Hello, MindMenders! Is life getting you down? Do you feel just about ready to give in? Well, I have something for you… remember these positive quotes on tough days and you can get through ANYTHING. Let me tell you…
You ARE enough.
You CAN do this.
You DO deserve happiness.
Sometimes the simplest of words have the power to completely change our mood. The words we hear and the words we say to ourselves control our entire mindset and affect every result we see in our lives.
When depression hits it clouds your whole mind. It seems impossible to break that cycle of negative thoughts and self-doubt but believe me when I say it IS possible.
Why Using Quotes Is Such A Powerful Tool
The only person who can change your life is you. I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times, I know I had and every time I heard it I’d think “No, I can’t”, ‘I’m not good enough”, “I’m not strong enough”, “I’ve tried and I always fail”.
Little did I realise that it was these exact words and beliefs that were stopping me. We are what we consume, the more negativity that goes in, the more negative that comes out and the more negativity that we attract.
When you stop and make a conscious effort to challenge those thoughts, that’s when true change can begin to happen.
I hear you though, it isn’t that easy to change your thoughts when depression has taken over, when your brain feels unable to process even the simplest tasks.
And that is where quotes come in. At times when you feel incapable of positivity or you question every good feeling you have, lean on the words of others who have come before you to help lighten the load and remind yourself of why you must keep going.
The more positive words we consume, the easier it becomes to maintain a positive mindset and therefore improve your mental health.
My Top 10 Positive Quotes for Tough Days
1. “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
It is important to remind yourself that your circumstances do NOT have ANY effect on what you can achieve and how far you can go. Yes, they make things more difficult, the mountain seems much harder to climb, but people do difficult things all the time, and so can you!
There are examples all around us of people who came from nothing and achieved everything:
- Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty and suffered traumatic abuse growing up. She is now one of the most successful and powerful women in the world.
- Celine Dion was the youngest of 14 children in a family with very little money, she became one of the most well-known voices; creating songs that will go on forever.
- Jay-Z came from the Brooklyn projects, surrounded by gang culture and turned to selling drugs just so he had enough money to eat, he is now one of hip hop’s all-time greats and has discovered some of the greatest musicians of our time.
- Tom Hardy was expelled from public school for stealing and later became addicted to drugs, now he is a hugely successful movie star known for his powerful performances and striking good looks.
The list goes on. But I’m sure you get my point. Make it a habit to remind yourself daily that anything is possible. Where you are now is only temporary and you have the power to make all your dreams come true if you want to.
2. “You don’t have to be positive all the time. It’s perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared and anxious. Having feelings doesn’t make you a negative person. It makes you human.” — Lori Deschene
This one is so so so important!
We are constantly told to “think positive”, surrounded by a “good vibes only” culture. This just isn’t realistic. We’re humans, not robots, our emotions are what define us, what makes us unique.
Let yourself sit with your emotions. Really feel them, write them down, acknowledge and accept them. Be kind to yourself and remind yourself that these emotions are perfectly justified and natural. Never punish yourself for feeling this way, it is all a part of the process.
3. “Just remember, you are not alone, in fact, you are in a very commonplace with millions of others. We need to help each other and keep striving to reach our goals.” — Mike Moreno
Having a mental health disorder can feel so isolating, you feel like no one understands and you are the only one suffering.
Believe me, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
The World Health Organisation stated, “In 2019, 1 in every 8 people, or 970 million people around the world were living with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders the most common”.
That was before a global pandemic and a cost of living crisis hit us.
We are somehow made to feel like we are the abnormal ones, but the truth is, that millions of us are going through the same things. Reach out and find others that understand you and join communities of people that accept you for who you are.
Remind yourself daily that there are people out there that care and understand, after all; you are already here, in a place just like that! 🙂
4. “Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but you are not the rain.” — Matt Haig
Repeat after me, “I am not my mental health disorder”, “My condition does not define me.”
Repeat it, over and over and over again, until the words are so ingrained in your mind that you’ll never forget them.
Having a mental health disorder does not take away from all the other amazing things about you. You have a whole personality full of unique character traits, skills, abilities and accomplishments that cannot be overshadowed by your condition. Force yourself to focus on all of these things whenever you are feeling consumed by your mental health problems.
Are you kind or caring? Honest, trustworthy, loyal? Maybe you’re good with computers, or numbers. Do you make a good cup of tea? Have you got a great sense of humour or amazing taste in music? Ever been told you’re clever or pretty?
Remind yourself of who you are, a friend, a partner, a wife or husband, a mother, a father, a daughter, a son, an auntie, or an uncle. We are all somebody, maybe you’re a fur-mum like me, or a volunteer helping others, whatever it is keep reminding yourself of your worth.
Free yourself of the notion that you are no good and amazing things WILL happen.
5. “Self-care is how you take your power back.” — Lalah Delia
Another one that I cannot stress the importance of enough!
A lot of the time we fall back into depression and poor mental health because we neglect our own needs, we exert so much energy trying to please others and keep up with the pressure from external sources that our brains become too overwhelmed to function.
By taking the time to care for ourselves and do things that make us happy we reduce our stress levels, increase our energy and recharge our batteries for us to continue.
Make self-care a part of your daily routine, it doesn’t have to take too much time, it just needs to be something that makes YOU happy and puts YOU first. Try some of these to get you started:
- Go for a walk in nature
- Drink your favourite drink out of your favourite mug
- Read a book
- Draw, paint or do some colouring (adult colouring books are one of the best inventions in recent history!)
- Do some deep breathing exercises. You can find hundreds of videos here to help guide you.
- Light a candle
- Do some light stretches to release the tension in your body
- Dance to your favourite song
- Write a gratitude list
- Have a warm bath full of bubbles and your favourite scent
6. “This feeling will pass. The fear is real but the danger is not.” ― Cammie McGovern
In moments of despair, it is important to remember that this is only temporary. The feelings you are experiencing will pass, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dim it may seem.
It is easy to fall into a thought pattern of catastrophe and rumination and to believe that things are never going to get better. Use this quote to remind yourself that although your fear is real, the danger is only in your thoughts.
Ask your brain for proof of your thoughts, write down how you are feeling and what is causing this and challenge yourself to write down all the reasons why this isn’t true. Present your brain with all the information and allow yourself to accept that your thoughts aren’t facts.
7. “Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.” — Stephen Chbosky
Yes, you heard that right, YOU have the power to choose where you go from here, YOU have the power to determine whether or not you reach your goals!
YOUR dreams are in YOUR hands!
Remember those people we talked about earlier? They all came from nothing yet now the whole world knows their names. They didn’t let their past determine their future, they believed they could, and they did, and SO CAN YOU.
The only thing holding you back is that voice in your head telling you, you can’t do it. Every time you hear that voice, challenge it, remind it that your beginning doesn’t determine your end. Look how far you’ve already come, allow yourself to be proud of your journey.
8. “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Give yourself a break. Stop demanding perfection and putting so much pressure on yourself. Stop focusing on all the things that are going wrong and start reminding yourself that you’re doing you’re best.
Sometimes your best will simply be getting out of bed in the morning or brushing your teeth, hey you might even manage to get dressed, or maybe you won’t. That’s OK! Accepting that bad days will happen makes them much easier to manage when they do arrive.
If all you can do today is crawl, that’s still progress, Rome wasn’t built in a day and the journey through mental health is not linear, be kind to yourself and go at your own pace.
9. “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” — Jimmy Dean
There are some things in life that we simply cannot control, no matter how hard we try. When we learn to accept this, we enable ourselves to be able to focus on the things that we can change. This allows us to see things from a solution-based perspective instead of getting caught up in negative thought patterns.
Make a list of all your worries and fears, separate them into columns, one for things you can control and one for things you cannot. Allow yourself to accept the things that are out of your control, remind yourself that no amount of worrying is going to make them better and LET THEM GO.
Look at all the things you do have control over, and make a plan of how you can change them and what steps you need to take to see results.
Every time thoughts come up about the things beyond your control (because lets be honest, they will still happen), revert back to your list, refocus your brain and reaffirm to yourself all the things you are doing to make a difference and divert your thinking back to the positive.
10. “Breathe darling. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” – S.C. Lourie
And finally, breathe. Your story is not over yet, there can be no light without darkness, every good story needs a few bumps in the road, it’s what keeps us reading.
This might just be my favourite way to look at the times, as just a chapter, in an otherwise exciting, adventurous and thrilling story that is my life. It may be a rollercoaster, but aren’t all good stories?
So there you have it, my top 10 positive quotes for tough days, which one was your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.
So What Now?
Read them, remember them, repeat them.
- Choose your favourites and repeat them to yourself every morning before you get up and every night when you go to sleep.
- Write them on post-its and stick them on walls, mirrors, doors… anywhere you will see them often.
- Make a journal filled with all your favourite quotes and read them when you’re having a tough day.
- Put them in your notes app on your phone so you can read them wherever you are.
- Save this post so you can come back to them whenever you need!
Disclaimer
I am not a mental health professional. I have no medical training. The advice and information given in this blog are purely based on my life experiences and what has worked for me. Please see my disclaimer page for full disclosure.
If you are struggling with your mental health please check out my resources page for links to professional help and advice.
To find an urgent mental health helpline please visit the NHS link here.
