quotations about survival
What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack in the ground underneath a giant boulder you can't move, with no hope of rescue. Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your current circumstances seems more likely, consider how lucky you are that it won't be troubling you much longer.
DOUGLAS ADAMS
original radio script, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Why are we liable to die for survival?
Why is our nation divided?
Come to my aid
SIMPLY RED
"Come to My Aid"
I survived, but it's not a happy ending.
TIM O'BRIEN
The Things They Carried
Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it. The ones who can't stand it go under, perhaps they die, and this again is a very cruel thing about life. But it's something that we're trying to hide from ourselves nowadays, but which is inevitable. I was just reading in this latest life of Bertrand Russell that he said something which I think many people find chilling. He said: "I never help weak people." Life doesn't help weak people either. It disposes of them.
ROBERTSON DAVIES
interview with Peter Gzowski, "Gzowski on FM", Conversations with Robertson Davies
Be happy -- if you're not even happy, what's so good about surviving?
TOM STOPPARD
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
One observes the survivors and learns from them.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON
Dune: House Atreides
The thing about hearts is that they always want to keep beating.
ELIZABETH SCOTT
Living Dead Girl
The strong survive, but the courageous triumph.
MICHAEL SCOTT
The Warlock
Survival ... is an infinite capacity for suspicion.
JOHN LE CARRÉ
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Part of surviving is being able to move on.
ALEXANDRA BRACKEN
The Darkest Minds
Most people, it seems, think that Robinson Crusoe, when he landed on his Island, had nothing to keep him from starvation or anything else. As a matter of fact, he had twelve raft loads of supplies that he took off the wrecked ship. He had as much food and furniture as if he had had a delicatessen store and Fifth Avenue outside his hut.
WILL CUPPY
"Living from Can to Mouth", Brooklyn Eagle Magazine, November 24, 1929
Everyday there's something to survive.
PAT BENATAR
"Shine"
Spending practically every minute of your day on pure survival is an absolutely boring life.
SAMUEL R. DELANY
Neverÿon
No. I can survive well enough on my own -- if given the proper reading material.
SARAH J. MAAS
Throne of Glass
Humor keeps us alive. Humor and food. Don't forget food. You can go a week without laughing.
JOSS WHEDON
attributed, The Biteback Dictionary of Humorous Literary Quotations
We are survival machines -- robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.
RICHARD DAWKINS
The Selfish Gene
Survival is a game of calories. You are constantly trying to mitigate calorie loss and look for sources of calories that make sense. If you spend an hour trying to grab a small fish in a frigid pool of water, you've lost hundreds of calories to gain just a few calories (and that's assuming that you catch the little fish). It just doesn't make sense. Sure, you're hungry and bored, but the reward has to justify the expense. Stay mindful of your calorie intake and expenditures, and you're more likely to make smart choices.
TIM MACWELCH
"3 Tricks for Staving Off Hunger in a Survival Situation", Outdoor Life, June 20, 2017
One thing you have to realize from now on is that it doesn't matter if this is a dream or not. Survival depends on what you do, not what you think.
REBECCA MCKINSEY
Anterria
No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't.
STEPHEN KING
The Stand
Here's my story (My story)
No risk, no glory (No glory)
A little
Up and down and all around
It's all about survival
MADONNA
"Survival"