Quotes About Adversity

Those who tread among serpents, and along a tortuous path, must use the cunning of the serpent.

We all have challenges. You can let them be obstacles or roadblocks, or you can use them.

The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.

I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it.

Many a man's strength is in opposition, and when he faileth, he grows out of use.

And I definitely gravitate toward people who use laughter to pull themselves out of the abyss.

There are a lot of people who came out of adverse situations and made it. Use it as motivation. Use it to drive you.

Bullies want to abuse you. Instead of allowing that, you can use them as your personal motivators. Power up and let the bully eat your dust.

Failure gets a bad rap, but I'd like to change that. Failure is necessary. Let it in. Chew it up, and use it as fuel for your soul.

I didn't pick up a ball for three years. It was very depressing for me because, as a professional, it's very difficult when you can't use the facilities, play cricket; you can't even touch the ball, so what are you going to do then?

You gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to figure that out, and I used to - I couldn't stand the media, but I realized they have a job. They gotta do what they have to do.

I'm already used to being a target, so I'm building a castle with the stones people throw at me.

They always say, 'Time heals.' But it really doesn't. You just get used to it. I live life with the mentality of 'OK, I lost the only thing that has ever been important to me.' So going forward, anything bad that happens can't be nearly as bad as what happened before.

The metaphor I've used is... somebody's going to push my family off a cliff pretty soon, and I won't be there to catch them. And that breaks my heart. But I have some time to sew some nets to cushion the fall. So, I can curl up in a ball and cry, or I can get to work on the nets.

I was a fat little kid with a speech impediment. I used to get beat up, not just picked on.

When you grow up on the other side of the tracks, you're used to taking a few bumps.

One thing my mom used to tell me was to look to the other side, and know that my present is not going to be everything. So if I'm having a bad day, she goes, 'Just imagine tomorrow. This is going to be over. This is going to be done with.'

When you're used to having nothing, the first time you have something, you get really focused. You know if you lose it, it may not be easy to get it back.

I was a skeleton compared to what I used to be, but it didn't matter. Nothing really mattered except remaining unbroken.

When I had cancer - of the colon first, followed by breast cancer and a mastectomy - my motto used to be 'Drips by day, Prada by night.' I felt that I had to grasp it in the same way as you'd take on any challenge.

Nothing is as sad as seeing a person who used to have power have none.

I used to sleep on floors and face racial abuse.

One of the things I miss most is that I can no longer read, due to age-related macular degeneration. I get regular injections for this, and thankfully these seem to have arrested its progress, but it's still very difficult for me to read. That means it is hard for me to pick up my Bible and read it like I used to, and I miss that very much.

My maternal granddad, Leonard, was full of amazing stories. He was an orphan, with 11 or 12 brothers and sisters, and he used to tell us about growing up near the Irrawaddy river and how one brother was eaten by a crocodile.