Bethany Hamilton Quotes

Courage doesn't mean you don't get afraid. Courage means you don't let fear stop you.

Life is a lot like surfing… When you get caught in the impact zone, you’ve got to just get back up. Because you never know what may be over the next wave.

Love is bigger then a tsunami, stronger then any fear.

Life is full of what-ifs. You can’t let it hold you back. If you do, you’re not really living at all… just kind of going through the motions with no meaning

Being creative on the waves is challenging, but we each create art in our own way.

Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts.

That's what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.

It's hard for me to describe the joy I felt after I stood up and rode wave in for the first time after the attack. I was incredibly thankful and happy inside. The tiny bit of doubt that would sometimes tell me you'll never surf again was gone in one wave.

It's sad to hear that 1 in 3 girls have an eating disorder, because they're trying to be something that they think they need to be, when it's such a lie that they believe. Meanwhile all over the world there's people that are starving or dying of something crazy that we forget, and we think we're the only ones in this world.

I'm just waiting for God to tell me what to do, but whatever it is, I want to be doing something like I am doing now-serving God and helping people.

The author describes how impressed she was with the detailed storyboards that outlined her movie – "not just sketches, but real art". She then describes a Hawaiian sunset as, "God painting His storyboard on the sky".

It was what God had taught me growing up that helped me overcome my fear and get back on the board. 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go' (Joshua 1:9).

I guess I just like to challenge myself and push myself harder to do things that I dont think I can, to do things that other people do not think I can. It pushes me. I push my own personal limits.

Being able to turn to Jesus after the shark attack kept me alive.

My faith in God is a huge part of my life, and yeah He has blessed me with an amazing family, and group of friends. In the Bible he tells us to think positively about ourselves, to not be down on ourselves. So I just try to live the way He wants me to, and make the best decisions I can.

None of us are going to have perfect lives.

Our own vision of what we think is good maybe different from what He [God] thinks. And we forget that. We think we know what's best and we don't.

I gave my heart to Jesus when I was five-years-old and since then it's been a special relationship. To me it's not a religion; it's just talking to God, reading his word, and doing my best to honor him in everything I do.

Compassion can drive us to do amazing things and give us perspective.

Love is bigger than any tidal wave or fear.

I could never have embraced this many people with two arms.

Strive to find things to be thankful for and just look for the good in who you are!

I think it doesn't matter if you are the best surfer in the world.

I'm going to try to be the best surfer I can be. It's not all about competing and being the best. It's more about having fun and just doing what you love.

Doing everything with one arm, being well-known, and having a book and a movie, it's fairly abnormal. As far as just not having to worry about past experiences, I've healed very well.

Being out there in the ocean, God's creation, it's like a gift He has given us to enjoy.

[The biggest lesson I've got is] Learning to have patience with people, just take it one step at a time in everything that you're doing and just invest time in the people that you're with ... have patience with them, even if they're not necessarily the easiest person to work with.

I think sharks are beautiful creatures, and I don't think we should stop going in the ocean because of them. You drive down the road and you get in an accident, but most people end up driving down the road again. Surfing is you're going into their home and it's just a natural part of life.

It's easy to look at the things of this world to solve our challenges and obstacles in life, but when we submit our lives to Christ, His grace, mercy, peace and love will bring true fulfillment to our lives.

I guess my faith in Jesus Christ is what kept me going day by day.

I just trusted in him and I believe that he's the one who gives me the strength and ability to overcome struggles and problems day to day. I'm just grateful for him, as he has blessed me with just an amazing family that has supported me through every step of the way.

Like, with one arm I know I can surf, but competitive surfing can be really frustrating, and sometimes you don't do as well as you want to. It can be discouraging at times. But whenever I do get frustrated, I just focus on God.

I love the ocean, and I love surfing.

It's something so special and unique, and surfing is unlike any other sport. Skateboarding is amazing, you get the adrenaline rush, but you don't get the feel of the ocean, of doing its own thing. Totally surrounding you. Definitely a unique thing, it's a blessing, and a huge part of my healing process I would say.

I just love being on the ocean and being creative on the waves and the feeling you get when you're surfing. All around it's beautiful and fun.

Both of my parents are surfers, of course, so they understood where my passion for surfing was at and I guess they saw the talent that I had.

Surfing is a huge passion of mine. I'm and addict to it in a sense. I think it is a good addiction. I spend about anywhere from two to eight hours a day in the water when I am home. I enjoy competing and traveling. I don't know, I just like being in the ocean and enjoying God's creation. Just the adrenaline you get and its good exercise you get at the same time.

Learning how to deal with people and their reactions to my life is one of the most challenging things... people staring at me, people asking rude questions, dealing with media, stuff like that.

In the end, my love for surfing helped me overcome my fear of sharks.

We all need that extra friend outside of our immediate family to talk about that extra stuff you wouldn't normally talk to your parents about.

We all go through rough times. We have those obstacles that seem too large to overcome or that current that you never seem to swim out of. We have to decide what matters most to us - our passions.

I'm a surfer at heart. Both my parents moved to Hawaii in the 1970s, where they met and became Christians. Then they taught me and my two brothers how to love the Lord - and how to surf!

God created the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the waves for our enjoyment. Surfing is just my way of worshipping Him.

That's really what ultimately matters - the emotions and feelings that you experienced and people around [whom] you experienced [them].

You don't need easy, you just need possible.

My only real fear was that I would not be able to surf again because I was concerned that I would not physically be able to do it. I knew that if I wasn't able to surf then my life would really change.

Besides surfing, I play tennis, volleyball, I swim, I run hills, or I do high-intensity, high-interval workouts. I'm up at 5 A.M. every day.

My strength came from my relationship with Christ and from the love and encouragement of my family and friends.

I think passion is something that's more powerful than even love.

It's something that you're not willing to let go of, and you'll work really hard to make sure that stays a part of your life.

Our health and well-being is something that we can almost control, to a certain extent. We can choose to eat healthy, we can choose to think positively, and we can choose to have good posture. All this stuff makes a difference, and the way that you look and feel, and your confidence.

I don't want easy, just possible.

My favorite thing [about surfing] is being creative on waves;

it's like an art form. You can do whatever you want on that wave if you work hard at it and just have fun out there.

To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean - that's scary to me. It was essential to at least try surfing again and get out there and see how it went.

Losing an arm is kinda lame at one point, but at the same time, so much good has come out of it.