101 Words of Encouragement for Men to Help When They’re Struggling

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Just like women, men need emotional support too. Perhaps the only difference is that women are more vocal about their emotions and what they think would make them feel happier and better.

But just because men don’t articulate their emotions like women, they still need to be encouraged and cheered on.

Men feel pain and experience failure. They know the sting of defeat. They may not always show it, but they also have their fair share of difficulties and frustrations.

In this post, we share a few words of encouragement for men who are struggling with challenges and trying to cope. We hope that these words can help them be the greatest version of themselves—the way they were meant to be.

Before we get down to our list, let’s discuss some of the reasons why words of encouragement are important.

Why Read Words of Encouragement?

Words of encouragement are confidence and self-esteem boosters. They act as energizers that fuel the spirits of men (and women) to be more inspired and motivated in achieving their life goals. Encouragement is the gateway to action, and action is an important step toward success and triumph.

When other people speak words of encouragement to us, we feel like we can conquer any challenge that may come our way. The same goes for the quotes listed in this article—reading them can make us feel that we have what it takes to thrive and be successful.

Words of encouragement are important because they help build trust and confidence between people. They lead to better relationships and positive results. Although it is a very simple thing, encouraging words can help people become more confident and successful.

Let’s check out our list to help men feel more loved and appreciated!

  1. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  2. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius
  3. “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” – Bob Marley
  1. “The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.” – Swati Sharma
  2. “A man must at times be hard as nails: willing to face up to the truth about himself…But he must also be tender. No weapon will breach the armor of a woman’s resentment like tenderness.” – Elisabeth Elliot
  3. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” – Albert Einstein
  4. “Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife.” – Franz Schubert
  5. “A strong man doesn’t have to be dominant toward a woman. He doesn’t match his strength against a woman weak with love for him. He matches it against the world.” – Marilyn Monroe
  6. “Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – Rikki Rogers
  7. “The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better.” – John Dewey
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  1. “The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.” – Hasidic Proverb
  2. “Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.” – Patrick Henry
  3. “Strong men can always afford to be gentle. Only the weak are intent on giving as good as they get.” – Elbert Hubbard
  4. “Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor.” – Benjamin Disraeli
  5. “Sometimes, when you’re in a dark place, you think you’ve been buried, but actually you’ve been planted.” – Christine Caine
  6. “The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” – Brandon Sanderson

The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” – Brandon Sanderson

  1. “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” – Malcolm X
  2. “You spend time with your family? Good. Because a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” – Don Vito Corleone
  3. “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
  4. “There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them.” – Phyllis Bottome
  5. “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” – John F. Kennedy
  6. “You have to have a bunch of dimensions of yourself. You have to be able to adapt to this world. You can’t be a nice guy living in a world of savages.” – Mike Tyson
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  1. “If you perform the sacrifice of doing your duty, you do not have to do anything else. Devoted to duty, man attains perfection.” – Bhagavad Gita
  2. “The first step to being a good man is this: You must deeply feel the burden of the stones some else [is] carrying.” – Mehmet Murat ildan
  3. “My idea of the modern stoic sage is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into information, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  4. “The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” – Thomas Paine
  5. “You don’t succeed by being perfect. You succeed by doing good work, consistently.” – Thibaut
  6. “It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them — the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky
  7. “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” – Tony Robbins
  8. “For the unwise man, there are things to do. For the wise man, there are things to understand.” – Kapil Gupta
  9. “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden
  10. “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis
  11. “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
  12. “A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others.” –  Confucius
  13. “When you find peace within yourself, you also find peace without.” – Naga Devi
  14. “The most persevering becomes the most talented.” – Maxime Lagace 
  15. “The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.” – Edith Sodergran
  16. “Man is a genius when he is dreaming.” – Akira Kurosawa.
  17. “To have become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered.” – Oscar Wilde
  18. “The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.” – Dale Carnegie
  19. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain.
  20. “Seek truth over comfort.” – Anthony Pompliano
  21. “Live your life in such a way that you neither hide nor have a wish to display your life to people.” –  Leo Tolstoy
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  1. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” – Theodore Roosevelt.
  2. “Make peace with the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle
  3. “Once you’re calm and fit, you have everything worth having, as the rest just comes and goes.” – Naval Ravikant
  4. “I'm a good man, and I'm gonna become a better man.” – Chance The Rapper.
  5. “You will earn the respect of all men if you begin by earning the respect of yourself.” – Musonius Rufus
  6. “True wealth: Worriless sleeping, clear conscience, reciprocal gratitude, absence of envy, muscle strength, frequent laughs, no meals alone, no gym classes, good digestive functions, no meeting rooms, periodic surprises, foamy coffee, crusty bread, ability to nap, access to a hammock.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb
  7. To have become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered.” – Oscar Wilde.
  8. “Working hard can give you meaning. Silence can give you peace.” – Maxime Lagacé
  9. “Happiness isn’t about making more money, but rather freedom. The freedom to say no to things you don’t want to do. The freedom to say no to people you don’t like. The freedom to not feel like you are obligated to say “yes”. Freedom is saying yes when you want to.” – Shane Parrish
  10. “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein.

  1. “We just keep swimming and let the tide take care of itself.” – Warren Buffett
  2. “What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” – Plutarch
  3. “Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James.
  4. “He who indulges in empty fears earns himself real fears.” – Seneca
  5. “All fortune belongs to him who has a contented mind.” – The Panchatantra
  6. “Nice guys may appear to finish last, but usually they are running a different race.” – Ken Blanchard.
  7. “Whenever you deeply accept this moment as it is — no matter what form it takes — you are still, you are at peace.” – Eckhart Tolle
  8. “If you want to overcome the whole world, overcome yourself.” –  Fyodor Dostoevsky
  9. “Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill.
  10. “There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.” – Søren Kierkegaard
  11. “I like criticism. It makes you strong.” – LeBron James
  12. “There is nothing wrong with being afraid – but there is nothing more wrong than allowing that to be your master.” – Bobby Darin.
  13. “Outmaneuver your old self.” – Jack Butcher
  14. “Make peace with the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle
  15. “To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe” – Anatole France
  16. “The mind of man is capable of anything.” –  Joseph Conrad
  17. “You can do anything, but not everything.” – David Allen
  18. “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett.
  19. “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” – David Brinkley
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  1. “Forget your past. Never forget your dreams.” – Maxime Lagacé
  2. “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  3. “A man may conquer a million men in battle but one who conquers himself is, indeed, the greatest of conquerors.” – Buddha
  4. “You are the most valuable asset in your portfolio.” – Jack Butcher
  5. “Follow your dream… If you stumble, don’t stop and lose sight of your goal, press on to the top. For only on top can we see the whole view.” – Amanda Bradley.
  6. “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford
  7. “A man is made by his beliefs. As he believes. So he becomes.” – Bhagavad Gita
  8. “A good man’s prayers will from the deepest dungeon climb heaven’s height, and bring a blessing down.” – Joanna Baillie
  9. “Don’t let jerks live rent-free in your head.” – Sam Altman
  10. “It is not the situation which makes the man, but the man who makes the situation.” – Frederick William Robertson
  11. “For one who has conquered his mind, a mind is best of friends, but for one who has failed to do so, a mind is the greatest enemy.” –  Bhagavad Gita
  12. “A man needs self-acceptance or he can’t live with himself; he needs self-criticism or others can’t live with him.” – James Pike
  13. “The men who act without thinking, and the men who both think and act, are the ones who mould the world. The man who thinks and does not act never moulds the world. He may think that he does — but that, too, is only a thought, the thought of a deedless, actionless thinker.” – Jack London

The men who act without thinking, and the men who both think and act, are the ones who mould the world. The man who thinks and does not act never moulds the world. He may think that he does — but that, too, is only a thought, the thought of a deedless, actionless thinker.” – Jack London

  1. “We have been conditioned to feel that we lack something. So we are always trying to add something to ourselves: security, self-esteem, externalized love, material things. Yet as drinking saltwater only makes you more thirsty, none of those things are ever finally enough.” – Thibaut
  2. “Maximize your best ideas and minimize your mistakes. Simple yet hard.” – Shane Parrish
  3. “Inner emptiness is not a void to be filled with comforts; it is a window to be looked through.” – Alan Watts
  4. “If a man needs no one to like him, agree with him, praise him, validate him, forgive him, acknowledge him, invite him, or accept him, if he is indifferent to the winds of circumstance and to the hand of fortune… Such a man floats through life, free of all burdens.” – Kapil Gupta
  5. “Men have true freedom only if they are indifferent to the past and the future. As soon as they regret or expect, there’s attachment and suffering.” –  Maxime Lagacé
  6. “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it himself.” – Galileo Galilei
  7. “Know you not that a good man does nothing for appearance sake, but for the sake of having done right?” – Epictetus.
  8. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
  9. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  10. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
  11. “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” – Demi Lovato
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  1. “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne
  2. “When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up.” – Les Brown
  3. “For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
  4. “Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is.” – Anne Frank 70. 
  5. “If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford

Conclusion

Strength is not always measured in physical stamina and muscular endurance; it can also include emotional stability and mental fortitude. We believe that men—just like women—need words of encouragement to feed their minds and souls with positive thoughts and emotions.

We hope that the quotes we shared above can help the men in your life cope and overcome life’s troubles and challenges. We pray that, through these quotes, they will be able to achieve their goals and find ultimate happiness and life satisfaction.

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