Being stuck somewhere between childhood and adulthood, teens fight so many battles — independence, privacy, puberty, fitting in, and bullying, to name a few.
On the other hand, their parents’ struggles are real too, and teen parenting is definitely not a thing for the faint of heart.
To help teens tackle challenging situations and sail through life’s worst, I’ve gathered 180 inspirational quotes for teens, the best ones I could find on the internet.
These are encouraging words from some of the world’s greats, offering a great dose of much-needed motivation and the strength of mind to soar.
Dear teenagers, find the hidden gems that lie within these inspiring quotes and make sure you put them to effective use!
10 Inspirational Quotes For Teens
1. “No other version, no matter how perfect it is, would ever feel better than being your true self.” — Edmond Mbiaka
2. “You have to be authentic, you have to be true, and you have to believe in your heart.” — Howard Schultz
3. “The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” — Matty Mullins
See also: 170 Self-Improvement Quotes To Make Your Life Better
4. “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” — Hellen Keller
5. “Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.” — Sri Chinmoy
6. “Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.” — John Wooden
7. “Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.” — Nelson Mandela
8. “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
9. “Make happiness a priority and be gentle with yourself in the process.” — Bronnie Ware
10. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
Encouraging Quotes To Motivate Teens
1. “Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Be true to yourself. Because how you treat yourself sets the standard for how others treat you.” — Steve Maraboli
2. “When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge. You may already be on it. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind. The bridge is made of wood. As you cross, it burns behind you.” — Gail Carson Levine
3. “You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.” — Elle Woods
4. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.” — Judy Garland
5. “The people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs
6. “Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.” — Brigitte Nicole
7. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
8. “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” — Robin Williams
9. “If you are always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be.” — Maya Angelou
10. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” — Michael Jordan
11. “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” — Carol Burnett
12. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle
13. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt
14. “Take care not to listen to anyone who tells you what you can and can’t be in life.” — Meg Medina
15. “Young people willing to push super hard to make something happen are among the most powerful forces in the world.” — Sam Altman
16. “Everyone you admire was once a beginner.” — Jack Butcher
17. “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” — Unknown
18. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney
See also: 120 Follow Your Dreams Quotes To Keep You On The Track
19. “We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” — Johnny Depp
20. “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” — George Washington Carver
21. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E.E Cummings
22. “If you don’t believe in yourself, why is anyone else going to believe in you.” — Tom Brady
23. “When the vision is clear, the results will appear.” — Germany Kent
24. “When you are being picked on remember that they are just trying to put you down; you are better than what they say about you.” — Unknown
25. “A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” — Colin Powell
26. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James
27. “Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference.” — Claire Fagin
28. “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
29. “Great people stand out from others by their visions and not much by their intelligence.” — Amit Ray
30. “Being confident means believing in yourself. Ego means needing to prove that you’re better than other people.” — Barbara De Angelis
Wise Quotes For Teenagers
1. “Beautiful people are not always good, but good people are always beautiful.” — Imam Ali
2. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill
3. “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” — Stephen Hawking
4. “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
5. “You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
6. “Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, you hurt. You fall. But, you keep going.” — Yasmin Mogahed
7. “You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” — Rabindranath Tagore
8. “Live your life like you are 80 years old looking back on your teenage years.” — Taylor Swift
9. “Grow through what you go through.” — Tyrese Gibson
10. “Remember that the stars and planets did not die for you to waste your time wondering if you are pretty enough or worthy enough to exist.” — Nikita Gill
11. “Be careful with your words. They can only be forgiven, not forgotten.” — Unknown
12. “Bring out your inborn courage and strength; Have the right determination for the right action. Practice hard work in full swings; surely you will be the KING OF KINGS.” — Unknown
13. “Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms.” — Janice Thompson
14. “An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends.” — Benjamin Franklin
15. “Use your youth so that you may have comfort to remember it when it has forsaken you, and not sigh and grieve at the account thereof.” — Walter Raleigh
16. “My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.” — Charles Dickens
17. “It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.” — Ella Fitzgerald
18. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden
19. “Everyone has a special quality. Find it in you and go for it as soon as possible.” — Unknown
20. “Ignore those who tell you which way to go without first understanding where you are.” — James Pierce
21. “Changes are the nature of life, but Challenges are the aim of life, and we should always try to CHANGE the CHALLENGES not CHALLENGE the CHANGES.” — Unknown
22. “If you want to find your direction in life, remove your misdirection.” — James Pierce
23. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” — Nelson Mandela
24. “You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequence of your choice.” — Ezra Taft Benson
25. “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” — Albus Dumbledore
26. “Learn that someone else’s confusion and mixed signals you try to decipher aren’t a reflection of you, but someone else’s ability to see your worth.” — Kirsten Corley
27. “Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk.” — Jane Kenyon
28. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
29. “If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” — E. Joseph Cossman
30. “If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.” — Angelina Jolie
Teenager Quotes For Hard Times
1. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember… the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” — Henry Ford
2. “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” — Robert H. Schuller
3. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” — Vince Lombardi
4. “The darkest night is often the bridge to the brightest tomorrow.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
5. “Hard days are the best because that’s when champions are made. If you push through the hard days, then you can get through anything.” — Gabby Douglas
6. “When you replace ‘why is this happening to me’ with ‘what is this trying to teach me?’, everything shifts.” — Unknown
7. “Take your broken heart, make it into art.” — Carrie Fisher
8. “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
9. “Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.” — LeBron James
10. “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” — Stephen Hawking
11. “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
12. “No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear.” — Greg Kincaid
13. “Even on your worst days, you are always worth love and respect. Don’t ever settle for anything less.” — Hannah Irelan
14. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey
15. “You’re going to go through tough times — that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.” — Joel Osteen
16. “With confidence, you have won before you have started.” — Marcus Garvey
17. “You will always pass failure on your way to success.” — Mickey Rooney
18. “There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.” — Michael Phelps
19. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” — Dale Carnegie
20. “Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” — Dr. Wayne Dyer
21. “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
22. “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.” — John Lennon
23. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
24. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius
25. “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success.” — JK Rowling
26. “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” — C.S. Lewis
27. “Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.” — Leroy Satchel Paige
28. “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
29. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” — Michael Jordan
30. “It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.” — Doe Zantamata
See also: Brilliant List Of 120 Light Quotes To Awaken Your Mind
Inspirational Quotes For Teens About Life
1. “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” — Steve Maraboli
2. “If life were predictable, it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
3. “The secret of success is to do the common things uncommonly well.” — John D. Rockefeller
4. “The world is a very malleable place. If you know what you want, and you go for it with maximum energy and drive and passion, the world will often reconfigure itself around you much more quickly and easily than you would think.” — Marc Andreessen
5. “Life is too short. Too short to waste a single second with anyone who doesn’t appreciate and value you.” — Sarah Dessen
6. “Look at the world both analytically and differently. Don’t ask yourself what technology is trendy or popular, but rather what has yet to be known or accomplished.” — Amber Yang
7. “To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.” — Reba McEntire
8. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” — Henry Ford
9. “Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” — Helen Keller
10. “We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.” — William Osler
11. “You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
12. “Resilience is knowing that you are the only one that has the power and the responsibility to pick yourself up.” — Mary Holloway
13. “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” — Demi Lovato
14. “Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.” — Rumi
15. “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress, and the way to live.” — Gianni Versace
16. “Life is the most precious and forgiving asset we have. No matter how many mistakes we make, if we have the will and determination, it will always give us a second chance, third chance, fourth chance…” — Takela R. Pappillion
17. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West
18. “The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.” — Frank Sinatra
19. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” — Albert Einstein
20. “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out and without fear for newer and richer experience.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Teenage Love Quotes
1. “You need to remember that love does not mean one person gives all and another person receives all.” — Abirami P. Kurukkal
2. “Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” — Ella Fitzgerald
3. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
4. “Relationships take work. It isn’t true love if things go smoothly.” — S.R. Crawford
5. “It’s better to give yourself the love you need than to give your whole heart to someone who will only meet you halfway.” — Holly Riordan
6. “We’re a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness and call it love — true love.” — Robert Fulghum
7. “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
8. “Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart.” — Kay Knudsen
9. “Stolen kisses are always sweetest.” — Leigh Hunt
10. “What is a kiss? Why this, as some approve: The sure, sweet cement, glue, and lime of love.” — Robert Herrick
11. “First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.” — George Bernard Shaw
12. “The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a person’s life.” — William Wordsworth
13. “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” — Ingrid Bergman
14. “That amazing moment when your crush has a crush on you. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that the person who you want to be in a relationship with likes or loves you back.” — Morgan Pierce
15. “The best things in life can never be kept; they must be given away. A smile, a kiss, and love.” — Unknown
16. “That conversion you skip sleep for, you know you’re talking to someone special.” — Unknown
17. “In our life, there is a single color, as on an artist`s palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.” — Marc Chagall
18. “The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed.” — J. Krishnamurti
19. “No, this trick won’t work… How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?” — Albert Einstein
20. “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” — Dr. Seuss
Friendship Teen Quotes
1. “Always admit when you’re wrong. You’ll save thousands in therapy… and a few friendships too.” — Harvey Fierstein
2. “A good friend is a connection to life — a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.” — Lois Wyse
3. “Stop waiting for something or someone to come and make you happy. Meditate daily. Breathe. Come on. You’re okay. You have friends. Love them. Respect them. Go out and play. Learn to be alone.” — Jenifer Lewis
4. “We form friendships so that we can feel certain emotions, like love, and avoid others, like loneliness.” — Sam Harris
5. “Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.” — Sydney Smith
6. “Friendships are fragile things, and require as much handling as any other fragile and precious thing.” — Randolph Bourne
7. “It is better to be yourself and have no friends than to be like your friends and have no self.” — Unknown
8. “Friends are relatives you make for yourself.” — Eustache Deschamps
9. “Don’t make friends who are comfortable to be with. Make friends who will force you to lever yourself up.” — Thomas J. Watson
10. “A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.” — François de La Rochefoucauld
11. “Teamwork can build friendships that last a lifetime.” — Natalya Neidhart
12. “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” — Anais Nin
13. “Nothing but heaven itself is better than a friend who is really a friend.” — Plautus
14. “Family and friends and faith are the most important things in your life and you should be building friendships.” — Barbara Bush
15. “Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.” — Tennessee Williams
16. “A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” — Charles Darwin
17. “Being a teen can be tough. Just try to surround yourself with really good friends that really have your back, and also be a really good friend to those who really care about you. If you’re not sure about certain things, talk to your friends that you trust and your family.” — Victoria Justice
18. “A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.” — Charles Darwin
19. “A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.” — Unknown
20. “Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” — Amy Poehler
See also: 90 Small Circle Quotes To Share With Your Best Friends
Inspirational Quotes For Teen Girls
1. “No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
2. “You are enough. Just the way you are. Just who you are.” — Unknown
3. “Happiness and confidence are the prettiest things you can wear.” — Taylor Swift
4. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave — to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” — Malala Yousafzai
5. “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” — Margaret Thatcher
6. “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” — Coco Chanel
7. “You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are.” — Melissa Etheridge
8. “You have what it takes to be a victorious, independent, fearless woman.” — Tyra Banks
9. “Don’t settle for being an option; become a priority.” — Matt Mitchell
10. “Imperfections are beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” — Marilyn Monroe
Positive Quotes For Teen Boys
1. “There is one rule, above all others, for being a man. Whatever comes, face it on your feet.” — Robert Jordan
2. “It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.” — Buddha
3. “The difference between winning and losing is most often not quitting.” — Walt Disney
4. “There is nothing noble being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” — Winston Churchill
5. “It takes a real man to make a true confession — a chocolate soldier will excuse or cloak his sin.” — Charles Studd
6. “Being brave is when, despite the fear, we have the courage to take action, and that is way more powerful and inspiring than being fearless.” — Michelle Poler
7. “Keep true to the dreams of your youth.” — Friedrich Schiller
8. “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.
9. “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” — Sir Winston Churchill
10. “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Wrapping It Up
Inspiring quotes have the power to change the trajectory of our entire day and help us through turbulent times.
I hope my collection of inspirational quotes for teens had provided you with positive messages and wisdom to navigate the process of growing up!
