7 Positive Quotes to Get You through the Day

Tough times happen to all of us; these quotes to get you through the day might just help you push through a rough patch. Or at least remind you that you’re not alone.

On those days when we feel like we didn’t do enough, or worse, when we feel like who we are isn’t enough, we’ll take all the help we can get. Because even if we don’t want to hear it, our outlook is often shaped by what lies between our ears. (Hint: our minds.) Sometimes, all we need to turn our day around is a shift in mindset.

Here’s why a perspective twist is a science-backed strategy for feeling better and seven quotes to get you through hard times from leading researchers in positive psychology and motivational speakers.

Thinking on your Thoughts: Why Mindset Matters

Shifting your mindset may sound simple, but it’s not easy to put into practice. It’s convincing yourself to do a mental 180 when you’ve been going comfortably in the same direction for a while now. It’s worth the effort though.

Why? Let’s get nerdy for a sec—our thoughts are directly tied to our actions, according to psychologist Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the idea that what individuals believe about their capabilities influence how they behave, which then affects the desired outcome. Translation: What you believe about yourself and abilities affects what you do, which then affects the end result. The higher your self-efficacy, the more likely you are to believe that you can achieve your goals. And that belief makes you more likely to achieve them.

Not with us? Here’s an example: If you think you’re a crappy employee, you’ll probably act like a crappy employee. The result? You actually become a crappy employee, not because you are one fundamentally, but because you believed that you were. Brain explosion. The point? A negative thought pattern can prevent you from turning things around.

Helpful Quotes to Get You through the Day from Leading Experts

Here are seven quotes to get you through the day today and give you a head start on tomorrow. Think of these positive quotes for life as your uniquely-curated, empirically-based cheer section. Okay or just an optimistic kick in the ass. Ready?

On potential

1. “You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a whole lot more of who you already are.”
—Tom Rath, researcher and author of StrengthsFinder 2.0

On shifting your perspective

4. “We need to discover the root causes of success, rather than the root causes of failure.”
—David L. Cooperrider, PhD, co-founder of Appreciative Inquiry or “AI”, a strengths-inspired approach to problem-solving

5. “Use your words to renew your energy, not deplete it.”
—Valorie Burton, author of Successful Women Speak Differently: 9 Habits that Build Confidence, Courage, and Influence, speaker, and founder of Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute (CaPP)

On making the most of it

7. “Life’s impermanence, I realized, is what makes every single day so precious. It’s what shapes our time here. It’s what makes it so important that not a single moment be wasted.”
—Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore and CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, New York’s largest poverty-fighting foundation

Bad days are inevitable; bad attitudes don’t have to be. Maybe these upbeat quotes to get you through the day can point you in a better direction when you’re struggling. Are you feeling more self-efficacious yet? Even if you’re not, saying the word “efficacious” sure feels satisfying, doesn’t it? Say it again. And then practice doing it.

Your turn: Ever used inspirational quotes to get you through the day? What else do you do to shake the funk? 

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Author: Leora Rifkin

Leora Rifkin is the Co-Founder and Chief of Possibility of Make BREAD Boston and has her Master’s in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.