The process of acquiring an education can be both exhilarating and discouraging, no matter how well a student performs overall. In the midst of discouragement, it can be difficult to see progress.
It’s important to help a struggling student refocus during the down times, encouraging them to keep moving forward.
Motivational Quotes for Common Student Struggles
Here are some motivational quotes for students you can share to help spark determination and enthusiasm:
Success
- However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. – Stephen Hawking
- Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill
- Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success. – Virat Kohli
- I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. – Michael Jordan
- We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success. – Arianna Huffington
- Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. – Dwayne Johnson
- I don’t expect success. I prepare for it. – Ryan Reynolds
Perseverance
- There are two kinds of people in this world: those who want to get things done and those who don’t want to make mistakes. – John Maxwell
- If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse. – Ryan Blair
- It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. – Babe Ruth
- The only thing standing in the way between you and your goal is the BS story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it. – Jordan Belfort
- If people only knew how hard I’ve worked to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. – Michelangelo
- You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined. – Unknown
- There will always be hurdles in life, but if you want to achieve a goal, you must continue. – Malala Yousafzai
- Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden
- You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you. – Barack Obama
Confidence
- The single most powerful thing I can be is to be myself. – Dwayne Johnson
- To excel at the highest level – or any level, really – you need to believe in yourself, and hands down, one of the biggest contributors to my self-confidence has been private coaching. – Stephen Curry
- Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. – Mary Kay Ash
- The best thing you can do is MASTER the chaos in you. You are not thrown into the fire, you ARE the fire. – Mama Indigo
- Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once. – Paulo Coelho
- Do something today that your future self will thank you for. – Unknown
- It might not be easy but it’ll be worth it. – Unknown
Learning
- A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. ― George R.R. Martin
- Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela
- There are many problems, but I think there is a solution to all these problems; it’s just one, and it’s education. – Malala Yousafzai
- An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Benjamin Franklin
- Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcom X
- The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice. – Brian Herbert
- The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it from you. – B.B. King
- Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. – Chinese proverb
- If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. – Zig Ziglar
Offering encouragement to students who are struggling can help them to refocus and recommit to their goals. Print and post these quotes in the classroom, in your office, and in your school’s common areas. You can also share these motivational quotes for students on social media.
Have a favorite motivational quote that isn’t listed here? Tell us!