What’s Your Favorite Inspiring Quote?

What is it about a great quote or saying that can make all the difference? It can turn a bad day into a good one. It can shine light in the midst of darkness. A little inspiration can go a long way toward helping soothe our soul --especially in nursing. So what's your favorite quote or saying? What gives you inspiration when you are having one of those days where absolutely nothing seems to be going your way?

Here's a few quotes below to help inspire and encourage. Check them out and then add your favorite quote or saying in the comments section. Don't forget to check back to see what your fellow ModernNurse readers have shared.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.” (Augustine)

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” (Art Williams)

“Our job as nurses is to cushion the sorrow and celebrate the joy every day, while we are ‘just doing our jobs.’” (Christine Belle)

“We cannot become what we need to be, remaining what we are.” (Max Depree)

“Not everything has to be measured in money. Don’t underestimate the kind of difference you can make in others’ lives with just a few hours of work.” (Celestine Chua)

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” (Barack Obama)

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” (Anonymous)

“You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” (A.A. Milne)

“I’m very impressed now with the terrible fragility of the human body and the unbelievable resiliency of the human spirit.” (Hawkeye, M*A*S*H)

“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win.” (Mahatma Gandhi)

“The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work extremely well!” (Anonymous)

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

“Sister Mary was a nurse and nurses, whatever their creed, are primarily nurses, which had a lot to do with wearing your watch upside down, keeping calm in emergencies, and dying for a cup of tea.” (Terry Pratchett, Good Omens)

“The more you extend kindness to yourself, the more it will become your automatic response to others.” (Wayne Dyer)

“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” (Anonymous)

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” (Carl Gustav Jung)

“Instead of thinking outside the box, just get rid of it.” (Unknown)

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” (Milton Berle)

“It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.” (Florence Nightingale)

“The nurses know the name of your daughter’s stuffed walrus and show her how to make tissue paper flowers to twine around her IV stand. The doctors may be mapping out the war games, but it is the nurses who make the conflict bearable.” (Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper)