Powerful yet gentle, words that save the heart... Encouraging words that lift you up in tough times.
There are times when we overthink, when our hearts feel worn out, and when it seems impossible to pick ourselves up on our own.
There may also be times when, even though your mindset is positive, the situation itself feels tough—like when you’ve pushed yourself too hard and it’s exhausting.
So this time, we’ve put together a list of uplifting words for when you’re feeling down.
Quotes from great figures and well-known people are sure to ease your pain.
They’re also perfect for when you want to encourage someone around you—so be sure to check them out!
- Uplifting words by great figures and famous people that, despite their brevity, convey a sense of philosophy.
- Knowing it will surely save your heart… Short quotes to remember when times are tough
- Powerful words give you a push! Words that help you try even harder than before.
- Words that embrace a wounded heart... Comforting sayings by great and notable figures
- Just remembering them fills you with courage! Striking quotes that touch the heart from great figures and famous people
- Even a single word can save your heart! Uplifting, happy words that make you feel positive
- When your tension or motivation is low! Short phrases to boost your motivation
- It soothes a cornered heart! Words to say to someone who’s mentally exhausted.
- Encouraging quotes for when you're feeling down. Words that give you the strength to rise again.
- Moving quotes from great and famous people to remember when you want to cry your heart out
- [Heart-Touching] Quotes That Keep You Going Anytime! Fiery Words That Push You Forward
- A prescription for a weary heart! What comforting words can support and reassure you?
- Guaranteed to move you! Memorable words by great figures and famous people.
Powerful yet gentle words that heal the heart... Words that lift you up in tough times (11–20)
Let’s stop looking back at the past here. What matters is what will happen tomorrow.Steve Jobs
When we experience failure, we tend to look back—reflecting on what the past was like.
These words, attributed to Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, gently discourage that universal tendency to dwell on the past and instead advocate focusing on the future.
They convey that while looking back has its place, what matters is switching gears and thinking about how to turn that reflection into steps toward the future.
It’s a message that carries a positive attitude: What will happen next, and what can we do to prepare for it?
You don’t have to make yourself smaller for those around you. Let them catch up to you.Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
As we go about our daily lives, everyone tends to fit in with those around them, and at times that can feel stifling.
These are Beyoncé’s words, expressing that conforming to others might be lowering your own value, while also teaching the importance of being yourself.
She tells us there’s no need to suppress who you are just to match others; instead, we should seek a path where we can live true to ourselves.
If you stay true to yourself, you’ll eventually be recognized by those around you—words that convey a strong will to embrace your authenticity.
God doesn’t want us to succeed. He just wants us to try.Mother Teresa
The longer we go without achieving the results we hope for, the harder it becomes to keep challenging ourselves, doesn’t it? These are the gentle words of Mother Teresa, reminding us that the true value lies precisely in the act of challenging itself.
She tells us that God desires our efforts more than our success, and that it is this very challenge that is most important for us.
Even if we don’t achieve the outcomes we wanted, if we can take pride in having tried, it may lead us to feel a deeper sense of fulfillment in life.
Being alive itself is, by nature, happiness.Kazlaser
In this age overflowing with information on social media, seeing someone else’s seemingly fun life can make you feel like you have nothing, or leave you discouraged by comparison.
But if you think about it, simply getting through today safely, or enjoying a good meal—those small joys and learnings, accumulated day by day, are valuable in their own right.
What matters is not comparing yourself to others, but paying attention to what kind of day you had today, what you felt, and what you did.
By doing so, your heart will gradually become calmer, and you’ll be able to appreciate the very fact of being alive and notice the small happinesses in your life.
Beneath mud and earth lies solid rock; above clouds and mist shines the sun. At the height of discontent, there is still fortune, nor is hope absent.Kanzo Uchimura
I would like to introduce a famous saying by Kanzo Uchimura: “Beneath the mud lies bedrock; above the clouds and mist shines the sun.
Even at the height of complaint, happiness and hope are not absent.” Kanzo Uchimura was a Christian thinker active in the Meiji era.
Disasters can bring many hardships.
At such times, Uchimura left words he hoped we would remember.
It is said to mean that even when times are painful and difficult now, a stable and bright future surely awaits beyond.
He likens difficult situations to mud, and the bedrock represents the strength within us that lies beneath these serious problems.
Furthermore, he tells us that even when we feel or voice complaints, happiness and hope still exist.
Life brings all kinds of experiences, doesn’t it? Even so, we are reminded of the importance of maintaining a positive outlook.
Earthquakes will strike again and again. To prevent severe damage, we will build parks and roads.Shinpei Gotō
I would like to introduce a famous quote left by Shinpei Goto: “Earthquakes will come again and again.
To prevent great damage, we must build parks and roads.” From this saying, one can sense his conviction to protect human life.
Shinpei Goto devoted himself to the reconstruction after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, making present-day Tokyo a city resilient to disasters.
Immediately after the earthquake, he became Minister of Home Affairs and then Minister for Reconstruction to rebuild Tokyo, which had suffered immense damage.
Along with the quote, he conceived reconstruction measures, but at the time he faced criticism from those around him.
It is said that enormous funds were required to put them into action, and landowners opposed the purchase of tracts that had been reduced to burned-out fields by the quake.
Although his budget was cut, Goto poured his efforts into building a disaster-resilient city.
Thanks to those efforts, Tokyo became stronger against earthquakes than it had been in the past.
Powerful yet gentle, words that save the heart... Encouraging phrases for tough times (21–30)
It’s just a bad day, not a bad life.Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp, an American actor who once held the Guinness World Record for the highest-paid actor in the world.
His quote, “It’s just a bad day, not a bad life,” is filled with a kindness that soothes a heavy heart.
Everyone has days when nothing seems to go right, but his words encourage us by reminding us that such days don’t define our whole lives.
It’s a message that blows away negativity in an instant and helps us shift to a more positive mindset.
