In light of this year’s Women’s History month theme, “Nevertheless She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” we found some powerful quotes about persistence we wanted to share with you, to offer you some motivation to persevere on this windy Monday.

 

Portrait of Malaya Yousafzai with quote
Image credit: Mark Garten / UN / Flickr Commons

 

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” -Maya Angelou

 

“When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn’t hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that’s just the place and time that the tide’ll turn.” -Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” -Octavia Butler

 

Portrait of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with quote
Image credit: Jo Metson-Scott

 

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” -Louisa May Alcott

 

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.” -Margaret Thatcher