8 quotes to help you through hard times
Are you going through a breakup? Maybe you are unemployed and struggling to find meaning and direction? As a result, you feel worried about the future and maybe even doubtful about your own capacity. Let’s pour strength into your veins. Let’s take a look at my favorite reassuring words.
Having a mantra
Sometimes you cannot make sense of the world, you seem to always be struggling. Your life is, in one way or another, not what you imagined it would be. The place where you are, mentally and physically, is not a good one.
Having the right mantra can give you the reassurance and direction you need.
Write down your favorite reassuring words
To make the power of these words even stronger, it helps to write them down. It can also help to journal about what they mean to you.
Repeat your chosen words to yourself. Re-read them often. Let your new mantra guide you.
1. What’s meant for you will never pass you
This is one of my favorite quotes. When I’m longing for things in my life (such as children and a life partner) I keep repeating these reassuring words to myself.
When we are having a hard time in life it is easy to wonder if we made mistakes, if we missed opportunities, if we should have acted differently.
This quote helps with regrets
It’s also easy to get upset with other people; the man who doesn’t love us back, the boss who is mean. The list is endless.
When we feel like we don’t get the things we deserve, it’s important to remember that what is meant for us will eventually be ours.
2. There are no failures, only learning opportunities
A breakup feels like a huge failure. Being made redundant at your job, feels like a failure. Not being able to find a man feels like a failure.
But always remember that those very setbacks will catapult you to your next opportunity.
Personal development
Every time you frame your experience as a failure, you overlook that if you treat them right, your biggest failures will be the time in your life when you are forced to grow the most. You will need to change to be able to deal with your new reality.
Make that change a good one.
3. Trust that the universe has good intentions for you
My sister told me this simple sentence on a backstreet in Lisbon. I was having a lot of anxiety. But with that simple sentence, she manages to calm me down. I often return to her words.
The path is always there
I cannot always see the ways of the universe, but I do trust the universe to take care of me. There is a path for me, I just don’t always see it.
4. You learn more from failure than from success. Don’t let it stop you. Failure builds character.
I love this. We might celebrate our successes. But we can welcome our failures with equal enthusiasm knowing that the lessons we learn from our hard times will propel us to become stronger versions of ourselves.
You might feel sad and desperate now, but this moment is also an opportunity to find out exactly how resilient you are.
5. The past is not an indication of your future
You cannot live your life by looking in the rear-view mirror.
I know how easy it is to say things like “I’m always picking the wrong man.” Or “I have never been happy so I will never find happiness.”
As humans, we are inclined to draw conclusions from our past. But believing your past defines your future becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The past does not determine your future
The opposite is true, there is no telling where you will be tomorrow. That’s why these reassuring words are so important and so powerful.
If you wondering how to be there for yourself in this difficult period of your time, check out my article Being There For Someone In A Time Of Need. You can use the same strategies to support yourself.
6. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I’m not religious, but I often return to these encouraging words. They are used as part of the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
They make so much sense to me, because some things we just need to learn to live with, and other things we need to be brave and change.
But when we are in the midst of a difficult time, we don’t always know the difference.
Manipulative behavior
If you want to see more clearly, I recommend my article Manipulative behavior. Sometimes we even use these strategies on ourselves. By not using them your connection with other people becomes more authentic.
7. Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.
When I write about transforming our lives for the better, I often talk about small incremental changes. Achieving anything is about starting a new habit and sticking to that habit.
It might feel incredibly difficult and that is why these reassuring words are so important. Through practice, you become better.
What’s difficult today, might become effortless tomorrow. Such is the force of working whatever muscle needs exercise.
Strengthen the muscle that needs strengthening
You can apply this principle to everything in life. Saying no is a muscle. Feeling connected to your fellow humans is a muscle. Applying for jobs is a muscle.
We can master anything.
8. The people whom you invite into your life are signposts of what goes on in your inner world
This quote might not be reassuring for everyone since it’s basically saying that you are responsible for people treating you badly. It’s tough to hear.
I told a friend this exact quote, she got more upset.
Nevertheless, if you realize that you are responsible for the people you bring into your life, you are also empowered to make better choices for yourself. You are the common determinator thus you are also the one who is in control.
Becoming a better you
This quote also always reminds me that the better I do the basics such as meditation exercise and eating healthy, the more likely I am to attract good people into my life.
It all starts with your inner world and how you treat yourself. Treat yourself with love and you will be attracted to people and situations that treat you with love.
A Final Note
I hope this article has inspired you to collect your own list of your favorite reassuring words. Let them play a role in how you live your life, inspiration and determination will follow.
I leave you with another one of my favorite quotes, Seasons come to pass. (From the South African novelist
Moa Ailert is the founder and editor-in-chief of Her Brilliant Friend.
She has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and plenty of insight into human psychology from traveling and living in different places around the world.
Moa is currently based in Portugal where she has a guesthouse; Villa dos Irmaos.
She has various websites, among others Ericeira Insider, but Her brilliant friend is her true passion project.
