85 Encouraging Quotes + 4 Tips against Discouragement
Frauke Geuking
(Senior Editor)
Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair. Nothing seems to work out the way you thought it would, and you feel depressed and discouraged. But then it’s time for you to find new hope. The following tips and sayings for the soul can help you.
If you are despondent and plagued by fears for the future, you desperately need new hope and motivation to gain control over your life again. There is a way out of every situation and a solution for everything. Our sayings for the soul will give you uplifting words that may help you find new courage.
Encouraging Quotes about Life
Encouraging Quotes about Life
In addition to the tips described below, the following quotes for more courage can also help you overcome your discouragement and draw new strength.
Many famous intellectuals also had to overcome some obstacles in life and recorded their experiences for posterity.
Find out below what positive insights they gained from these setbacks and how they were able to find new courage.
Positive Encouraging Quotes for Hard Times
If your discouragement stems mainly from the fact that you’re going through tough times and feel you have no hope for the future, the following quotes can help you. They are motivational and contain positive thoughts for the future.
They describe small hurdles as inevitable intermediate events on the way to happiness and success. Let the following sayings inspire you to look more confidently towards the next stage in your life.
- "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."
(Mark Twain) - "You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor."
(Aristotle) - "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"
(Vincent van Gogh) - "Happy are those who dare courageously to defend what they love."
(Ovid) - "The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage."
(Thucydides) - "To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice."
(Confucius) - "Courage is knowing what not to fear."
(Plato) - "Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them."
(Rabindranath Tagore) - "Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace."
(Amelia Earhart) - "No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."
(Buddha) - "Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections."
(Saint Francis de Sales) - "Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace."
(Victor Hugo) - "To have courage for whatever comes in life – everything lies in that."
(Saint Teresa of Avila) - "Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward!"
(Thomas A. Edison) - "A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Encouraging Quotes for Women
Encouraging Quotes for Women
Sometimes devastating setbacks can lead to discouragement. However, to prevent you from getting caught in cycles of negative thinking, let the following empowering quotes for women cheer you up.
They can take away your fear of new challenges and give you new courage.
- "The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself."
(George Bernard Shaw) - "From caring comes courage."
(Lao Tzu) - "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you."
(Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre) - "Be that kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor every morning, the devil says, 'Oh crap she’s up'."
(Unknown) - "Courage is a kind of salvation."
(Plato) - "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
(Lao Tzu) - "Don’t give up. Normally it is the last key on the ring which opens the door."
(Paulo Coelho) - "Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us."
(Virginia Woolf in Jacob’s Room) - "He who attempts great things is admirable, even if he falls."
(Seneca) - "No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself."
(Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own)
Encouraging Quotes for Men
Encouraging Quotes for Men
The following quotes for men will help you develop a more positive attitude towards life.
They will help you focus on what is important in life and give tips on how to go through life more positively, so you can recognize the really important things and get less annoyed by small failures.
- "If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."
(Marcus Garvey) - "He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights against the enemy."
(Socrates) - "One man with courage is a majority."
(Thomas Jefferson) - "How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them."
(Benjamin Franklin) - "Courage – a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it."
(William Tecumseh Sherman) - "Courage isn’t having the strength to go on – it is going on when you don’t have strength."
(Napoleon Bonaparte) - "The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one’s self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when it be obeyed."
(Nathaniel Hawthorne) - "True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason."
(Alfred North Whitehead) - "He who is brave is free."
(Lucius Annaeus Seneca) - "It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things."
(Theodore Roosevelt)
Encouraging Quotes for Kids
Encouraging Quotes for Kids
Many of the quotes collected here are difficult for children to understand. So here are some specially selected quotes that are also suitable for children.
Especially at school, it is important that children do not get discouraged and are able to be themselves. It is equally important that they recognize their own value and enter the world with self-confidence.
- "Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke."
(Benjamin Disraeli) - "Be silly, be honest, be kind."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson) - "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
(Oscar Wilde) - "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."
(Aesop) - "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
(Mahatma Gandhi) - "Fall seven times, stand up eight."
(Japanese Proverb) - "No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers."
(Unknown) - "Drop by drop is the water pot filled."
(Buddha) - "An ounce of practice is generally worth more than a ton of theory."
(E.F. Schumacher) - "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."
(Henry Ford)
Funny Encouraging Quotes
Funny Encouraging Quotes
The following quotes will make you laugh. But they can also inspire you to do more with your life and to have more confidence in yourself.
In addition, they address how you can go through life feeling happier and help you recognize that happiness in a funny way.
- "A man without courage is a knife without an edge."
(Proverb) - "If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide."
(Mahatma Gandhi) - "Work until your bank account looks like a phone number."
(Unknown) - "I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work."
(Thomas Edison) - "Think like a proton. Always positive."
(Unknown) - "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic."
(Unknown) - "Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes."
(Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach) - "Be happy – it drives people crazy."
(Unknown) - "A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure."
(Unknown) - "Always do right. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
(Mark Twain) - "When in doubt tell the truth."
(Mark Twain) - "When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water."
(Unknown) - "A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."
(Mark Twain) - "Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back."
(Oscar Wilde) - "Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive."
(Elbert Hubbard) - "If you dig a grave for others you may fall into it yourself."
(Irish Proverb) - "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
(Mark Twain) - "The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate."
(Unknown) - "We make mistakes because life doesn’t come with instructions."
(Unknown) - "Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
(Unknown)
In this article you will find more funny quotes for every occasion.
Short Encouraging Quotes
Short Encouraging Quotes
Sometimes encouraging quotes are easier to remember if they are short and to the point. The following short quotes will provide some food for thought.
- "Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."
(Lucis Annaeus Seneca) - "True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher."
(John Petit-Senn) - "I beg you take courage; the brave soul can mend even disaster."
(Catherine the Great) - "A person who has courage and faith will never die in misery!"
(Anne Frank) - "A man of courage is also full of faith."
(Marcus Tullius Cicero) - "Just as courage imperils life, fear protects it."
(Leonardo da Vinci) - "Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit."
(Baltasar Gracian) - "Always providing you have enough courage […] you can do without a reputation."
(Margaret Mitchell) - "The weak in courage is strong in cunning."
(William Blake) - "Genius is talent set on fire by courage."
(Henry van Dyke)
Spiritual and Encouraging Bible Quotes
Bible Verses as Encouraging Quotes
If you are a believer and are looking for some encouraging words from the Bible, we can help you with the following quotes.
All these quotes are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible.
- "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
(1 Thessalonians 5:11) - "But they who wait for the Lord
shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."
(Isaiah 40:31) - "It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
(Deuteronomy 31:8) - "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
(Hebrews 10:24-25) - "Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!"
(Psalm 31:24) - "Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me."
(Psalm 23:4) - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
(John 14:27) - "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus."
(Romans 15:5) - "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."
(Luke 12:6-7) - "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
(Romans 15:4)
This Helps against Discouragement: 4 Tips
This Helps against Despondency
If you find yourself feeling despondent more often, you should urgently work on becoming more positive and trusting yourself more.
Instead of letting setbacks discourage you more and more and having a negative attitude from the outset, you should take action against this attitude towards life.
Even if your life still seems dreary, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, a clear and shining path, if the fog of the dreariness is lifted.
You too can let this light into your life if you decide to leave the darkness behind and develop a more positive attitude. We’ll explain exactly how that works below.
Capture Positive Thoughts
Despondency usually stems from a negative basic attitude. So, as a first step, you should work on getting rid of it and start thinking positive thoughts. You can do this, for example, by means of affirmations.
These are self-affirming phrases that help you to make positive changes, because your thoughts are closely related to your feelings and actions.
If you have predominantly negative thoughts, they will inevitably affect your feelings as well as your actions. You may develop a sense of discouragement that prevents you from finding new motivation.
On the other hand, you can use positive thoughts to encourage positive feelings and actions. Affirmations can positively influence your self-image and lead to new motivational thoughts. Here’s how it happens: with visualization.
You formulate your thoughts deliberately and so make yourself particularly aware of them. The thought becomes more tangible and thus more real. If you repeat this thought again and again, at best daily, it becomes more and more a reality, since it increasingly becomes a part of you. In this way you can effectively influence your thoughts and change them for the better.
Get Active
Get Active against Despondency
If you’re feeling despondent, you probably can’t motivate yourself to do anything. You are frozen – both mentally and physically. Being active takes a lot of energy. But it’s worth it to break free from your rigidity.
On the one hand, you can break free with positive thoughts, but you can also help yourself by adopting a more active lifestyle. While it may take some effort to get outside regularly at first, it will become easier over time.
Sports can be a good way to get active. Choose a sport that you enjoy and where you don’t feel pressure to perform, so you can’t let defeat drag you down. Even a simple walk or Nordic walking are good ways to make your day more active.
If you are fitter, you can also try jogging. Not only does exercise help you take heart, but it also makes you happy, supporting a positive outlook on life. When you exercise, you release happiness hormones, so you will naturally be in a better mood afterwards.
Strengthen Self-Confidence
Despondency often stems from low self-confidence. You have little confidence in yourself, don’t feel good enough, and therefore lose the courage to start dealing with things.
But you can do just as much as any other person. You just have to believe in yourself. And this self-confidence is made up of many small elements that you can work on.
It starts with taking care of yourself. Give yourself time off, meet up with friends, and above all, be kind to yourself. Don’t criticize yourself, but accept yourself for who you are.
This takes some time, so be patient with yourself. If you care about and value yourself, you can greatly increase your self-confidence and find new courage.
You can find more tips for boosting your self-confidence here.
Rejoice in Small Successes
Even if you set big goals, celebrate the small successes, too. These will keep you motivated and give you hope for the future. Learn to appreciate these small intermediate steps and be proud of your success.
It often takes time to achieve a big goal. To keep you from getting discouraged, small intermediate targets can help light the way to your final goal. Sometimes you also have to compromise, because something has not worked out as you had imagined.
This is not the end of the world – it might even open new doors for you. Try to see the positive in all events, and you can banish your discouragement in the long run.
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