18 Inspiring Quotes that Can Help You in Recovery
The road to recovery is a challenging and complex journey with many stages and milestones. Sometimes a few words can inspire your path to healing and strengthen your resolve.
While we may take them for granted and even sometimes think of them as corny or trite, the right quote or turn of phrase has the power to concisely encapsulate complex emotions and circumstances to inspire us toward positive action and self-love.
Take a look at some of these inspirational quotes for drug addicts and overcoming addiction quotes to stay motivated toward your healthier, happier path to substance-free living.
Quotes About Overcoming Addiction
Overcoming addiction is no easy feat. Every day can feel like a struggle. These motivational quotes about willpower and perseverance can help you overcome the challenges, no matter how insurmountable.
- “Believe you can, and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s quote reminds us that the key to success is not just about taking the first step and setting goals, but believing in yourself to overcome obstacles and reach those goals.
- “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali
One of the greatest fighters to ever live, Ali knew about doing the hard work to achieve success in your life. Recovery is hard, but you’re working toward lasting recovery.
- “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Setbacks are common in addiction recovery. This quote reminds you that failure happens, but getting up and trying again is the way toward success.
- “Every worthy act is difficult. Ascent is always difficult. Descent is easy and often slippery.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Addiction recovery is hard, much harder than continuing to abuse drugs or alcohol. This quote highlights that anything worth having is challenging.
- “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” – Joseph Campbell.
The “abyss” could be the low point, or “rock bottom” of addiction. When you face the greatest challenges, you will find the greatest treasures. In this case, a recovery goal.
- “The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand as what direction you are moving.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Recovery” isn’t a box you can check when you’re finished. It’s an ongoing process, and as this quote reminds us, what matters is that you continue moving forward.
- “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you don’t stop.” – Confucius
Recovery is a lifelong endeavor, and you shouldn’t feel bad or anxious about taking things slow as you get comfortable in the process. This quote reinforces the fundamental recovery principle of “one day at a time.”
- “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, but I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” – Anonymous
The author may elude us, but the message is loud and clear: Recovery isn’t easy, but the peace of mind that it brings is worth the effort. It’s easy to get discouraged by the day-to-day struggles of sobriety, but this quote reminds us of the importance of keeping your eye on the prize.
- “Recovery is something that you have to work on every single day, and it’s something that doesn’t get a day off.” – Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato is uniquely empowered to remind us that overcoming addiction is constant work but can also be endlessly rewarding and lifesaving. Her words and life experience illustrate just how important it is to nurture sobriety and be mindful of it each day.
Inspirational Sobriety Quotes
The struggle for sobriety and abstinence can be ongoing for people in recovery. Even years into sobriety, relapse is an ever-looming presence in daily life. These quotes share insights from people going through similar struggles and committing to “one day at a time.”
- “The goal isn’t to be sober. The goal Is to love yourself so much that you don’t need to drink.” – Anonymous
This inspiring quote is a staple of alcohol recovery for a reason; it reminds us of what all the sacrifice is for. If we build a life that we’re proud of and happy with in recovery, addressing all the factors that made us want to drink or use in the first place, we no longer need alcohol to cope.
- “I would rather go through my life sober, believing that I’m an alcoholic than drunk, trying to convince myself that I’m not.” – Anonymous
Stigma is very powerful and stops us from seeing the truth. Addiction and recovery force us to look at reality and call things what they are. This quote reminds us that labels don’t have to define us and that we can be empowered by truth.
- “If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.” – Benjamin Alire Sáenz
One of the most famous inspirational quotes in recovery, this is a reminder that you should take sobriety one day at a time. Some days may be harder than others, but if you can make it through today, you can make it through tomorrow.
- “One or two drinks was never enough for me. I was a foot-on-the-floor-all-the-way drinker. It had to go. I don’t miss it. Now, it’s as if I never had a drink in my life. At one point, I could never have conceived going out and not drinking but, as time goes on, you lose the urge and the insecurity that often makes people drink in the first place.” – Gerard Butler
Actor Gerard Butler has been very open about his struggles with alcohol addiction. This is one of any applicable alcohol recovery quotes from him and showcases the benefits of choosing to live healthier every day.
- “Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest.” – Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. also had very public struggles with addiction before reentering the spotlight as a mega-star. He shares his insights into recovery and drug rehab often, including how difficult it has been for him.
- “I understood, through rehab, things about creating characters. I understood that creating whole people means knowing where we come from, how we can make a mistake and how we overcome things to make ourselves stronger.” – Samuel L. Jackson
Plenty of drug rehab quotes mention the experience of addiction treatment, but Samuel L. Jackson credits rehab with not only improving his health and well-being but contributing to his career success.
Inspirational Quotes About Self-Care in Recovery
Self-love and self-care are important in recovery. In some cases, the absence of self-worth can be an underlying cause of addiction. These quotes help you let go of your biases and find happiness with yourself, flaws and all.
- “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” – Carl Bard
We’d all like to go back in time and undo our past mistakes. No one gets a fresh start, but you can commit to living healthier today and moving forward with a more positive outlook to improve your future.
- “All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for. “– Jon Kabat-Zinn
Some of addiction recovery is coming to terms with yourself and expanding your mindfulness without bias or judgment. This is about overcoming your critical inner voice, letting go, and loving and accepting yourself.
- “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger — something better, pushing right back.” – Albert Camus
This quote captures the human capacity for resilience, hope, and inner strength. “Winter” is a metaphor for hardship, suffering, and despair. You are stronger than your adversity.
Start Writing Your Recovery Quote Today
If you or someone you love is battling addiction, Recovery Unplugged is here to help reclaim your life from drugs or alcohol. Contact us to learn more about our treatment options and start writing your own recovery story to inspire others.
We take our music-focused treatment for addiction very seriously, so we are going to hold our content to the same precision standards. Recovery Unplugged’s editorial process involves our editing safeguard and our ideals. Read our Editorial Process.
