70 Tough Times Quotes on Powering Through Challenges

Read these tough times quotes and find the strength you need to endure whatever difficulty you’re set to face in life.

No one can escape from the tough times in life. In fact, experiencing hardships is a sort of rite of passage.

After all, would you be able to confidently say that you’ve made it through life if you haven’t gone through any challenges or obstacles?

However, though it’s a fact of life, tough times are undeniably difficult to go through. They will test your resolve, patience, determination, and will.

At times, these hardships can pound you so hard that you’ll think there’s no way you can ever stand up again.

But, don’t lose hope. Tough times are inevitable, but they will pass, too.

Read through this collection and gain the necessary tools to go against the hard times you’ll face in life!

Let’s begin.

And don’t forget to check out these determination quotes.

Best Tough Times Quotes

1. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller

2. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” – John Belushi

3. “Going through challenging things can teach you a lot, and they also make you appreciate the times that aren’t so challenging.” – Carrie Fisher

4. “In tough times, everyone has to take their share of the pain.” – Theresa May

5. “Tough times call for tough choices and pinching every penny.” – John Hickenlooper

6. “Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made.” – Gabrielle Douglas

7. “You’re going to go through tough times—that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you; it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.” – Joel Osteen 

8. “Difficult times produce strong men and women. Keep on your struggle to achieve your dreams!” – Avijeet Das

9. “It takes a lot of courage to push through hard times. Never give up. Good things are coming your way.” – Robert Tew

10. “However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is.” – Henry David Thoreau

Inspirational Quotes for Tough Times

11. “See your hard times through the spectacles of your experiences. They, too, shall pass away.” – Ogwo David Emenike

12. “Never give up. Things may be hard, but if you quit trying they’ll never get better. Stop worrying and start trusting God. It will be worth it.” – Germany Kent

13. “Never give up. There are always tough times, regardless of what you do in anything in life. Be able to push through those times and maintain your ultimate goal.” – Nathan Chen

14. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.” – Zig Ziglar

15. “When you meet the real problems of life, think of the real lessons of life for the real lessons of life are in the real problems of life.” – Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

16. “I wouldn’t ever say if you’re having tough times then there must be something wrong with you or your attitude. Life’s a fight. It’s a good fight of faith. I encourage people to stay up, stay hopeful, stay faith-filled.” – Joel Osteen

17. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

18. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller

Also read: Inspirational Quotes, Encouraging Quotes

Quotes to Get You Through Hard Times

19. “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” – Bob Riley

20. “Hard times lift the seeking souls to higher spiritual realms.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

21. “Hard times may have held you down, but they will not last forever. When all is said and done, you will be increased.” – Joel Osteen

22. “Hard times are sometimes blessings in disguise. We do have to suffer, but in the end, it makes us strong, better, and wise.” – Anurag Prakash Ray

23. “Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.” – Coco Chanel

24. “Hard times build determination and inner strength. Through them, we can also come to appreciate the uselessness of anger.” – Dalai Lama XIV

25. “Hard times, when held with open hands and a tender heart, can prepare us for the future.” – Cindee Snider Re

Also read: Simple Life Quotes, Life is Hard Quotes

Tough Times Quotes for Those Who Feel Down in the Dumps

26. “When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always get worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad they have to get better.” – Malcolm S. Forbes

27. “You’ve got to stay strong to be strong in tough times.” – Tilman J. Fertitta

28. “There were good times, there were hard times, but there were never bad times.” – Steve Jobs

29. “It is exactly in tough times when we discover our full potential. It allows our mind and body to push ourselves beyond our limits.” – Leonardo Bonucci

Meaningful Tough Times Quotes for Everyone Who Needs Motivation

30. “Anyone can take the wheel of the ship in calm water but it’s not so easy when it’s not calm water. You can’t just enjoy the good times, you have to be resilient in the tough times.” – Sean Dyche

31. “Hard times always lead to something great.” – Betsey Johnson

32. “I’ll tell you something about tough times. They just about kill you, but if you decide to keep working at them, you’ll find your way through.” – Joan Bauer

33. “And hard times are good in their own way, too. Because the only way you can achieve true happiness is if you experience true sadness as well. It’s all about light and shade. Balance.” – Gabrielle Williams

34. “I had a lot of tough times, and I know what it is. We must move forward, working equally and always strong.” – David de Gea

35. “By sticking it out through tough times, people emerge from adversity with a stronger sense of efficacy.” – Albert Bandura

36. “Hard times are like thunder. They make a lot of noise but do little harm. Don’t fear hard times.” – Debasish Mridha

Also read: Quotes to Live By

Tough Times Quotes to Remind You of Your Strength

37. “When life changes itself to harder, change yourself to stronger.” – Anurag Prakash Ray

38. “Once you’ve been through tough times, you can only become stronger.” – Alesha Dixon

39. “I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.” – Rita Mero

40. “Tough times not only make you stronger, but you grow from those experiences. The same is true with fighting. You have to lean into it.” – Cub Swanson

41. “Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds.” – Marta

42. “Hard times sustain and strengthen others, inspiring them to strive toward personal growth.” – Senora Roy

43. “I think you need to go through some stuff to really appreciate life and understand what it means to persevere, overcome and have faith. I think those tough times make you a stronger person.” – Judith Hill

44. “Hard times fall upon everybody. Whatever it is, we’re going to get out of it.” – Mike Tyson

Tough Times Quotes to Uplift You

45. “It was the hardest time of my life, but the best part of my journey.” – Ellen DeGeneres

46. “We’ve gotten through a lot of tough times, and we’re going to keep working to make them better.” – Mike Quade

47. “In tough times, that’s when you see true colors and personality.” – Didier Deschamps

48. “The good life is not built on a foundation of ease. It’s the hard times that give us a rock-solid foundation.” – Richie Norton

49. “In the hard times, everything will be revealed; stay watching.” – Gun Gun Febrianza

50. “Without hope, how can we survive hard times?” – Lailah Gifty Akita

Tough Times Quotes That Will Improve Your Mindset

51. “Certainly, there were tough times, but no, you can’t go back and change it. So, why dwell on it?” – Alex Smith

52. “Tough times call for tougher decisions.” – Prabhas

53. “Even in the tough times, He’s still a good God.” – Victoria Osteen

54. “Anyone is free to judge me, but they weren’t there in my tough times.” – S. Sreesanth

55. “God already knows what we’re made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we’re made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough times than from our easy times.” – John Bytheway

56. “I like to use the hard times in the past to motivate me today.” – Dwayne Johnson

57. “I believe, as human beings, we sometimes indulge in self-pity more than it’s necessary. Over my life’s journey, I have realized that overthinking about your problems and indulging in self-pity is not the answer to get through tough times.” – Sonali Bendre

Tough Times Quotes That’ll Help You See the Bright Side

58. “I’ve been through some tough times, and I know a lot of people can recall tough times, and maybe are going through some tough times right now, but they don’t last.” – Alonzo Mourning

59. “We’re going to have tough times. We’re going to have five-game losing streaks. Everybody goes through it.” – Masai Ujiri

60. “Difficult times don’t come your way just so you can survive them; God uses these times in your life to form and refine you.” – Joel Osteen

61. “I understand you’ve got to go through tough times to get better.” – Dirk Nowitzki

62. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

63. “The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.” – Epictetus

64. “You’ve got to believe that God is in control of your life. It may be a tough time, but you’ve got to believe that God has a reason for it and He’s going to make everything good.” – Joel Osteen

More Quotes for Difficult Times in Life

65. “Do not get discouraged in times of difficulties.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

66. “In difficult times, it’s so hard to look around and to see what to be grateful for.” – Alice Barrett

67. “Difficult times will come. It’s a fact of life, isn’t it? There are good times and bad times in everybody’s life.” – Raj Kosaraju

68. “Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever.” – Zahid Abas

69. “We are all dealing with a challenge of some kind. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.” – Karen Salmansohn

70. “The way I see it, hard times aren’t only about money, or drought, or dust. Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up.” – Karen Hesse

Did These Quotes Give You a New Understanding of Tough Times?

Tough times are not permanent. Like everything in life, it’s just one point in a multitude of experiences you’ll be going through. Think about things from a more positive angle, and you’ll see that your hardships are just like a speck of dust compared to all the happiness and love the world has to offer.

However, it’s one thing to think about these things and another to apply them in real life. You can pull yourself up from all the difficulties that weigh you down. But, before doing this, you’ll have to work to the bone to shape yourself into someone tougher than all the challenges ahead.

Don’t be scared and overthink the tough times. Remember that humans are made to be stronger; we are given a fighting spirit that will help us conquer whatever challenge lies ahead. So, push yourself beyond your limits and do your best to keep your head above water.

With that, let this collection remind you that you’re a tough person who tough times won’t be able to destroy! Go forward in life with the confidence that you will conquer everything in your path. Remember, you can’t go through life scratch-free, but you can always learn to be better.

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

You can find me on MuckRack and LinkedIn.