55 Survival Quotes to Inspire and Empower You in Tough Times

Famous Survival Quotes

Here are some inspiring quotes from famous personalities that exemplify the resilience and strength inherent in the human spirit:

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela

“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” – Carl Sagan

Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without vicory there is no survival.” – Winston S. Churchill

“Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” – Winston S. Churchill

“Survival is nothing more than recovery.” – Dianne Feinstein

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

“Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and few people can keep their balance on it”. – Hunter S. Thompson

“I always get up again, even if there are setbacks. I have a survivor instinct. I’m not sure where it comes from, but probably from all the little things that make you into who you are.” – Heidi Klum

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive” – Jamais Cascio

“If you can't fly, then run; if you can't run, then walk; if you can't walk, then crawl; but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward”. – Martin Luther King Jr.

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it's about learning how to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene

Short Quotes About Survival

“History is not a suicide note — it is a record of our survival.” – Jeanette Winterson

“By perseverance, the snail reached the ark.” – Charles Spurgeon

“It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.” – Howard Ruff

“Part of surviving is being able to move on.” – Alexandra Bracken

“It was the bumble bee and the butterfly who survived, not the dinosaur.” – Meridel Le Sueur

“You have to have an attitude that nothing's gonna stop me.” – Melissa De Sousa

“If we truly trust no one, we cannot survive.” – Megan Whalen Turner

“A scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.” – Chris Cleave

Survival Quotes From Literature

“Like every living thing its prime characteristic is a blind, unreasoned instinct to survive.” – Robert A. Heinlein

“A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets.” – Arthur C. Clarke

“By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness.” -Erich Maria Remarque

“Survival is to no small degree a race against the clock.” – Jon Krakauer

“Survival prospects are poor for an animal that is not suspicious of novelty.” – Daniel Kahneman

“Fear of a bully, fear of a volcano; the power within you does not distinguish. It does not recognize degree.” – N.K. Jemisin

“He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survive.” – Jack London

“To survive it is necessary to fight and to fight you have to dirty yourself.” – George Orwell

“Life tries to crush her, but only succeeded in making a diamond.” – John Green

Nature and Survival

“Survival can be summed up in three words, never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” – Bear Grylls

“My survival was up to me. I had nothing and I had no one. What I did have, I told myself, was my mind, my imagination, my memory, my feelings, my spirit. These were important and powerful things.” – John Marsden

“Nature is a powerful force, and those who respect its laws and adapt to its challenges are more likely to survive.” – Henry David Thoreau

“It’s not the most powerful animal that survives. It’s the most efficient.” – Georges St-Pierre

“The display of ferocity, of savage courage, made me realize that I was wrong” -Yann Martel

“In the animal kingdom, one of the keys to survival is to outwit your enemies. And when you’re surrounded by carnivores, one of the best strategies is to fade into the background and disappear.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Wolves are disciplined not only when they hunt but also when they travel, when they play, and when they eat. Nature doesn’t view discipline as a negative thing. Discipline is DNA. Discipline is survival.” – Cesar Millan

“The death of something living is the price of our own survival, and we pay it again and again.” – Barbara Kingsolver

“Survivors create survival mechanisms. Mine is pushing through”. – Rachel Thompson

“Nature teaches more than she preaches.” – John Burroughs

Philosophical Perspectives on Survival

“Philosophy and religion – what are they when the wind blows and the water gets up in lumps?” – William Golding

“To eat or be eaten, to escape or be taken…a matter of utmost importance to the one concerned, yet it happens all the time and we don't even notice.” – Nahoko Uehashi

“The human being is very resourceful. When you fight for survival, you don't think much; you just do. If you think too much, you sink.” – Frank Lowry

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”- Edmund Burke

“Hope is important; it can make the present moment more bearable. If you have hope that tomorrow will be better, you can get through the difficult moments of today”. -Unknown

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give values to survival.” – Alice Duer Miller

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Inspirational Survival Quotes to Make You Tougher in 2025

“Love when you can, cry when you have to, be who you must, that’s a part of the plan. Await your arrival with simple survival, and one day we’ll all understand.” – Dan Fogelberg

“The ability to sympathize with those around us seems crucial to our survival, and it's connected to the mirroring functions of the brain.” – Jay Parini

“Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.” – Robert Kiyosaki

“In the game of life, less diversity means fewer options for change. Wild or domesticated, panda or pea, adaptation is the requirement for survival.” – Cary Fowler

“The survival of artistic modes in which we recognize ourselves, identify ourselves and place ourselves will survive as long as humanity survives.” – M. H. Abrams

“Surviving a failure gives you more self-confidence.” – Jeffrey Immelt

“Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking.” – Anita Roddick

“Much female conversation is, in fact, about survival – but in code.” – Louise Bernikow

“The man who goes afoot, prepared to camp anywhere and in any weather, is the most independent fellow on earth.” – Horace Kephart

“It feels good to know you contributed positively to another’s life, to their happiness, to their survival. It gives us a sense of purpose.” – Joy Bryant

“Bad things can happen, and often do–but they only take up a few pages of your story; and anyone can survive a few pages.” – James A. Owen

“The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool.” – Jane Wagner

“Survival is not just a physical thing. It's a constant mental affair. So, I kind of really draw a lot of power from that word.” – Parvathy

“Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance.” – Rodney A. Winters

“In our struggle to restrain the violence and contain the damage, we tend to forget that the human capacity for aggression is more than a monstrous defect, that it is also a crucial survival tool.” – Katherine Dunn

“Bad things happen. And the human brain is especially adept at making sure that we keep track of these events. This is an adaptive mechanism important for survival.” – David Perlmutter

All real communities grow out of a shared confrontation with survival. Communities are not produced by sentiment or mere goodwill. They grow out of a shared struggle. Our situation in the desert is an incubator for the community.” – Larry Harvey

“Anyone worth knowing breaks once. Once. No shame, no foul if you survive it. You did.” – Karen Marie Moning

“Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away.” – Yann Martel

“A culture survives when it has enough confidence in its past and enough say in its future to maintain its spirit and essence through all the changes it will inevitably undergo.” – Wade Davis

“We need to be fit and ready for anything that might come our way.” – Aaron B. Powell

“Connections with other people affect not only the quality of our lives but also our survival.” – Dean Ornish

“Fear is always there; it's a survival instinct. You just need to know how to manage it.” – Jimmy Chin

“When you’re placed in a world where survival is the main focus, a lot of that other stuff, like wrongdoings in the past, become obsolete. You have to focus on the here and now.” – Alycia Debnam-Carey

“The key to the survival of liberty in the modern world is the embrace of multiple identities.” – Timothy Garton Ash

“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.” – Isabel Allende

Final Thoughts on Survival Quotes

That brings us to the end of our survival quote compilations. We hope these sayings inspire you and help prepare you for whatever lies in your future. Expecting bad things to happen is not always a good idea, but it’s absolutely necessary to have some preparation.

If you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.

Tom Smith is a creative writer with over 6 years of professional experience. He discovered the joy of writing after covering some furniture in his childhood home with graffiti. In later years, he got himself a BA in creative writing and hasn’t looked back. After discovering the power of positive thinking and discovering the spiritual side of life, he believes it's a huge privilege to be able to write about all things personal development.