otivation can be one of the most difficult things to find in life. Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don’t, but you’d always have it if you could. At times it just comes to you randomly at the most inconvenient times, and other times, you can’t get it no matter how hard you try.
In college, motivation is less of a privilege and more of a requirement. With assignments, clubs, internships, and jobs to worry about, you need to work no matter how you feel. College is a demanding time, and it’s difficult if you’re not motivated to work, but how can you combat low motivation?
One of the ways we tend to seek motivation is through motivational quotes or motivational posts on social media. Of course, reading a quote or watching a video can only go so far, but understanding the words that have motivated others can help you understand what motivates you.
Today, we’ve laid out our favorite motivational quotes that will help you through the college grind. Expect to find quotes about the following:
- Hard work and perseverance
- Learning and education
- Bouncing back from failure
- Change and growth
Quotes About Hard Work and Perseverance
The main goal of motivation is to find the will to keep going. You may work hard for a long period of time and then get burned out before the work is over. You need to keep going even when you feel like you can’t, but there’s still hope. You have the ability to push through your limits and finish off strong, whether or not you realize it. Here are quotes about how to always keep moving forward.
- “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?” – Captain Jack Sparrow
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated.” – Robert Collier
- “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
- “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle
- “I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses — behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” – Muhammad Ali
- “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.” – Frank Ocean
- “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo
- “The harder I work the more I live.” – George Bernard Shaw
Quotes About Learning and Education
After going through 12 years of high school and however many years of college, it can be easy to get tired of learning and education. Why is there so much you need to learn anyway? But the reality is that the greatest and most successful people never stop learning — that’s what sets them apart from the average person. There is always more to learn, so here are some quotes that will help you understand the importance of education.
- “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” – Abigail Adams
- “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
- “Curiosity is a delicate little plant that, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom.” – Albert Einstein
- “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”- Aristotle
- “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” – A. A. Milne
- “Learning without thought is labor lost.” – Confucius
- “Education is the ability to meet life's situations.” – Dr. John Hibben
- “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.” – Galileo
- “Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.” – Henry Peter Brougham
- “Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein
- “The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
- “Study the past if you want to intuit the future.” – Confucius
Quotes About Overcoming Failure
Sometimes, failure is what takes our motivation away. It’s easy to beat yourself up for messing up, but you’re only human. You make mistakes just like everyone else does, so there’s no use dwelling on your failures when you could instead be learning from them and using that knowledge to do better. Here are some quotes that will get you up after you’ve been knocked down.
- “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy
- “The phoenix must burn to emerge.” – Janet Fitch
- “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” – Gena Showalter
- “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” - Thomas A. Edison
- “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill
- “No human ever became interesting by not failing. The more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever meet someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They usually have the depth of a puddle. Or they don’t exist.” – Chris Hardwick
- “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
- “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” – Susan Gale
- “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford
Quotes About Growth
When you’re in college, you’re on the cusp of becoming an adult. You’re developing into who you truly are and transitioning into your adult post-school life. This can be crazy stressful. When you’re done with college, you’ll probably need to get a full-time job, live on your own without any help from family, and settle into the way you’ll be living for the rest of your life. But will you be able to find your identity in time? Will it be difficult to transition into a life without school? There’s plenty to worry about, but this is a natural part of your life, and you’ll get through it. Here are some quotes about personal growth to help you come to terms with this transitional period in your life.
- “Our identities are always changing and growing, they’re not meant to be pinned down. Our histories are never all good or all bad, and running from the past is the surest way to be defined by it. That’s when it owns us. The key is bringing light to the darkness - developing awareness and understanding.” – Brene Brown
- “As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve. As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.” – Suzanne Collins
- “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe
- “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou
- “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” - Chinese Proverb
- “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown
- “The swiftest way to triple your success is to double your investment in personal development.” – Robin Sharma
- “Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.” – Walt Disney
- “Growing older is not upsetting; being perceived as old is.” – Kenny Rogers
Stay Motivated!
A motivational quote may not give you endless drive and willpower, but sometimes a good quote can offer you the perspective you need in order to understand your current situation. Just a little bit of positivity and encouragement can go a long way. You might even come across an idea you’ve never considered before!
We hope these quotes were able to offer you some inspiration, solace, motivation, or clarity about some things you’ve been going through. College is an intense time in life; you’re facing pressure, high expectations, and demanding work, so keep going and remember that if you never give up, you’ll never truly fail.
