Quotes About Resilience

People tell me, "You're such an optimist." Am I an optimist? An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A survivalist is practical. He says, "Call it what you want, but just fill the glass." I believe in filling the glass. —LOUIS SILVIE ZAMPERINI

Your mind is everything. It's like a muscle. You must exercise it or it will atrophy—just like a muscle.

If you can take it, you can make it

as the Bible says, a smooth sea never made a good sailor. I believe that to this day.

But I couldn't give up hope. Not my style. I would do what I had to do to survive. From that moment until the end of the war, when we were freed, I would really come to understand the meaning of "Don't give up, don't give in.

The best way to meet any challenge is to be prepared for it.

When there's no further hope, men always look up.

One day we were fighting for our lives, the next we were enjoying the clouds, the sunset, the soaring albatross, the dolphins and porpoises. Through it all I never lost my sense that life could be beautiful. I kept my zest for living, morning and night. I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.

the mind is a crucial line of defense against adversity.

By the way, I didn't win the 5000-meter race at the Olympics, but making the team and not winning is like going to the moon and stumbling over a rock and falling. So what? You're still on the moon.

I had finally come full circle. Except for continuing to tell my story and spreading the Word, a great part of my life was over: the delinquency, the running, the war, the imprisonment, the drinking, the nightmares, the greediness and desperation, the unhappiness. I was completely satisfied with my test of forgiveness and more than ready to move on.

I just knew that no matter how bad the pain, I had to keep going.

If you try to stand alone, you're going to fall. The Lord says, 'Cast all your cares upon me'—in other words, lean your entire weight on me—'and I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

I thought I had problems, but now, knowing what you went through, I've stopped feeling sorry for myself. I'm going to quit tearing myself apart and treat my problems more lightly.

If you give everything and you lose, so what? It's not going to put you in your grave. I walked away knowing I could handle defeat gracefully, and I had more self-esteem from that than from winning the race.

I had taken the Bird's daily beatings at Omori, and then at Naoetsu. I had to. I never complained. I just got knocked down, bled, got up, got knocked down, bled, got up. I expected it. I wouldn't let it get me down. Sometimes it took me two days to recover, but I always had a positive attitude. Steely, but positive. No way would he break me.

I wasn't reaching for glory at Naoetsu. I just wouldn't give the Bird the satisfaction of destroying my dignity. Don't let anyone take yours away, either.

A moment of pain is worth a lifetime of victory

I knew then that I would not turn back. I'd struggled to come this far, and I would commit myself to whatever happened next.

Never give up, no matter what.

but in the end all things work together for good.

Everything's such an effort, even caring a little. Even being such a gigantic fuck-up wears me out.

She had a high tolerance for pain, and a low tolerance for bullshit.

If life is often so hard as this, I don't see how we ever shall get through it.