Do you ever feel as if you’ve hit rock bottom? Maybe you’ve taken a leap of faith and the wings you had hoped would appear on the way down never developed. You followed a calling, listened to a burning passion, and hoped the results would be stunning. You bet on Plan A working, but it didn’t. The results are less than miraculous. You feel defeated. The hardest part of being in this state of defeat is not the public humiliation or the blood, sweat, and tears you fed this calling. Rather, the hardest part of feeling defeated is the difficulty associated with dreaming again.
In order to dream again, really dream—bigger than big dreams, you must believe in yourself—in your ability to make your dreams a reality. There is no easy fail-proof way to regain your self-confidence. However, there are steps you can take to begin to rebuild your self-confidence. The goal is to avoid becoming your worst enemy—criticizing yourself at every time. It’s okay to feel defeated, but it’s not okay to BE defeated.
To rebuild your self-confidence, begin to notice when your inner critic takes the stage. Rather than feed this critic, redirect your attention. Below are quotes I’ve collected to help you with this redirection. Find the words that resonate for you and write them in your journal or bookmark this post to easily find words to focus on when your inner critic vies for your attention. Little actions, such as reading a few quotes, can create large changes in your life. The key is to make these little actions very simple for you to actually do. I hope these quotes provide restorative nourishment as you move forward on your journey.
You may have a fresh start any time you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not in the falling down, but in the staying down. —Mary Pickford
I was inspired to create my own opportunity and not to let others determine what my life could be. —Laura Nelli in Rue Mag (Jan 2012)
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. —Oprah Winfrey
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark. In the hopeless swamp of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours. —Ayn Rand
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 the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. —Elizabeth Kubler Ross
We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope. —Martin Luther King
When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid for you to stand upon, or, you will be taught how to fly. —Patrick Overton
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. —Eleanor Roosevelt
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. —Maya Angelou
Fall seven times, stand up eight. —Japanese proverb
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. —Charles Swindoll
Prosperity is not without many fears and disasters; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. —Francis Bacon
Keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. —Roger Babson
It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. —Herman Melville
Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle. —Christian D. Larson
Mistakes are a natural part of life. We learn by experimenting; mistakes and failure can be important parts of our learning process. Einstein flunked grade-school mathematics. Edison tried over 9,000 kinds of filaments before he found one that would work in a light bulb. Walt Disney went bankrupt five times before he built Disneyland. If we accept setbacks, we can continue to risk, learn, and move on with excitement and satisfaction. —California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility
You are enough. —@happyolks via twitter
This too shall pass. —@aboundlessworld via twitter
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests. —Epictetus
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. —Robert Frost
The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache. —Marjorie Pay Hinckley
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. —Truman Capote
There comes a point when you either embrace who and what you are, or condemn yourself to be miserable all your days. Other people will try to make you miserable; don’t help them by doing the job yourself. —Laurell K. Hamilton
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. —Winston Churchill
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. —Theodore Roosevelt
Just because you fail once doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. —Marilyn Monroe
The past has no power over the present moment. —Eckhart Tolle
What quote resonates for you? Do you have a quote to add to this list?
image: kikki-k
daily quote inspiration (i’m addicted to quotes!): quote art on pinterest + short quotes on twitter (#quote)
Whenever I sit down to write, I am prepared to meet my loyal companion: fear. Regardless of what I’m writing, I can almost always count on fear being present. So what do I do with this fear of uncertainty? Most of the time, I choose to deflate its presence by putting pen to paper. However, there are times, when I don’t want to experience the fear and choose not to show up. But I’m really trying to minimize the “write or flight” response of not showing up by creating a safe space for the fearful writer within. One way I do this is to keep a journal of quotes for the moments when I need a little nudge of encouragement to be present and forge ahead.
by L.K Ludwig
by Dawn Sokol (
by Leisure Arts
by Julia Rothman
by Ali Edwards
by Creative Keepsakes
by Natalie Goldberg
by Victoria Moran
by Karen Benke
by Peter Archer
by John Bartlett
by John Cook
Rather than muse on and on about this topic, I’ve curated a few powerful quotes that I hope will help strengthen this attitude of gratitude.
Quotes are a wonderful source of inspiration. Many people collect quotes (myself included) or display them in their physical space as personal reminders. I love reading quotes when I need an energy boost or a little help getting motivated to tackle my daunting to-do list. For this post, I decided to share the quotes I return to most often to spark my motivation.
