Where you ultimately end up greatly depends on your daily attitude and response.

This morning one of our clients, Monica — a victim of a fairly recent and debilitating car accident — was smiling from ear to ear the minute our FaceTime coaching session began. “What has you in such good spirits today?” I asked her. “I’m thinking better about things today — about how lucky I am to be alive,” she replied. “I thought the injuries I sustained in that accident earlier this year signified the end of life as I know it, but now I realize they signify the beginning.”

All details aside, Monica decided to begin again, in her mind first and then in her life. It’s taken her several months of healing and practice, but she has gradually let go of the “shoulda, woulda, coulda” attachments in her head about her circumstances, and she has stepped forward with grace, determination, and a more positive mindset.

Let’s follow Monica’s lead and practice thinking better in the days and weeks ahead, so we can begin to build momentum, together, as we move forward…

Daily Reminders and Quotes on Sticky Notes

It’s all about keeping the right thoughts top of mind so they’re readily available in the moments when we need them most. For Monica, that has meant deliberately reflecting on what she needs to remember. To make this practice seamless she writes important reminders on sticky notes and then puts them up where she can see them as she moves through her days (a few of her sticky notes are up on the wall in her home office, and she has a few more on her bathroom mirror and refrigerator).

Monica’s sticky notes keep her on track by keeping her mind inspired with positive, proactive reminders, even when she’s struggling. Through this daily practice she she has ultimately learned that inner peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, chaos, or challenges to deal with; it means being in the midst of all those things and still being capable of maintaining a healthy mindset. And I’m sure you’ve learned something similar over the years from your own life experiences. I know Angel and I surely have. But just like Monica, and you, we often forget…

Which is precisely why Angel and I have sticky notes up in our house too. So my challenge to you is to start practicing alongside us for the next few weeks. To get started, copy our notes and quotes below — perhaps just the ones that resonate most — and rewrite them on physical sticky notes, so you can then stick them up where you can see them. Then pause for a few moments throughout every day, as needed, and quietly read them to yourself. See how doing so gradually changes the way you think and feel, especially in those moments that are harder than expected…

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

(Note: Most of the sticky notes and quotes above are included in “The Good Morning Journal: Powerful Prompts & Reflections to Start Every Day”.)

Let’s make the best of what’s in front of us.

We often yearn for a very small and selective range of life experiences — the fun times, the happy days, the things that make us feel calm and comfortable. And yet the full range of our daily reality is often quite different. Life gives us an extensive array of experiences that evoke feelings ranging from sadness to uncertainty to frustration to curiosity to nervousness… to happiness to excitement and more. These feelings are all part of being alive.

So we can revolt against the wide-ranging experiences life naturally provides, or we can make the very best of them. Starting today, let’s do the latter…

This means embracing every moment with our full presence, being open and vulnerable to reality, being gentle with ourselves when times are harder than expected, and practicing sincere gratitude whenever possible.

It means accepting life as it is, and accepting ourselves as we are.

It means not expecting the best to happen every time, but instead accepting whatever happens, and making the very best of it one step at a time.

And it won’t always be easy of course, but it’s worth working on.

YOU are worth working on!

Now it’s your turn…

Yes, it’s your turn to get some inspiring sticky notes up on your walls today.  But before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this post. Your feedback is important to us.

Which sticky note or idea above resonates with you the most?

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

We are not just what we know, but what we are willing to learn.

When my Grandma Zelda passed away a decade ago at the age of 90, she left me with a box of miscellaneous items from her house that she knew I had grown to appreciate over the years. Among these items was an old leather-bound journal that she aptly named her Inspiration Journal.

Throughout the second half of her life, Grandma Zelda used this journal to jot down ideas, thoughts, quotes, song lyrics, and anything else that moved her. She would read excerpts from her journal to me when I was growing up, and I would listen and ask questions. I honestly credit a part of who I am now to the wisdom she bestowed on me when I was young.

Although I’ve shared some of her wisdom in the past here on the blog and with our newsletter subscribers, today is the day she became an angel ten years ago. So to honor her, I want to share some of my favorite excerpts from her journal that I actually remember her sharing with me before she died. I’ve done my best to sort, copyedit, and reorganize her thoughts into twelve inspiring bullet points. I hope you find value in them…

1. Breathe in the future, breathe out the past.

No matter where you are or what you’re going through, always believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Never expect, assume, or demand. Just do your best, control the elements you can control, and then let it be. Because once you have done what you can, if it is meant to be, it will happen, or it will show you the next step that needs to be taken.

2. Life CAN be simple again.

Just choose to focus on one thing at a time. You don’t have to do it all, and you don’t have to do it all right now. Breathe, be present, and do your best with what’s in front of you. What you put into life, life will often give you back many times over. (Read “The Power of Now” — a book that once sat on my grandma’s nightstand.)

3. Let others take you as you are, or not at all.

Speak and walk your truth even if your voice and legs shake. By being yourself you put something beautiful into the world that was not there before. So walk your path confidently and don’t expect anyone else to understand your journey, especially if they have not been exactly where you are going.

4. You are not who you used to be, and that’s OK.

You’ve been hurt; you’ve gone through numerous ups and downs that have made you who you are today. Over the years, so many things have happened — things that have changed your perspective, taught you lessons, and forced your spirit to grow. As time passes, nobody stays the same, but some people will still tell you that you have changed. Respond to them by saying, “Of course I’ve changed. That’s what life is all about. But I’m still the same person, just a little stronger now than I ever was before.”

5. Everything that happens helps you grow, even if it’s hard to see right now.

Circumstances will direct you, correct you, and perfect you over time. So whatever you do, hold on to hope. The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord. Let hope anchor you in the possibility that this is not the end of your story – that the change in the tides will eventually bring you to peaceful shores.

6. Happiness is a priceless asset.

Don’t just educate yourself to be rich, educate yourself to be happy. That way when you get older you’ll know the true value of things, not the price. You will come to realize that the best days are the days when you don’t need anything extreme or special to happen to make you smile. You simply appreciate the moments and feel gratitude, seeking nothing else, nothing more. That is what true happiness is all about in the end. (Note: Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the Happiness and Growth chapters of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

7. Be determined to be positive on the average day.

Understand that the greater part of your misery or unhappiness is determined not by your circumstances, but by your attitude. So give yourself a break today. Instead of dwelling on people who have let you down, refocus your time and energy on appreciating those who lift you up. Remember, you can’t control the impolite things some people say and do to you, but you can decide not to be distracted by them.

8. Pay close attention to people you care about.

Sometimes when a loved one says, “I’m okay,” they need you to look them in the eyes, hug them tight, and reply, “I know you’re not.” And don’t be too upset if some people only seem to remember you when they need you. Feel privileged that you are like a beacon of light that comes to their minds when there is darkness in their lives.

9. Autonomy is a gift you can give.

Sometimes you have to let a person go so they can grow. Because, over the course of their lives, it is not what you do for them, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them a successful human being.

10. You will outgrow some relationships.

Sometimes getting the results you crave means distancing yourself from people that don’t serve your best interests. This allows you to make space for those who support you in being the absolute best version of yourself. It happens gradually as you grow. You find out who you are and what you need, and then you realize that people you’ve known for awhile don’t see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.

11. You don’t need anyone else’s permission to listen to your intuition.

It’s usually better to look back on life and say, “I can’t believe I did that,” than to look back and say, “I wish I did that.” In the end people will judge you in some way anyway. So don’t live your life trying to impress others. Instead live your life impressing yourself. Love yourself enough to never lower your standards for anyone.

12. Endings often create beginnings to wonderful journeys.

If you’re looking for a happy ending and can’t seem to find one, maybe it’s time to start looking for a new beginning. Brush yourself off and accept that you have to fail from time to time — that’s how you learn. The strongest people out there — the ones with a genuine smile — are often the same people who have fought the toughest battles. They’re smiling because they’ve decided that they’re not going to let anything hold them down. They’re letting go and moving forward, one step at a time.

Promise yourself…

As I’m wrapping up this short tribute to my grandma, I’m also reminded of a poem excerpt by Christian D. Larson that she used to have hanging on her refrigerator when I was a kid. As soon as I was old enough to understand the poem, my grandma made a photocopy of it for me, and over 30 years later I still have that same photocopy laminated and hanging on my office bulletin board. These are words my grandma said she strived to live by:

Promise Yourself…

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to do the best you can.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forgive the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the present.

To wear a friendly countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too focused for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too at peace to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds.

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Now it’s your turn!

Before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of my grandma’s points resonated the most today?

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

Article created by: Justinas Keturka

Welcome to the unofficial warm blanket of the internet where pandemic stress is put on hold for as long as you’re there and everything looks just a little bit better. The subreddit called r/GetMotivated welcomes you with a soul-soothing “We’re glad you made it.” Because they know how hard it is to escape the harrowing reality of sad, fake, and plain ‘can’t take it no more’ news.

But here, a whopping 17 million members are sharing all things motivation that promise to “help you finally get up and do what you *know* you need to do.” And sometimes it’s all that you need.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight to the land of pure wholesomeness where strangers who share these motivational posts suddenly become your only support group.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” ~Mark Twain

Let me set the scene.

It’s a blistering summer day in Miami—the kind where the humidity hugs you tighter than your ex at a high school reunion, and the air feels like you’re swimming through warm soup. Not exactly the kind of weather that makes you want to move, let alone sweat through a surprise death-match workout on Muscle Beach.

But there I was.

The trainer—clearly a drill sergeant in a past life—barks out: “One more rep and we’re done!”

Ah, yes. The famous last words of every group fitness class ever.

Spoiler: We were not done.

That “one more rep” turned into ten more exercises, each more punishing than the last. By the end, I was convinced my legs had filed for emancipation. My tank top could’ve been used to mop the floor. And yet… beneath the exhaustion was a wild, inexplicable sense of aliveness.

As we collapsed onto the grass post-torture, I tilted my head to the sky—not for inspiration, but perhaps divine rescue. Instead, I got clouds. Big, moody ones, rolling in fast.

Now, as a Miami local, I knew what was coming. Rain. In five minutes, give or take.

Our group—equal parts sweaty and semi-traumatized—decided to grab food at a nearby Greek spot six blocks away. It would’ve been an easy call… if the weather weren’t about to turn into a tropical tantrum.

And that’s when the debate began: “To Uber or not to Uber?”

That was the moment.

That was the question that cracked open something bigger than I expected.

Because I found myself thinking—not practically, but existentially: What would make the better story?

Ubering dry and comfortable? Or walking into the storm, drenched and laughing?

You can guess which one I chose.

We set off on foot.

The first raindrops were tentative, almost polite. Then came the downpour. The real deal. Within moments, we were soaked to the skin—but free.

We splashed through puddles. We screamed. We laughed like kids who were allowed to stay up past bedtime.

When we finally burst into the restaurant—sopping wet, windswept, and grinning—we looked like a group of joyful chaos incarnate. No one cared about how they looked. No one regretted the walk.

Because we didn’t just choose a meal. We chose a memory.

So now I’ll ask you the same thing I asked myself: What would make the better story?

Not the easier one. Not the polished one. Not the one that keeps you neat and unbothered.

The better story. The one with heart and risk and color. The one where you come alive—even if you get a little messy in the process.

We tend to make choices based on comfort or control. We pick what’s convenient. Predictable. Safe. But the stories we remember—and the ones we’re proud to tell—usually start with a moment of uncertainty.

A leap. A yes. A “Why not?”

Maybe it’s the relationship that felt like a risk but turned into something real.

Maybe it’s the day you finally stood up for yourself, even though your voice trembled.

Maybe it’s the job you didn’t feel ready for but said yes to anyway.

Or maybe, like me, it’s just a walk in the rain that reminded you how alive you really are.

Your life is made up of stories.

And every day, you’re writing the next line.

So what will it be today? Will you play it safe? Or will you choose the version of this day—the version of yourself—that you’ll be proud to look back on?

About Danielle Dam

Danielle Dam is a life and leadership coach, speaker, and founder of Coach Dam LLC. Through her signature program, From Unseen to Unforgettable (U2U), she helps ambitious yet overwhelmed women stop living on autopilot and start leading lives that actually feel as good as they look. After years of chasing external validation, Danielle now empowers others to reconnect with their truth, rewrite old patterns, and build a life rooted in purpose, presence, and personal power. Learn more or connect with her at coachdam.com or on Instagram @Danielle_coachdam.

See a typo or inaccuracy? Please contact us so we can fix it!

“Head up, heart open. To better days!”
— T.F. Hodge

Struggling to find your motivation? Feeling unsure about the next steps?

There are just a few things you need to know right now.

This quick read is for YOU…

Once upon a time there was a woman in her mid-sixties who noticed that she had lived her entire life in the same small town. And although she had spent decades enthusiastically dreaming about traveling and seeing the world, she had never taken a single step to make this dream a reality.

Finally, she woke up on the morning of her 65th birthday and decided that now was the time! She sold all of her possessions except for some essential items she needed, packed these items into a backpack, and began her journey out into the world. The first several days on the road were amazing and filled with awe — with every step forward she felt like she was finally living the life she had dreamed.

But a few short weeks later, the days on the road started taking a toll on her. She felt misplaced and she missed the familiar comforts of her old life. As her feet and legs grew more and more sore with each new step, her mood also took a turn for the worse.

Eventually she stopped walking, took off her backpack, slammed it on the ground, and sat down beside it as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She stared hopelessly down a long winding road that once led to an amazing world, but now seemed to lead only to discomfort and unhappiness. “I have nothing! I have nothing left in my life!” she shouted out loud at the top of her lungs.

Coincidentally, a renowned guru and life adviser from a nearby village was resting quietly behind a pine tree adjacent to where the woman was sitting. When the woman began shouting, the guru heard every word and he felt it was his duty to help her. Without thinking twice, he jumped out from behind the pine tree, grabbed her backpack, and ran into the forest that lined both sides of the road. Stunned and in complete disbelief, the woman started crying even harder than before, to the point of near breathlessness.

“That backpack was all I had,” she cried.” And now it’s gone! Now everything is gone in my life!”

After roughly ten minutes of much-needed tears, the woman gradually collected her emotions, stood up again and began staggering slowly down the road. Meanwhile the guru cut through the forest and secretly placed the backpack in the middle of the road just a short distance ahead of the woman.

When the woman’s teary eyes fell upon the backpack, she almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing — everything she thought she had just lost was once again right in front of her. She couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. “Oh, thank heavens!” the woman exclaimed. “I am so grateful! Now I definitely have what I need to continue onward…”

Sometimes we need a wake-up call.

As we journey through our personal and professional lives, there will inevitably be periods of incredible frustration and despair. During those tough times, it will sometimes appear to us that we’ve lost everything, and that nothing and nobody could possibly motivate us to move onward in the direction of our dreams. But just like the woman who stumbled across the guru, we are all holding with us a backpack of support that comes in many forms — it can be a simple DM or text message from someone we respect, inspiring blog posts, insightful books, helpful neighbors, supportive communities, and so much more.

When the going gets tough — when we’ve lost our motivation and feel unsure of everything — we need to wake ourselves up and remember…

1. To trust the journey, even when we do not understand it.
2. To accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in the road ahead.
3. To start exactly where we are, use what we have, and do what we can, one step at a time.
4. To look for the blessings hidden in every struggle we face, and be willing to open our hearts and minds to them.
5. To recognize our backpack of support — our external sources of hope and motivation — before a random guru (or someone with far more crooked intentions) has to steal it from us so that we can finally see what we have always taken for granted.
6. To be present and tap into our own hearts and minds — our internal sources of hope and motivation — which have the power to push us back up on our feet and guide us down the road to our backpack of support, even when it appears to be lost forever.
7. To laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and appreciate the lessons found at each twist and turn.
8. To not compare our progress with that of others, and accept that we all need our own time to travel our own distance.
9. To see how many of the things we never wanted or expected ultimately turn out to be what we need.
10. To be OK with not ending up exactly where we intended to go, while opening ourselves up to the possibility of eventually arriving precisely in the right place at the right time.

Bottom line:

If you are struggling right now, you’ve got this!

No matter your circumstances, you always have what you need to take the next smallest step.

Or as Epicurus so profoundly said, “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Be mindful. Be present. Keep going, one day at a time, one small step at a time.

Now it’s your turn…

Please leave a comment below and let us know:

What’s one source of motivation (or gratitude) you typically turn to when you need it most?

Anything else to share about this essay?

Angel and I would love to hear from YOU. Your feedback is important to us.

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

We are not just what we know, but what we are willing to learn.

When my Grandma Zelda passed away a decade ago at the age of 90, she left me with a box of miscellaneous items from her house that she knew I had grown to appreciate over the years. Among these items was an old leather-bound journal that she aptly named her Inspiration Journal.

Throughout the second half of her life, Grandma Zelda used this journal to jot down ideas, thoughts, quotes, song lyrics, and anything else that moved her. She would read excerpts from her journal to me when I was growing up, and I would listen and ask questions. I honestly credit a part of who I am now to the wisdom she bestowed on me when I was young.

Although I’ve shared some of her wisdom in the past here on the blog and with our newsletter subscribers, today is the day she became an angel ten years ago. So to honor her, I want to share some of my favorite excerpts from her journal that I actually remember her sharing with me before she died. I’ve done my best to sort, copyedit, and reorganize her thoughts into twelve inspiring bullet points. I hope you find value in them…

1. Breathe in the future, breathe out the past.

No matter where you are or what you’re going through, always believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Never expect, assume, or demand. Just do your best, control the elements you can control, and then let it be. Because once you have done what you can, if it is meant to be, it will happen, or it will show you the next step that needs to be taken.

2. Life CAN be simple again.

Just choose to focus on one thing at a time. You don’t have to do it all, and you don’t have to do it all right now. Breathe, be present, and do your best with what’s in front of you. What you put into life, life will often give you back many times over. (Read “The Power of Now” — a book that once sat on my grandma’s nightstand.)

3. Let others take you as you are, or not at all.

Speak and walk your truth even if your voice and legs shake. By being yourself you put something beautiful into the world that was not there before. So walk your path confidently and don’t expect anyone else to understand your journey, especially if they have not been exactly where you are going.

4. You are not who you used to be, and that’s OK.

You’ve been hurt; you’ve gone through numerous ups and downs that have made you who you are today. Over the years, so many things have happened — things that have changed your perspective, taught you lessons, and forced your spirit to grow. As time passes, nobody stays the same, but some people will still tell you that you have changed. Respond to them by saying, “Of course I’ve changed. That’s what life is all about. But I’m still the same person, just a little stronger now than I ever was before.”

5. Everything that happens helps you grow, even if it’s hard to see right now.

Circumstances will direct you, correct you, and perfect you over time. So whatever you do, hold on to hope. The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord. Let hope anchor you in the possibility that this is not the end of your story – that the change in the tides will eventually bring you to peaceful shores.

6. Happiness is a priceless asset.

Don’t just educate yourself to be rich, educate yourself to be happy. That way when you get older you’ll know the true value of things, not the price. You will come to realize that the best days are the days when you don’t need anything extreme or special to happen to make you smile. You simply appreciate the moments and feel gratitude, seeking nothing else, nothing more. That is what true happiness is all about in the end. (Note: Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the Happiness and Growth chapters of “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently”.)

7. Be determined to be positive on the average day.

Understand that the greater part of your misery or unhappiness is determined not by your circumstances, but by your attitude. So give yourself a break today. Instead of dwelling on people who have let you down, refocus your time and energy on appreciating those who lift you up. Remember, you can’t control the impolite things some people say and do to you, but you can decide not to be distracted by them.

8. Pay close attention to people you care about.

Sometimes when a loved one says, “I’m okay,” they need you to look them in the eyes, hug them tight, and reply, “I know you’re not.” And don’t be too upset if some people only seem to remember you when they need you. Feel privileged that you are like a beacon of light that comes to their minds when there is darkness in their lives.

9. Autonomy is a gift you can give.

Sometimes you have to let a person go so they can grow. Because, over the course of their lives, it is not what you do for them, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them a successful human being.

10. You will outgrow some relationships.

Sometimes getting the results you crave means distancing yourself from people that don’t serve your best interests. This allows you to make space for those who support you in being the absolute best version of yourself. It happens gradually as you grow. You find out who you are and what you need, and then you realize that people you’ve known for awhile don’t see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.

11. You don’t need anyone else’s permission to listen to your intuition.

It’s usually better to look back on life and say, “I can’t believe I did that,” than to look back and say, “I wish I did that.” In the end people will judge you in some way anyway. So don’t live your life trying to impress others. Instead live your life impressing yourself. Love yourself enough to never lower your standards for anyone.

12. Endings often create beginnings to wonderful journeys.

If you’re looking for a happy ending and can’t seem to find one, maybe it’s time to start looking for a new beginning. Brush yourself off and accept that you have to fail from time to time — that’s how you learn. The strongest people out there — the ones with a genuine smile — are often the same people who have fought the toughest battles. They’re smiling because they’ve decided that they’re not going to let anything hold them down. They’re letting go and moving forward, one step at a time.

Promise yourself…

As I’m wrapping up this short tribute to my grandma, I’m also reminded of a poem excerpt by Christian D. Larson that she used to have hanging on her refrigerator when I was a kid. As soon as I was old enough to understand the poem, my grandma made a photocopy of it for me, and over 30 years later I still have that same photocopy laminated and hanging on my office bulletin board. These are words my grandma said she strived to live by:

Promise Yourself…

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to do the best you can.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forgive the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the present.

To wear a friendly countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too focused for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too at peace to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words but great deeds.

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Now it’s your turn!

Before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this essay. Your feedback is important to us.

Which one of my grandma’s points resonated the most today?

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign-up for our free newsletter to receive new articles like this in your inbox each week.

36 Uplifting & Motivating Quotes To Get You Through Bad Days

Everyone experiences those tough days when everything feels overwhelming, but here’s the exciting part: a simple, powerful quote can shift your mindset in an instant! Quotes aren’t just words—they’re distilled wisdom from people who’ve faced their own storms and come out stronger. They remind us that bad days are temporary, building resilience and opening doors to growth. Research shows that positive affirmations like these can reduce stress hormones and boost motivation, helping you bounce back faster. Get ready to feel inspired as we dive into 36 handpicked quotes, grouped to guide you through resilience, hope, and personal growth. Let’s turn that bad day around!

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Inspirational Quote Desktop Wallpapers | Free HD Wallpapers …

Quotes on Resilience: Building Strength in the Storm

Bad days test our limits, but they also forge our inner strength. These quotes highlight how embracing difficulties can make us unbreakable. Drawing from psychology, resilience isn’t about avoiding pain—it’s about adapting and thriving despite it. Get excited: each one is a tool to reframe your struggles!

1. “She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful.” — Terri St. Cloud
2. “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.” — Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
3. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” — J. K. Rowling
4. “You are not supposed to be happy all the time. Life hurts and it’s hard. Not because you’re doing it wrong, but because it hurts for everybody. Don’t avoid the pain. You need it. It’s meant for you. Be still with it, let it come, let it go, let it leave you with the fuel you’ll burn to get your work done on this earth.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
5. “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” — Haruki Murakami
6. “If you are going through hell, keep going.” — Winston S. Churchill
7. “You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.” — Anne Lamott
8. “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” — Steve Maraboli
9. “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” — Mary Oliver
10. “Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, as the Greek root of the word crisis is “to sift”, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. As crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
11. “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” — Elizabeth Edwards
12. “This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

These resilience quotes excite me because they turn pain into power! Studies from positive psychology show that viewing setbacks as growth opportunities can lower cortisol levels by 20%, making bad days feel like stepping stones.

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Quotes on Hope: Lighting the Path Forward

When bad days cloud your vision, hope is the spark that reignites possibility. These quotes educate us on hope’s science—research from the American Psychological Association links hopeful thinking to better problem-solving and reduced depression. Get pumped: Hope isn’t passive; it’s a motivator that propels you through darkness!

13. “I don’t want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up.” — Malala Yousafzai
14. “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Dumbledore
15. “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” — Brené Brown
16. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” — Jalaluddin Rumi
17. “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” — Helen Keller
18. “For me, it’s not necessarily interesting to play a strong, fearless woman. It’s interesting to play a woman who is terrified and then overcomes that fear. It’s about the journey. Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it.” — Natalie Dormer
19. “Grief is love’s souvenir. It’s our proof that we once loved. Grief is the receipt we wave in the air that says to the world: Look! Love was once mine. I love well. Here is my proof that I paid the price.” — Glennon Doyle
20. “Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” — Ralph Marston
21. “And I felt like my heart had been so thoroughly and irreparably broken that there could be no real joy again, that at best there might eventually be a little contentment. Everyone wanted me to get help and rejoin life, pick up the pieces and move on, and I tried to, I wanted to, but I just had to lie in the mud with my arms wrapped around myself, eyes closed, grieving, until I didn’t have to anymore.” — Anne Lamott
22. “Yeah, there were regrets – but mostly there was an understanding – it had all brought her to here. As Terri St. Cloud reminds us, as the Greek root of the word crisis is “to sift”, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. As crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
23. “I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I still had a daughter who I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” — J. K. Rowling
24. “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” — Fred Rogers

Isn’t it thrilling how hope can transform a bad day? Educational note: Hopeful quotes activate the brain’s reward centers, similar to achieving a goal, fostering optimism even in tough times.

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Quotes on Growth: Turning Bad Days Into Breakthroughs

Bad days are growth opportunities in disguise! Excitingly, neuroscience tells us that reflecting on challenges builds neural pathways for adaptability. These quotes educate on embracing change, motivating you to see every setback as a setup for a comeback.

25. “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” — Brené Brown
26. “to live in this world / you must be able / to do three things / to love what is mortal; / to hold it / against your bones knowing / your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, / to let it go” — Mary Oliver
27. “If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” — Shane Koyczan
28. “Healing depends on listening with the inner ear – stopping the incessant blather, and listening. Fear keeps us chattering – fear that wells up from the past, fear of blurting out what we really fear, fear of future repercussions. It is our very fear of the future that distorts the now that could lead to a different future if we dared to be whole in the present.” — Marion Woodman
29. “Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.” — David Richo
30. “Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived…Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation… Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.” — Anne Lamott
31. “I can tell you that it takes great strength to surrender. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, as the Greek root of the word crisis is “to sift”, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. As crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
32. “Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, as the Greek root of the word crisis is “to sift”, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. As crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on to only what matters most. The rest falls away.” — Glennon Doyle Melton
33. “A Prayer: Refuse to fall down / If you cannot refuse to fall down / refuse to stay down / If you cannot refuse to stay down / lift your heart toward heaven / and like a hungry beggar / ask that it be filled. / You may be pushed down. / You may be kept from rising. / But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven only you. / It is in the middle of misery that so much becomes clear. / The one who says nothing good came of this, is not yet listening. ” — Clarissa Pinkola Estés
34. “I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had.” — J. K. Rowling
35. “My life was my life; I would have to stare it down, somehow, and make it work for me.” — Paula McLain
36. “She had fouled off of the curves that life had thrown at her.” — W.P. Kinsella

What an exciting journey through growth! These quotes teach us that bad days are classrooms, fostering empathy and wisdom. With regular reflection, you can turn negativity into fuel for a brighter tomorrow.

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Love always, Do

P.S. Want a printable PDF of these 36 quotes plus 10 more bonus ones with journaling prompts to make them even more impactful? Comment “BAD DAYS” below and I’ll DM you everything!

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Let’s embrace the motivation together!