150 Funny and Inspirational Quotes to Lift Someone's Spirits

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Write your own encouraging message with expert tips

Co-authored by Alexandra Janelli and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: September 28, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Inspirational
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• Motivational
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• Funny
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• Short
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• From Literature
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• After a Divorce or Breakup
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• After a Loss
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• During Illness or Injury
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• Writing an Encouraging Message

|Show more |Show less

When someone we know is going through a tough time, our first instinct is to try to cheer them up. But even though we want to encourage them and lift their spirits, we often struggle to find just the right words to express those feelings. Don't worry, though, because we've gathered a list of 150 quotes that are almost guaranteed to bring a smile. No matter what you're looking for—something inspirational, motivational, funny, short, literary, or tailored to a specific situation like divorce, loss, or illness—we've got your back. We'll also share expert tips on writing an encouraging message from certified professional master life coach Jessica George, MA, CHt, and licensed mental health counselor Laura Richer.

The Best Quotes to Cheer Someone Up

• "We will fail when we fail to try." Rosa Parks
• "The best revenge is massive success." Frank Sinatra
• "Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda from Star Wars
• "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." Ronald Reagan
• "You must do the things you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt
• "Attitude is the 'little' thing that makes a big difference." Winston Churchill
• "There is nothing impossible to they who will try." Alexander the Great

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Section 1 of 9:

Inspirational Quotes to Cheer Someone Up

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1. 
   Lift them up with inspiring quotes like, "The purpose of life is to live it." When life gets someone you know down, they may simply need a reminder that life is beautiful and worth living. The quotes below may inspire them to feel happiness in their heart again and experience life to the fullest.

   • "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." Eleanor Roosevelt
   • "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." Marilyn Monroe
   • "I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." Jimmy Dean
   • "In the long run, you make your own luck—good, bad, or indifferent." Loretta Lynn
   • "You need to be buried deep in the dirt before you find your bloom." Roz Inga
   • "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." Booker T. Washington
   • "Inspiration comes from within yourself. One has to be positive. When you're positive, good things happen." Deep Roy
   • "Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again." Anne Frank
   • "Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou
   • "You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script." Oprah Winfrey
   • "Life has got all those twists and turns. You've got to hold on tight and off you go." Nicole Kidman
   • "Life changes very quickly, in a very positive way, if you let it." Lindsey Vonn
   • "A dead-end street is a good place to turn around." Naomi Judd
   • "Limit your 'always' and your 'nevers.'" Amy Poehler
   • "My least favorite phrase in the English language is 'I don't care.'" James Caan
   • "It is never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot
   • "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." Albert Einstein
   • "It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult." Queen Elizabeth II
   • "Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." Hafez
   • "Happiness is not by chance, but by choice." Jim Rohn
   • "Happiness is not something readymade; it comes from your own actions." The Dalai Lama
   • "Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful." Hazrat Inayat Khan
   • "You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream." C.S. Lewis
   • "Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye." Helen Keller
   • "I scorched the earth with my talent and I let my light shine." Andre Leon Talley
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Section 2 of 9:

Motivational Quotes to Cheer Someone Up

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1. 
   Motivate them with a quote like, "Believe you can and you're halfway there." If you know someone who just lost their job, failed a test, or fell short of a major goal, you may notice them acting sad, depressed, and not very motivated. Giving them positive reinforcement and reminding them that this isn't the end of the world is one way you can help. Use these quotes to give them the motivation they need to smile and start living again.

   • "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." Truman Capote
   • "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Theodore Roosevelt
   • "The most difficult thing is the decision to act; the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart
   • "If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way." Martin Luther King, Jr.
   • "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Steve Jobs
   • "Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes." Eleanor Roosevelt
   • "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill
   • "Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong." Ella Fitzgerald
   • "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A.A. Milne
   • "Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that's when you're more successful. You have to choose to do it." Simone Biles
   • "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." Estee Lauder
   • "You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, let go, and see what happens." Mindy Kaling
   • "Education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
   • "Don't save your best for when you think the material calls for it. Always bring your full potential to every take, and be on top of your job, or they will replace you." Gabrielle Union
   • "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." Ralph Waldo Emerson
   • "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible!'" Audrey Hepburn
   • "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." Abraham Lincoln
   • "If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one." Dolly Parton
   • "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." Confucius
   • "Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection." Mark Twain
   • "You have the power on your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." Marcus Aurelius
   • "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams
   • "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe
   • "If plan 'A' doesn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters—204 if you're in Japan." Claire Cook
   • "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." Wayne Gretzky

Section 3 of 9:

Funny Quotes to Cheer Someone Up

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1. 
   Distract them with a funny quote like, "Don't worry, it's bad for your health." Did you know that "Laughter is the best medicine" isn't just a saying? Research has shown that laughing can actually reduce stress and improve your immune system function. It can also help you feel better overall and even temporarily make you feel less pain! So the next time you need to cheer someone up, make 'em laugh with one of these sidesplitting quotes:

   • "Don't worry, it's bad for your health." J.R. Rim
   • "We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know." W.H. Auden
   • "Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia." Charles M. Schultz
   • "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." Milton Berle
   • "The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." Oscar Wilde
   • "Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal. Suck it up, princess." Adam Cassidy
   • "May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house." George Carlin
   • "My mother always used to say: The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana." Rose Nylund from The Golden Girls
   • "Life is hard. After all, it kills you." Katharine Hepburn
   • "Accept who you are. Unless you're a serial killer." Ellen DeGeneres
   • "I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." Mae West
   • "People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day." Winnie-the-Pooh
   • "I'm not so good with the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?" Chandler Bing from Friends
   • "Instant gratification takes too long." Carrie Fisher
   • "A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." Steve Martin
   • "Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." Elbert Hubbard
   • "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." Charles M. Schultz
   • "Don't be so humble—you're not that great." Golda Meir
   • "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well." Mark Twain
   • "If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me." Alice Roosevelt Longworth
   • "If you think nobody cares you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments." Earl Wilson
   • "Trying is the first step toward failure." Homer Simpson from The Simpsons
   • "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; snore, and you sleep alone." Anthony Burgess
   • "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Groucho Marx
   • "People can't drive you crazy if you don't give them the keys." Mike Bechtle
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Section 4 of 9:

Short Quotes to Cheer Someone Up Over Text

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1. 
   Give them a quick pick-me-up with a quote like, "Just keep swimming." In some situations, you may want to cheer someone up, but you don't have a lot of time or character space to come up with something profound. The good news is that a short quote can be just as encouraging and uplifting as a paragraph! So when all you have time for is to shoot off a quick text to your sad friend, these short yet inspirational quotes will come in clutch.

   • "We will fail when we fail to try." Rosa Parks
   • "The best revenge is massive success." Frank Sinatra
   • "Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda from Star Wars
   • "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." Ronald Reagan
   • "You must do the things you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt
   • "Attitude is the 'little' thing that makes a big difference." Winston Churchill
   • "There is nothing impossible to they who will try." Alexander the Great
   • "You get what you give." Jennifer Lopez
   • "Once you choose hope, anything's possible." Christopher Reeve
   • "Turn adversity into triumph." Cole Hatter
   • "Don't look back. You're not going that way." Mary Engelbreit
   • "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Thomas H. Palmer
   • "Just keep swimming." Dory from Finding Nemo
   • "After all, tomorrow is another day." Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind
   • "It's always darkest before the dawn." Thomas Fuller

Section 5 of 9:

Literary Quotes to Cheer Someone Up

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1. 
   Cheer up a bookworm with quotes from Joan Didion or Dr. Seuss. Some books become famous works of literature because of how perfectly they capture the human condition. That's why, when someone you know is down, you don't have to look further than your favorite books to find a quote to lift their spirits. Here are some suggestions from some of the world's most renowned authors to get you started.

   • "It's no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then." From Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
   • "I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing." From Moby Dick by Herman Melville
   • "If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden." From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
   • "It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." From Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
   • "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." From Oh, the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss
   • "Life is short, but it is wide. This too shall pass." From Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
   • "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." From East of Eden by John Steinbeck
   • "Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined." From Beloved by Toni Morrison
   • "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times when one only remembers to turn on the light." From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
   • "There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there's grace in being willing to know and hear others." From Becoming by Michelle Obama
   • "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it." From Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
   • "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." From Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
   • "Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant." From The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
   • "The world may be mean, but people don't have to be, not if they refuse." From The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
   • "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places." From A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
   • "All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom." From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
   • "Anything worth dying for is certainly worth living for." From Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
   • "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor." From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
   • "All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." From The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
   • "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." From Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
   • "Do your thing, and don't care if they like it." From Bossypants by Tina Fey
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Section 6 of 9:

Quotes to Cheer Someone Up After Divorce or Breakup

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1. 
   Help them move on with quotes like, "The only way out is through." Richer says the best way to comfort someone is "to validate their experience, and then offer something positive with that." This means you don't try to tell the person that their situation isn't that bad. This is especially important for someone going through a divorce or breakup. They feel raw and emotional, so trying to sugarcoat their situation won't help them feel better. Instead, affirm their experience while also cheering them up post-breakup with the quotes below.

   • "I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house." Zsa Zsa Gabor
   • "Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are." Will Ferrell
   • "Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny." C.S. Lewis
   • "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein
   • "The heart will break, but broken live on." Lord Byron
   • "We are never, ever, ever getting back together." Taylor Swift
   • "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Alfred Lord Tennyson
   • "The only way out is through." Robert Frost
   • "When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need." Lao Tzu
   • "I always get to where I am going by walking away from where I have been." A.A. Milne
   • "Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman
   • "Only time can heal his heart, just as only time can heal his broken arms and legs." Miss Piggy
   • "Don't worry. Just when you think your life is over, a new storyline falls from the sky and lands right in your lap." Rebekah Crane
   • "Everybody has bad relationships and, at the end of the day, they are just a great way to set yourself up for a good relationship." Anne Hathaway
   • "We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell
   • "Letting go is hard but being free is beautiful." Wilder Poetry
   • "The pain of letting go will be eclipsed by the relief of moving on." Scott Stabile
   • "The truth is, I should be angry, resentful and disillusioned about relationships. But I'm not. Love did not work with that person. But it can work with another." Eva Longoria

Section 7 of 9:

Quotes to Cheer Someone Up After a Loss

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1. 
   Comfort them in grief with a quote like, "Tears water our growth." When someone we know experiences a death or another traumatic loss, we're often at a loss for what to say. Grief is hard for everyone, even for the grieving one's friends and family. In this situation, the best thing you can do is be available for them and acknowledge their pain. If they ask you for an encouraging word, these quotes may help you validate their feelings while making their day a little brighter.

   • "Death is nature's way of saying, 'Your table is ready.'" Robin Williams
   • "Grief is the price we pay for love." Queen Elizabeth II
   • "Grieving is a necessary passage and a difficult transition to finally letting go of sorrow—it is not a permanent rest stop." Dodinsky
   • "Tears water our growth." William Shakespeare
   • "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss
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Section 8 of 9:

Quotes to Cheer Someone Up Who's Ill or Injured

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1. 
   Bring joy with a quote like, "Tough times never last, but tough people do." As hard as it is to cheer up someone who's experiencing loss is to cheer up a person in physical pain. If someone in your life is sick or injured, avoid sending them generic lines like "Cheer up!" or "Everything will be okay!" Saying these things may make you feel better, but it probably won't help the other person. Instead, use quotes like the ones below, which use metaphors and humor to find the light in a tough scenario.

   • "The Sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on." Charles Dickens
   • "Tough times never last, but tough people do." Robert H. Schuller
   • "The best of healers is good cheer." Pindar
   • "There is one consolation in being sick; and that is the possibility that you may recover to a better state than you were ever in before." Henry David Thoreau
   • "Although the world is full of suffering, it's full also of the overcoming it." Helen Keller
   • "Be careful when reading health books; you may die of a misprint." Mark Twain
   • "You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in." Dr. Seuss
   • "It's not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit." J.R.R. Tolkien
   • "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much." Mother Teresa
   • "There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow." Orison Swett Marden
   • "We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us." A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
   • "For sleep, riches and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted." Johann Paul Friedrich
   • "The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." Voltaire
   • "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." Erma Bombeck
   • "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." Vivian Greene
   • "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Section 9 of 9:

How to Write a Message of Encouragement

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1. 1
   Let them know you're there for them. When describing the way she comforts other people, George says she "provide[s] a safe space for my friends to come and seek advice or just someone to listen to." Sometimes, just knowing that someone is there, offering support, is encouragement in itself.

   • "I'm here for whatever you need."
   • "How can I help you right now?"
2. 2
   Avoid diminishing their experience. When you're trying to cheer someone up, take care not to minimize their feelings or what they've been through. For example, Richer says, "if somebody feels afraid of doing something, you don't want to say, 'Oh, it's not scary… you shouldn't feel scared, you'll be fine.' That actually doesn't feel encouraging." You can still offer encouragement, but acknowledge the other person's real, raw emotions, too.

   • "That's a really tough situation. But you're tough, too. I believe you can get through this."
   • "I'm sorry you've been having to deal with this problem. You're such a strong and brave human being."
3. 3
   Be sincere while still hyping them up. People can usually tell when you're lying or exaggerating to try to cheer them up. For example, someone who's been sick for a long time may not appreciate being told, "You look great!" because they know they don't. Instead, try offering encouraging words based on truth and sincerity. Don't sugarcoat their situation, but do find the silver lining. There almost always is one!

   • "It's great that you're resting and taking care of yourself. Keep it up!"
   • "Just take it one day, one hour, one minute at a time. You can do this."
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Join the Discussion...

What are the funniest inspirational quotes you've heard?

wikiHow Editorial Team

Here are some hilarious inspirational quotes to motivate you and make you giggle:

• “Confidence is 10% hard work and 90% delusion.” —Tina Fey
• “The road to success is always under construction.” —Lily Tomlin
• “Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” —Elbert Hubbard
• “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” —Reba McEntire
• “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” —Mae West
• “Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” —Edward Bergen
• “The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!” —Marvin Phillips
• “We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn’t matter, but work is third.” —Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
• “Life is short. Drive fast and leave a sexy corpse. That’s one of my mottos.” —Stanley Hudson, The Office
• “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” —Douglas Adams

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