quotes, quotations and passages on strength and being strong

Where there is no struggle,
there is no strength.

Oprah Winfrey

We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure. Cesar Chavez

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it. Ann Landers

Strength is the capacity to break a candy bar into four pieces with your bare hands--and then eat just one of the pieces. Judith Viorst Love & Guilt & The Meaning Of Life, Etc

Strength is not simply a physical quality. As with all the Twelve Powers, it expresses itself on three levels, each one complementing the others in this life expression on the earth plane. In the physical realm, strength is vitality, endurance, the ability to persist. In the mental area of expression, strength is that quality of mind which enables one to lead, to accomplish, to follow through on decisions, to establish purposes in life, and to hold firm to spiritual principles in daily living. It expresses itself as stability of character. The highest expression, and the one that should determine the direction of strength in the other realms, is the spiritual realization of this quality. Here strength is closely allied with faith. Winifred Wilkinson Hausmann

Our strength grows out of our weaknesses.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When have you been at your strongest?" asked the boy.
"When I have dared to show my weakness."

Charlie Mackesy
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

quotations - contents - welcome page - obstacles
our current e-zine - the people behind the words - articles and excerpts
Daily Meditations, Year One - Year Two - Year Three - Year Four

Sign up for your free daily spiritual or general quotation ~ ~ Sign up for your free daily meditation

Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance,
and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large
that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.

Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet

Finding the center of strength within ourselves is in the
long run the best contribution we can make to our fellow
people. . . . One person with indigenous inner strength
exercises a great calming effect on panic among people
around him or her. This is what our society needs--not
new ideas and inventions; important as these are, and
not geniuses and superpeople, but persons who can "be",
that is, persons who have a center of strength
within themselves.

Rollo May
Man's Search for Himself

And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear
but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.

Paulo Coelho

It is truly said: It does not take much strength to do things,
but it requires great strength to decide what to do.

Chow Ching

To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable; to
make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength.

Criss Jami

Strong people make as many and as ghastly mistakes as weak people.
The difference is that strong people admit them, laugh at them,
learn from them. That is how they become strong.

Richard J. Needham

To be strong in body is to be strong in mind. A woman’s physical strength
cannot help but become psychological strength. Strong women make happy lives.

Mina Samuels
Run like a Girl

Life only demands from you the strength you possess.
Only one feat is possible--not to have run away.

Dag Hammarskjold

Strength does not come from physical capacity.
It comes from an indomitable will.

Mohandas Gandhi

Being single doesn't mean you're weak, it means that
you're strong enough to wait for the right person.

Niall Horan

Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength.

Ralph W. Sockman

Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment
against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.

Lawrence G. Lovasik

A quiet conscience makes one strong!

Anne Frank
The Diary of a Young Girl

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves
of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

Rachel Carson
The Sense of Wonder

Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.

G.K. Chesterton
The Man Who Was Thursday

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in
fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed.

Vincent van Gogh

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you. Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader). All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another. Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a
weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.

Michael Jordan

Strength isn't about bearing a cross of grief or shame. Strength comes
from choosing your own path, and living with the consequences.

Jennifer Armintrout

Give me strength, not to be better than my enemies, but to defeat
my greatest enemy, the doubts within myself. Give me strength for a
straight back and clear eyes, so when life fades, as the setting
sun, my spirit may come to you without shame.

P.C. Cast

Finding the center of strength within ourselves is in the long run
the best contribution we can make to our fellow people. . . One
person with indigenous inner strength exercises a great calming
effect on panic among people around them. This is what our society
needs--not new ideas and inventions; important as these are, and
not geniuses and supermen, but persons who can "be", that is,
persons who have a center of strength within themselves.

Rollo May
Man's Search for Himself

The moment will arrive when you are comfortable with who you are,
and what you are– bald or old or fat or poor, successful or struggling--
when you don't feel the need to apologize for anything or to deny
anything. To be comfortable in your own skin is the beginning of strength.

Charles B. Handy

The key is this: Meet today's problems with today's strength. Don't start
tackling tomorrow's problems until tomorrow. You do not have
tomorrow's strength yet. You simply have enough for today.

Max Lucado
Traveling Light

When I dare to be powerful--to use my strength in the service of my
vision--then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Audre Lorde

Most of us, I believe, admire strength. It's something we tend
to respect in others, desire for ourselves, and wish for our children.
Sometimes, though, I wonder if we confuse strength with other
words--like aggression and even violence. Real strength is neither
male nor female; but it is, quite simply, one of the finest
characteristics that any human being can possess.

Fred Rogers
The World According to Mr. Rogers

When I was young I used to think that strong meant having big
muscles, great physical power; but the longer I live, the more I
realize that real strength has much more to do with what is
not seen. Real strength has to do with helping others.

Individuals who invest in their strengths are happier and more successful.
This does not mean that we should ignore our weaknesses but, rather,
that our primary focus ought to be that which we are naturally good at.
In the words of leadership expert Peter Drucker, “Only when you operate
from strengths, can you achieve true excellence.” The kind of questions that
I have to ask myself if I am to discover my strengths are: What are my
strengths? What am I naturally good at? Where do my talents reside?
What are my unique abilities? These questions are significant for choosing
general life goals (being a writer, becoming a teacher, pursuing a career in
law, and so on) as well as for choosing to apply my strengths in the
immediate future (prepare a speech for my employees, hone my math
skills, plan a family vacation, and so on).

Tal Ben-Shahar
Choose the Life You Want

All too often our so-called strength comes from fear, not love;
instead of having a strong back, many of us have a defended
front shielding a weak spine. In other words, we walk around
brittle and defensive, trying to conceal our lack of confidence.
If we strengthen our backs, metaphorically speaking, and develop
a spine that's flexible but sturdy, then we can risk having a front
that's soft and open. . . . How can we give and accept care with
strong-back, soft-front compassion, moving past fear into a place
of genuine tenderness? I believe it comes about when we can be
truly transparent, seeing the world clearly--and letting the
world see into us.

Roshi Joan Halifax