The resilience of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me.

A recent story in the Telegraph gave an incredible example of how people have the ability to draw on their inner resources to bounce back after being knocked down.

‘After rogue builders left her £160,000 out of pocket, it seemed that Carol Sullivan’s hopes of transforming her bungalow had been dashed. Faced with having to demolish her home and unable to pay someone else to finish the job, Mrs. Sullivan, 50, decided that she had only one option: build the house herself.

The divorce lawyer enrolled on a bricklaying course and began constructing a four-bedroom property from scratch.Exactly a year later, having also learnt the basics of plumbing and carpentry, Mrs. Sullivan moved into the detached property………which is now worth £1 million.’

So how come some are crushed by the inevitable bad things which can happen to good people as we all travel through life?

Mrs. Sullivan’s dreams were crushed absolutely when the house of her dreams had to be demolished.

She then had two choices. To stay crushed, see herself as ‘a victim’ or take back control by noticing her choices and getting proactive.

She did not have the skills of a builder, but she could learn the skills of a builder. She didn’t know about plumbing or carpentry either, but she could learn those skills too.

She set herself an enormous goal, to build a house, but she knew that every house starts with the first brick, and brick by single brick, if she kept at it, she would get there in the end.

And so it is for all of us, what seems like an unattainable goal, when broken down into bite sized chunks, becomes achievable.

There is a story of a safe passage across a desert which is marked by simple oil drums left there by those who have traveled the route before. They are set the distance apart which can be walked in one day.

When travelers set off, they are told to keep their eyes focused on the next oil drum so they don’t wander off track. Staying focused is the key to safe passage……… and learning from those who have traveled there before.

There is a clear message for all of us.

Draw on these 25 positive sayings to stay focused, inspired and motivated to meet your goals

“There is no such thing as false hope. There is only hope” – Santos. West Wing

“Turn your face to the sun and let the shadows fall behind.” – Maori proverb

“Better to do something imperfectly than nothing flawlessly.” – Robert Schuller

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” – Chinese Proverb

“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert Schuller

“Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.” – William Hazlitt

“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed. In the second, it is opposed. In the third, it is regarded as self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Cosby

“Don’t go through life, grow through life.” – Eric Butterworth

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. – Jimmy Johnson

“Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.” – Joe Clark

To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” – Fred Shero

“If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” – E. Joseph Cossman

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” – Dudley Field Malone

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Anon

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” – Denis Waitley

“That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” –  Friedrich Nietzsche

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Henry Stanley Haskins

Which positive sayings give you hope? Let us know in the comments…