40 Words of Encouragement for a Friend

We all need uplifting words of encouragement from time to time. If you ever find yourself in a situation when a friend needs some cheering up, you can be the one to give them the pep talk they need with these words of encouragement for a friend. These inspiring quotes come from many famed thinkers and tastemakers, so you know they’re good!

We looked to everyone from RuPaul to Theodore Roosevelt to learn what words of encouragement they have offered in the past. These inspiring quotes offer inspiring, hopeful, and life-affirming sentiments that you can share with your closest friends. While some of these are appropriate for just about any occasion, other words of encouragement are made to fit a specific situation. Whatever your friend needs, we are sure you will find words of encouragement for them! Now, go cheer someone up!

Check Out These Words of Encouragement for a Friend!

Words of Encouragement – Believe in Yourself

• “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always.” — Oprah Winfrey
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt

• “Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.” — Hafez
• “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell are you going to love somebody else?” — RuPaul

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Who Feels Defeated

• “It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you don’t stop.” — Confucius
• “Set your goals high and don’t stop till you get there.” — Bo Jackson
• “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” — Japanese Proverb

• “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
• “If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” — H.G. Wells

• “Life has got all those twists and turns. You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.” — Nicole Kidman
• “Storms don’t last forever.” — Unknown

• “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” — Babe Ruth
• “What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change.” — Madeleine Albright

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Who Needs to Be True to the One Who Matters Most

• “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
• “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” — Norman Vincent Peale

• “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.” — Mae Jemison
• “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” — Maya Angelou

• “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton 
• “Your story is what you have, what you will always have. It is something to own.” — Michelle Obama

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Who Is Judging Herself Too Harshly

• “God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls, and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. He’s working on you too.” — Rick Warren
• “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot
• “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” — Zig Ziglar

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Experiencing Hardship

• “If the wind will not serve, take to the oars.” — Latin Proverb
• “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” — C.S. Lewis
• “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Who Needs to Keep Dreaming

• “Let us make our future now and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” — Malala Yousafzai
• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis

• “When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” — Carol Burnett
• “It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.” — Ella Fitzgerald

Words of Encouragement for a Friend Who Needs to Keep Striving

• “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein
• “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible!’” — Audrey Hepburn

• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis
• “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” —Harriet Tubman
• “It’s never too late – never too late to start over, never too late to be happy.”  — Jane Fonda

Words of Encouragement That Remind Friends to Love Herself

• “Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror.” — Byron Katie
• “By doing the work to love ourselves more, I believe we will love each other better.” —Laverne Cox

• “If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more.” — Oprah Winfrey
• “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” — Walt Whitman

• “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” — Tina Fey
• “Be stingy with your time and spend it in spaces that fill you up.”  — Janet Mock

There you go! Don’t you feel like a new person after reading these words of encouragement? We know your friend will definitely appreciate any of them, especially if they are going through a difficult time. Life is tough and we can find ourselves down on our luck. With words of encouragement like these, you can help someone see that there’s much more for them than the self-pity they might currently be feeling. Be a good friend and pass on these good words and we are certain you will be rewarded in love.