"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” is an inspirational saying that has been printed on many images. The saying was posted on Twitter on October 22, 2008. Authorship is unknown.

“@ihatequotes: You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. -Cayla Mills” was posted on Twitter on September 27, 2010, but Mills was not credited in 2008 or in 2009 and is unlikely to have said it first.

“You’ll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. #BobMarley” was posted on Twitter on April 13, 2012. There is no evidence that Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley (1945-1981) ever said it.


Twitter
Lorraine Yuriar‏
@thekytikat
luv this quote - “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the ONLY choice you have.”
3:17 PM - 22 Oct 2008

Twitter
ChrisVanBuren‏
@ChrisVanBuren
Thought of the Day: You Never Know How Strong You Are Until Being Strong Is The Only Choice You Have.
11:40 PM - 15 Nov 2008

6 March 2009, Advocate (Stamford, CT), “Support buoys teen awaiting marrow transplant” by Devon Lash, pg. A1:
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”

9 March 2009, The Leaf Chronicle (Clarksville, TN), “Slaying victim sought divorce” by Tavia Green, pg. A1:
Ashley Cecelia Barnes-Lambert last posted to her MySpace page on Saturday morning.

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is (the) only choice you have,” the 18-year-old wrote.

silive.com (Staten Island, NY)
Family, friends turn out for bowling fund-raiser
Stephen Hart | By Stephen Hart |
on March 11, 2010 at 3:20 PM, updated March 11, 2010 at 3:24 PM
(...)
Many of his friends in attendance at the fund-raiser — which drew 175 bowlers to the lanes, whose $25 contribution went toward the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) — wore a T-shirt with the final words that were on McMahon’s Blackberry: “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”

Twitter
Kadina‏
@sweetkadine
RT @ihatequotes: You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. -Cayla Mills #ihatequotes
11:25 PM - 27 Sep 2010

Google Books
Ranger Winds:
The Last Ride
By E. Richard Womack
Bloomington, IN: iUniverse
2011
Pg. 395:
“Once he told me, you never know how strong you are, until strong is the only choice you have. Now I have no other choice but to be strong. He’s gone, but will live in my heart until the day I join him in the Lords Kingdom.”

Twitter
Bilal Saudi‏
@IBilalSaudi
You’ll never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. #BobMarley
5:26 AM - 13 Apr 2012

Google Books
Floating Happiness:
Unlock the secrets of ‘Joy of Living’
By Rajat Jain
Chennai, India: Notion Press
2016
Pg. ?:
“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have.”― Cayla Mills

Facebook
Nasdaq
July 25, 2016 ·
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” - Bob Marley #MondayMotivation

Google Books
Healing Health Anxiety:
The Comprehensive Guide
By Laura Abate
TEACH Services, Inc. (TEACHServices.com)
2017
Pg. ?:
“You never realize how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” (Bob Marley).