosh Kalwar
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” —Babe Ruth
“Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance.” —Abigail Adams
“If you’re focused on the outcome, you’re not focused on the process. Sustain success over long periods comes from a fanatical focus on process. You don’t need to be perfect, just better than yesterday.” —Shane Parrish
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” —Maya Angelou
“For water continually dropping will wear hard rocks hollow.” —Plutarch
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” —Albert Einstein
“I would rather fail pushing forward than in retreat.” —Grant Cardone
“If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. They have other concerns, whether important or not, and they spread themselves out. That’s totally fine. After all, greatness is not for everybody.” —Kobe Bryant
“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” —William Feather
“Pain doesn’t get easier. You just have to get stronger.” —Elizabeth Lim
Persevering Means Learning and Growing
Inspirational quotes about perseverance like those above can help everyone obtain a growth mindset, where you believe that your abilities can constantly be improved as long as you put in the effort. A growth mindset makes every setback a learning opportunity, meaning you never truly fail. As long as you have this mindset, you become much more capable of persevering no matter the challenges. Here are some of the ways you can embrace a growth mindset.
- Embrace new experiences and challenges
- Gain a love of learning
- Avoid perfectionism
- Note what your limiting beliefs are
- Always think about the “big picture”
And if you want some more inspiration, check out these success quotes.