157 Best Positive Thinking Quotes to Inspire You When You Are Feeling Down in Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

by Angela Atkinson

Life can be a little challenging sometimes, especially when a narcissist is around.

And who can blame you for feeling discouraged, burnt out and often times, depressed? Dealing with a narcissist in a toxic relationship is hell. And even going through narcissistic abuse recovery is no picnic.

When you’re feeling blue, sometimes all you need to do is change your mind–to change the way you’re looking at the situation.

That’s why I’ve pulled together this list of 158 quotes to inspire you when you’re feeling down. Know of one I missed? Let me know!

Positive Thinking Quotes to Inspire You When You Are Feeling Down

1. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle
2. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller
3. “All you can change is yourself, but sometimes that changes everything!” – Gary W Goldstein
4. “An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.”- Brian Tracy
5. “Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” – Kurt Vonnegut
6. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” –Norman Vincent Peale
7. “Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” – Richard L. Evans
8. “Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Francesca Reigler
9. “Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” – John Barrymore
10. “Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.” – Stephen Covey
11. “Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou
12. “Hope is a waking dream.” – Aristotle
13. “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” – Muhammad Ali
14. “I do believe we’re all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.” – Harvey Fierstein
15. “I do not believe in taking the right decision, I take a decision and make it right.” ― Muhammad Ali Jinnah
16. “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams
17. “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened” – Mark Twain
18. “I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” – Maya Angelou
19. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
20. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
21. “If someone tells you, “You can’t” they really mean, “I can’t.” – Sean Stephenson
22. “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” – John C Maxwell
23. “If you can change your mind, you can change your life.” – William James
24. “If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar
25. “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
26. “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
27. “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” – Guy Finley
28. “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” – Robert Frost
29. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” ― Walt Whitman
30. “Learning is a gift. Even when pain is your teacher.” – Maya Watson
31. “Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coelho
32. “Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”  ― C. JoyBell C.
33. “Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” – Tony Robbins
34. “No matter what the situation, remind yourself “I have a choice.” – Deepak Chopra
35. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
36. “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
37. “Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” – Jon Bon Jovi
38. “Success is not to be measured by the position someone has reached in life, but the obstacles he has overcome while trying to succeed.” – Booker T. Washington
39. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
40. “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” – William James
41. “The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.” – Unknown
42. “The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.” – Unknown
43. “The difference in winning and losing is most often…not quitting.” – Walt Disney
44. “The next time you feel slightly uncomfortable with the pressure in your life, remember no pressure, no diamonds. Pressure is a part of success.” – Eric Thomas
45. “The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.” – Robert H Schuller
46. “The past has no power over the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle
47. “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius
48. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”  – Edith Wharton
49. “There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” – W. Clement Stone
50. “To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
51. “Today is a new beginning, a chance to turn your failures into achievements & your sorrows into so goods. No room for excuses.” – Joel Brown
52. “We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma
53. “We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves.” – Swami Vivekananda
54. “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais Nin
55. “Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” – Michael Landon
56. “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” – Abraham Lincoln
57. “When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’” – Sydney Harris
58. “When the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.” – Rumi
59. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor Frankl
60. “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer
61. “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.” – C.S Lewis
62. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
63. “You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with my life.” – Joel Osteen
64. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
65. ”Act or accept.” – Anonymous
66. ”Talent is formed in solitude, character in the bustle of the world.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
67. ”You are what you think about all day long.” — Dr. Robert Schuller, Adversity introduces a man to himself.- Author Unknown
68. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.- Hugh Downs
69. Accept Change & Survive
70. Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. – Mark Twain
71. An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. – Bill Bernbach
72. An obstacle is often a stepping stone. – Prescott
73. Anyone can do something when they WANT to do it. Really successful people do things when they don’t want to do it. – Dr. Phil
74. Attitudes are contagious. Make yours worth catching. – Unknown
75. Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent. – Marilyn vos Savant, Author and Advice Columnist
76. By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. – Robert Frost
77. Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. – Joe Clark
78. Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything. – Napoleon Hill
79. Do first things first, and second things not at all. – Peter Drucker.
80. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden
81. Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking. – William B. Sprague
82. Enduring habits I hate…. Yes, at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect, because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits. – Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, 1882
83. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Beckett
84. Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. – Dan Stanford
85. Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. – Truman Capote
86. Fall down seven times, get up eight. – Japanese Proverb
87. Flops are a part of life’s menu and I’ve never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses. – Rosalind Russell
88. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. – Albert Einstein
89. Have the passion, take the action & magic will happen. – Bar Rafaeli
90. He who has a why to live can bear almost anyhow. – Friedrich Nietzsche
91. I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. – Winston Churchill
92. I can’t understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I’m frightened by old ones. – John Cage
93. I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become. – Oprah Winfrey
94. I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right. – Albert Einstein
95. If you keep saying things are going to be bad, you have a chance of being a prophet. – Isaac B. Singer
96. If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. – J.M. Power
97. If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. – E. Joseph Cossman
98. If you worry about yesterday’s failures, then today’s successes will be few. – Anonymous
99. If you’re going through hell, keep going. – Winston Churchill
100. If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now. – Marie Osmond
101. In any situation, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing. – Theodore Roosevelt
102. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. – Thomas Jefferson
103. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. – Mark Twain
104. Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. – Charles F. Kettering, Engineer and Inventor
105. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
106. Life is “trying things to see if they work” – Ray Bradbury
107. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. – Dennis P. Kimbro
108. Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. – Voltaire
109. Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success. – Unknown
110. Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless. – Tim Blixseth
111. Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. – Stephen R. Covey
112. People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. – Norman Vincent Peale
113. People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
114. Positive anything is better than negative thinking. – Elbert Hubbard, Ray Norda, Chairman, Novell
115. Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.- Roy Goodman
116. Resist Change & Die
117. Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.- Albert Einstein
118. Some succeed because they are destined. Some succeed because they are determined. – Unknown
119. Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. – Seneca
120. Sometimes you just got to give yourself what you wish someone else would give you. – Dr Phil
121. Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can. – Richard Bach
122. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. – Mahatma Gandhi
123. Success consists of doing the common things of life uncommonly well. – Unknown
124. Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success. – Dr. Joyce Brothers
125. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. – Sir Winston Churchill
126. Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but don’t quit. – Conrad Hilton
127. Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
128. The best way out is always through.- Robert Frost
129. The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. – Mark Twain
130. The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Unknown
131. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. – Unknown
132. The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders. – Foster’s Law
133. The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself. – W. Somerset Maugham
134. The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
135. The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.- Richard B. Sheridan
136. The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape. – Bono
137. There are only two rules for being successful. One, figure out exactly what you want to do, and two, do it. – Mario Cuomo
138. There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. – Dr. Denis Waitley
139. There is no education like adversity. – Disraeli
140. Those who wish to sing, always find a song. – Swedish Proverb
141. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain
142. Vision doesn’t usually come as a lightening bolt. Rather it comes as a slow crystallization of life challenges that we one day recognize as a beautiful diamond with great value to ourselves and others. – Dr. Michael Norwood
143. Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare. – Japanese Proverb
144. We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
145. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.- Aristotle
146. We judge of man’s wisdom by his hope. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
147. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
148. What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say” — Ralph Waldo Emerson”
149. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. – Goethe
150. Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. – Mahatma Gandhi
151. Whenever you find whole world against you just turn around and lead the world. – Anonymous
152. Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect. – Mark Twain
153. Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. – Machiavelli.
154. Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford
155. Winners lose much more often than losers. So if you keep losing but you’re still trying, keep it up! You’re right on track. – Matthew Keith Groves
156. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. – Zig Ziglar
157. You must be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

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Angela Atkinson

Angela Atkinson is a certified trauma counselor and the author of more than 20 books on narcissism, narcissistic abuse recovery, and related topics. A recognized expert on narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder who has studied and written extensively on narcissistic personality disorder and narcissistic abuse in toxic relationships since 2006, she has a popular narcissistic abuse recovery YouTube channel. Atkinson was inspired to begin her work as a result of having survived toxic relationships of her own.

Atkinson offers trauma-informed narcissistic abuse recovery coaching and has certifications in trauma counseling, life coaching, level 2 therapeutic model, CBT coaching, integrative wellness coaching, and NLP. She is a certified trauma support coach and certified family trauma professional. She also has a professional PTSD counseling certification. Her mission is to help those who have experienced the emotional and mental devastation that comes with narcissistic abuse in these incredibly toxic relationships to (re)discover their true selves, stop the gaslighting and manipulation, and move forward into their genuine desires – into a life that is exactly what they choose for themselves.

Along with her solution-focused life coaching experience, Atkinson’s previous career in journalism and research helps her to offer both accurate and understandable information for survivors of abuse in a simple-to-understand way that helps to increase awareness in the narcissistic abuse recovery community. Atkinson founded QueenBeeing.com Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Support, the SPANily Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Support Groups and the Life Makeover Academy.

She offers individual and group coaching for victims and survivors of narcissistic abuse here at QueenBeeing.com and at NarcissisticAbuseRecovery.Online.

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