With my first semester of graduate school coming to an end, I’ve been seriously stressed out and my self-esteem has suffered as a result. Whether there’s something going on at work or at home, or you’re just in a rut that you can’t explain, we all need a pep-talk sometimes. Here are 15 quotes that help me get through those rough days, weeks, or months.

“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” – Og Mandino

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“The more we do, the more we can do.” – William Hazlitt

“We may encounter many defeats, but we must never be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk

“In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it.” – Jane Smiley

“There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you’re capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

“Try not to become a person of respect, but rather try to become a person of value.” – Albert Einstein

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

“You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals.” – Booker T. Washington

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

“Fortune side with him who dares.” – Virgil

If you have a favorite motivational quote, please share it in the comment section below!

[quotes via BrainyQuote.com & Inc.com]