In A Funk? These 75 Persistence Quotes Will Get You Motivated

Pexels

woman smiling

Kristina Udice
Kristina Udice
Updated: 1/14/2018
When life's got you down and you feel like your strength, patience and perseverance is constantly being challenged with obstacles, it can be difficult to muster the persistence and determination you need for success. 
Maybe you’re in a rut with your professional career and you’ve fallen back into bad habits. Maybe you put your blood, sweat, and tears into a project or proposal that got turned down. Maybe your home life has you lacking the courage and excitement to persevere. But whatever has stripped you of your motivation doesn’t have to be permanent; all you need is some determination, persistence, and perseverance. Getting there can be the hardest part, but these persistence quotes can help.
Everyone need a little motivation sometimes, so you’re not alone. And these inspirational quotes and sayings from some of the world’s most influential people prove that everyone needs a little help finding their persistence and perseverance boost from time to time. If you’re stuck in a bit of a funk, these 20 persistence quotes will snap you right out of it.
1. “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
2. “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it’s not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” — Barack Obama
3. “When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that’s just the place and time that the tide’ll turn.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
4. “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” — Julie Andrews
5. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
6. “If you are going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill
7. “Courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes it’s the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering I will try again tomorrow.” — Mary Anne Radmacher
8. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius
9. “There are two ways of attaining an important end, force and perseverance; the silent power of the latter grows irresistible with time.” — Sophie Swetchine

11. “Persistence and determination are always rewarded.” — Christine Rice
12. “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.” — Ann Landers
13. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
14. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." — Aristotle
15. “If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.” — Mary Pickford
16. “Willingness is essential in any initiation or in making any dream come true. “I can’t” often means “I won’t.” You can change “I won’t” to “I will” with will power.” — Marcia Wieder
17. “People do not lack strength, they lack will.” — Victor Hugo
18. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
19. “I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” — Helen Keller

21. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert
22. "The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” ― Steve Maraboli
23. “Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.” ― Steve Maraboli
24. “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” ― Zig Ziglar
25. “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” ― Roy T. Bennett
26. “Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.” ― Steve Maraboli
27. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ― Viktor E. Frankl
28. “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” ― Arthur C. Clarke
29. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ― Confucius

31. “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
32. “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” ― Wayne W. Dyer
33. “Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” ― Roy T. Bennett
34. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” ― Pablo Picasso
35. “Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the instruments of the wise.” ― Samuel Lover
36. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” ― Helen Keller
37. “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
38. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” ― Napoleon Hill
39. “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.” ― George Bernard Shaw

41. “You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
42. “Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible.” ― Miguel de Unamuno
43. “You are unique. You have different talents and abilities. You don’t have to always follow in the footsteps of others. And most important, you should always remind yourself that you don't have to do what everyone else is doing and have a responsibility to develop the talents you have been given.” ― Roy T. Bennett
44. “Everything is hard before it is easy” ― Goethe J.W.
45. “If you care about something enough, you'll find a way to make it happen.” ― Roy T. Bennett
46. “The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the stronger you climb, the higher your pedestal.” ― Criss Jami
47. “One must always be prepared for riotous and endless waves of transformation.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert
48. “If you've got nothing to dance about, find a reason to sing.” ― Melody Carstairs
49. “Instead of worrying about what could go wrong, change your thoughts to what could go right. When you change the negative thought into a positive one, it eliminates the negative one.” ― Roy T. Bennett

51. “You are never alone. You are eternally connected with everyone.” ― Amit Ray
52. “Make today worth remembering.” ― Zig Ziglar
53. “Life keeps throwing me lemons because I make the best lemonade...” ― King James Gadsden
54. “Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you'd like to act.” ― Bob Dylan
55. “Keep your promises and be consistent. Be the kind of person others can trust.” ― Roy T. Bennett
56. “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can, there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” ― Sarah Caldwell
57. “Life is short. Focus on what really matters most; you should change your priorities over time.” ― Roy T. Bennett
58. “Be happy with who you are and what you do, and you can do anything you want.” ― Steve Maraboli
59. “Find a purpose to serve, not a lifestyle to live.” ― Criss Jami

61. “Confidence is like a dragon where, for every head cut off, two more heads grow back.” ― Criss Jami
62. “Not all dreamers are winners, but all winners are dreamers. Your dream is the key to your future. The Bible says that, 'without a vision (dream), a people perish.' You need a dream, if you're going to succeed in anything you do.” ― Mark Gorman
63. “Always Remember to take your Vitamins: Take your Vitamin A for ACTION, Vitamin B for Belief, Vitamin C for Confidence ,Vitamin D for Discipline, Vitamin E for Enthusiasm!!” ― Pablo
64. “Push yourself to do more and to experience more. Harness your energy to start expanding your dreams. Yes, expand your dreams. Don't accept a life of mediocrity when you hold such infinite potential within the fortress of your mind. Dare to tap into your greatness.” ― Robin S. Sharma
65. “My atheism, like that of Spinoza, is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests.” ― George Santayana
66. “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” ― Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
67. “At school, new ideas are thrust at you every day. Out in the world, you'll have to find your inner motivation to seek for new ideas on your own.” ― Bill Watterson
68. “Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” ― Samuel Beckett
69. “You can't hang around waiting for somebody else to pull your strings. Destiny's what you make of it. You have to face whatever life throws at you. And if it throws more than you'd like, more than you think you can handle? Well then you just have to find the heroism within yourself and play out the hand you've been dealt. The universe never sets a challenge that can't be met. You just need to believe in yourself in order to find the strength to face it.” ― Darren Shan


71. “Today, many will choose to live free of conditions and rules governing their own happiness. Why not you? Do not let another day go by where your dedication to other people's opinions is greater than your dedication to your own emotions! Today's a new day!” ― Steve Maraboli
72. “Make the most of the best and the least of the worst.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson
73. “Never say anything about yourself you don't want to come true” ― Brian Tracy
74. “A person doesn't have to change who he is to become better.” ― Sidney Poitier
75. “I can’t think of anything more disheartening than living a life without a clear purpose.” ― Daniel Willey

Why women love us:

  • Daily articles on career topics
  • Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
  • Advice and support from an authentic community
  • Events that help you level up in your career
  • Free membership, always