It’s October. Autumn is in full swing with all things pumpkin and apple spice. It also marks the fourth quarter of the year, which usually means a dash to close the year strong. With many things on the horizon, it is important to manage wins as well as losses. This is where resilience, and more specifically affirmations or resilience quotes, come in.
What is resilience?
How do you define resilience?
When we hear resilience, it is usually in relation to someone’s struggle, hardship, or loss and their ability to keep going. Sounds a lot like perseverance, right? Are they the same thing?
Not quite, but they are close.
According to Merriam-Webster, resilience is defined as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness” and perseverance is defined as “continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition; the action or condition or an instance of persevering; steadfastness.”
Let’s break this down.
Understanding the definitions
Resilience is your ability to recover quickly from difficulties or tough situations and perseverance is the ability to remain steadfast in the face of challenge. So, you should cultivate both. However, I personally focus on my initial resilience because that is where I often struggle. You must have the proper foundation before you can maintain it. Have you ever had a moment? A moment where you had a challenging situation, you felt defeated, you tried to see an upside or embrace positivity, only to return to defeat? I know this cycle well.
You must have the proper foundation before you can maintain it.
-What Nia Knows
Quotes may inspire resilience
Before I continue, let me clarify that simply reading a quote will not make you more resilient automatically. Resilience is built from a deep inner work. However, I do believe that quotes can serve as reminders or positive affirmations, especially since crisis or hardship usually places us in a negative mindset. If you are looking for strategies, I found this article from Greater Good Magazine to be helpful.
Here’s a quick story. I was in a very self-critical and negative headspace. I was amid job searching and feeling very down about my overall trajectory. My thoughts went from all the rejections I’d received in recent weeks to feeling rejected. While my logical mind and heart are clear that I am not a failure because of these things, it is still challenging to recover and look forward. I planned to share quotes with readers this month and while I had a couple in mind, reading various quotes (including all of the ones below) helped me to reframe my mindset to be more hopeful and perhaps more compassionate. That is the power of words, in my opinion. Words have the power to inspire and reframe mindset. Hence, my selection of resilience quotes.
5 quotes to foster resilience
Below are my favorite 5 quotes as I head into October. These quotes are here for you anytime:
“When opportunity presents itself, grab it. Hold on tight and don’t let go.”
-Celia Cruz
“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
– Ella Fitzgerald
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
– Aristotle
“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
– Harriet Beecher Stowe
“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
-James Baldwin
“Light tomorrow with today.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning
From the quotes above, do you notice a theme? These quotes remind of the importance of love and inspiration, seeking light in darkness, never giving up as you may be close, and facing fears, oppression, and limiting thoughts as a space to grow.
Journal prompt for the month
This month, I am reflecting on how I can foster resilience daily. Building from the last quote in my list above, here’s the question:
How can I be present in today’s moments while building for tomorrow?
What Nia knows
To resilience, to you!
I hope these quotes have given you some inspiration and energy that you can cultivate resilience. Every journey is unique and has its own complexities. If it is self-compassion that you seek, then I hope you understand you deserve to be kind to yourself as well as others. We are all undergoing many challenges at any given time (and especially in 2020), so know that you are not alone. You may also enjoy a previous article on turning stress into discovery.
Please leave a comment below with how you approach resilience or any insightful quotes. Also, if you enjoyed this post, please be sure to share on social media and sign up for the newsletter.
In wellness and community,
Nia