I am a fearful person. I didn’t realize that till some years ago when I faced what could very well be the most difficult time in my life. My marriage was in shambles, and it seemed to me that everything that I was afraid of was happening. All at once. One after the other.

Before that, I always thought that I was a strong person. During that period, though – and well afterward – I fully understood that I do have a lot of fears; and it was that time that I also started to face those fears.

It’s not easy, and I think it’s going to be a lifelong process.

Whether you’re going through an emotionally difficult time, or you’re dealing with physical problems, here are the 10 best quotes that I have relied on over the years. I hope they give you courage the same way they have bolstered me – over and over and over again.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. (Nelson Mandela) Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” (Mary Anne Radmacher) Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. (C.S. Lewis) From caring comes courage. (Lao Tzu) Believe you can and you’re halfway there. (Theodore Roosevelt) Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. (Winston Churchill) Do one thing every day that scares you. (Eleanor Roosevelt) I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back…. (Erica Jong) Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. (Victor Hugo) I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. (Frank Herbert, from his novel Dune)

Here’s a bonus one, a verse from the Bible, something which my mom taught us when we were kids. I used to recite it when walking past the huge house down the road with dogs I was sure would tear me to pieces, and I still recite it today when I feel my fear(s) trying to eat me alive.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7

Image source