90 Inspiring Growth Mindset Quotes for Kids

Children with a growth mindset tend to view challenges as opportunities for learning rather than threats to their abilities. Research shows that a person’s core beliefs influence their ability to persevere when faced with rejection or failure [*]. One of the ways to help kids embrace this kind of resilience is through growth mindset quotes.

The Role of Inspirational Quotes in Promoting a Growth Mindset in Kids

It is entirely normal for kids to face setbacks, which are part of growing up. Quotes about growth mindset can serve as a source of encouragement to keep going. They remind a child that their efforts to try new things and take risks are valuable.

So, whether they get a low score on a test, set unrealistic goals for themselves, or compare themselves to their peers — regular exposure to positive, growth-oriented affirmations enables kids to develop positive self-talk over time.

The key is to teach them to pay attention to their inner dialogue, question their validity, and replace a negative thought with an affirmation that resonates with them. We’ll introduce some quotes on growth mindset in the next section.

Quotes for Effort & Persistence

• “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
• “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” – Helen Hayes
• “There is no substitute for hard work.” – Thomas Edison
• "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Edison
• "Effort is between you and you. Nobody else." - Unknown
• "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." – A.A. Milne
• "The best way to predict your future is to create it." – Abraham Lincoln
• "If you can dream it, you can do it." – Walt Disney
• "Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned." – Peter Marshall
• "Fall seven times, stand up eight." – Japanese Proverb
• "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs
• "Successful people are not gifted; they just work hard, then succeed on purpose." - G.K. Nielson
• "Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement." - Matt Biondi
• "Perfection is boring. Constant improvement is beautiful." - Misty Copeland
• "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." - Joshua J. Marine

Quotes for Learning & Improvement

• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." – B.B. King
• "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." – James Joyce
• "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning." – Albert Einstein
• "You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over." – Richard Branson
• "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." – Henry Ford
• "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss
• "I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday." - José N. Harris
• "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." – Albert Einstein
• "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!" - Dr. Seuss
• "Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere." – Chinese Proverb
• "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Lao Tzu
• "The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." – Brian Herbert
• "When you think you have made a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something new." - Barney Saltzberg
• "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right." - Henry Ford
• "You grow through what you go through." - Tyrese Gibson

Quotes for Resilience & Overcoming Challenges

• “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
• "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." – Margaret Thatcher
• "Difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter." – Dan Reeves
• "Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t." – Rikki Rogers
• "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
• "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." – Eleanor Roosevelt
• "The human capacity for burden is like bamboo—far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance." – Jodi Picoult
• "Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life." – J.K. Rowling
• "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." – Helen Keller
• "Resilience isn't a single skill. It's a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive." – Jean Chatzky
• "The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up." – Timothy Mouse in Dumbo
• "It is being honest about my pain that makes me invincible." – Nayyirah Waheed
• "Fear of failure is the fuel of achievement. If you weren't afraid to fail, you probably wouldn't be highly motivated to work at the level that most of us have to work at to do well." – Ruth Simmons
• "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

Quotes for Positive Self-Talk & Self-Belief

• "Believe you can and you're halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt
• "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis
• "You are the hero of your own story." - Joseph Campbell
• "You are enough just as you are." - Meghan Markle
• "You are the artist of your own life. Don't hand the paintbrush to anyone else." - Unknown
• "You have what it takes to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." - Maya Angelou
• "You are capable of making a difference in the world." - Malala Yousafzai
• "You are strong because you've been weak. You are fearless because you've been afraid. You are wise because you've been foolish." - Unknown
• "You are enough. You are so enough. It is unbelievable how enough you are." - Sierra Boggess
• "You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop." - Rumi
• "My future is bright." - Unknown
• "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
• "Self-belief is the first secret to success." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." - Norman Vincent Peale
• "Your success will largely depend on your belief in yourself and your determination to overcome every obstacle." - John Di Lemme

Quotes for Embracing Feedback & Growth Opportunities

• "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." - Ken Blanchard
• “We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” – Bill Gates
• “Mistakes should be examined, learned from, and discarded; not dwelled upon and stored.” – Tim Fargo
• “True intuitive expertise is learned from prolonged experience with good feedback on mistakes.” – Daniel Kahneman
• “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” – Elon Musk
• “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama
• “It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem.” — Coretta Scott King
• “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” — Albert Einstein
• “Maturity is when you stop blaming others for your problems and take ownership of your own life.” – Brian Tracy
• "Personal growth is not a destination, it's a journey." - Zig Ziglar
• "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Don't wait for opportunity. Create it." - Unknown
• "You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul." - Swami Vivekananda
• "The greatest investment you can make is in yourself." - Warren Buffett
• "Your growth is limited only by how much you're willing to put in the effort." - Unknown

Quotes for Teamwork & Collaboration

• "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller
• "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford
• "The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison." - James Cash Penney
• "Together everyone achieves more." - Unknown
• "In union, there is strength." - Aesop
• "Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people." - Steve Jobs
• "Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success." - Unknown
• "Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
• "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." - Michael Jordan
• "The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." - Phil Jackson
• "Alone we are smart, together we are brilliant!" - Steven Anderson
• "Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results." - Ifeanyi Onuoha
• "We're better together!" - Unknown
• "Many hands make light work." - John Heywood
• "United we stand, divided we fall." - Aesop

The Bottom Line

These growth mindset quotes instill a positive attitude toward persistence, learning, resilience, feedback, and teamwork in children. As a final note, parents and caregivers should offer praise when their kids make an effort rather than solely focusing on outcomes.

For more kid-friendly resources, check out our Growth Mindset Posters!

References:

1. Tao, W., Zhao, D., Yue, H., Horton, I., Tian, X., Xu, Z., & Sun, H. J. (2022, April 14). The Influence of Growth Mindset on the Mental Health and Life Events of College Students. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.821206