Quotes

100+ inspiring self-improvement quotes for personal-growth, change and more

Looking for self-improvement quotes that can inspire a change in your life?

Our life is a journey that comes with challenges. Despite the struggles, these challenges give an opportunity to grow as a person. The key is to make every moment of the journey count, using the opportunities to learn and grow.

Self-improvement quotes
Self-improvement quotes

What is Self-Improvement?

Self-improvement is all about improving your life or your personal capabilities. We can improve on ourselves through changing habits, developing new skills, or increasing self-awareness.

Do Quotes Work?

You will find a lot of motivational and inspirational quotes on the internet that want to push you to achieve great things or become a better version of yourself. Sometimes, some of these quotes are outside the ordinary and rather than motivate or inspire us, they trigger our anxiety! 

Yes, self-improvement quotes can work to help you change your life, but you need to be extra picky, so you don’t end up with quotes that trigger unrealistic expectations. Such quotes do not help you achieve your goals, but cause you to sink deeper into your struggles.

The key is to find and use the right quote for the right situation. If you’re looking for a quote to begin your day, find for a quote that motivates you to get started with your day.

If you’re looking for something more specific to address a particular problem or challenge, look for an inspirational quote that can help you meet that goal.

Why Do We Need Self-Improvement Quotes?

There are many reasons we might need to improve ourselves.

  • We feel like we’re not living up to our potential
  • We’re not happy with where we are heading with our lives.
  • We feel like there’s something that we can improve.
  • Or we just want to stay healthy, live the best version of our lives and be happy in the long term.

Whatever the reasons, self-improvement quotes are a great way to get started on the path to personal growth. They can provide encouragement, inspiration, guidance and advice as we work towards our goals.

Here are a few tips for choosing the right self-improvement quotes:

  • Choose quotes that resonate with your personal values and beliefs.
  • Choose quotes that inspire you to take action.
  • Read the full quote before selecting it, so you understand what the author is saying and how to apply it to your life.

There are different self-improvement quotes out there, so it’s important to find ones that resonate with you and your goals.

Self-improvement quotes that will change your Life

Self-improvement quotes for growth

  1. “To grow yourself, start from knowing yourself.” – Unknown
  2. “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  3. “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” – John F. Kennedy
  4. “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts
  5. “In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.” – Abraham Maslow
  6. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – Mandy Hale
  7. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu
  8. “If you want to grow, you have to learn to embrace change. Everything in life is temporary; everything changes. That’s why a lot of people are afraid of getting older. They see change as a bad thing. But, it’s only bad if you’re not changing.” – Tom Brady
  9. “The only way to evolve and grow is to go through tough times and come out stronger, wiser, and better.” – Karen Salmansohn
  10. “Growth is painful because you’ve never been here before; you’ve never been this version of you. So, give yourself a little grace and breathe through it.” – Kristin Lohr
  11. “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney
  12. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  13. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon
  14. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” – Henry Ford
  15. “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
  16. “Often it’s not we who shape words, but the words we use that shape us.” – Nina George
  17. “No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.” – Madonna
  18. “Life is like a game of chess. To win you have to make a move. Knowing which move to make comes with IN- SIGHT and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are accumulated along the way. We become each and every piece within the game called life!” – Allan Rufus
  19. “What is considered impossible is someone else’s opinion. What is possible is my decision.” – idowu koyenikan

Self-improvement quotes for embracing a better version of yourself

  1. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  2. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
  3. “Success is not about creating a life others desire; it’s about creating a life you love.” – Unknown
  4. “Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
  5. “Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your actions.” – Dalai Lama
  6. “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” – Steve Maraboli
  7. “Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Meir
  8. “Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” – Unknown
  9. “The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off.” – Robert Hand
  10. “Self-acceptance is the key to everything beautiful.” – T. Kurtz
  11. “Don’t be satisfied with stories; how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” – Rumi
  12. “The best version of you is who you are when you’re completely natural and not trying to impress anyone else for any reason whatsoever.” – C. Assaad
  13. “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.” – Blake Lively
  14. “Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” – Lucille Ball
  15. “We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day.” – Richard G. Scott
  16. “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
  17. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
  18. “Do your best and be a little better than you are.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

Self-improvement quotes to improve your personality

  1. “You cannot change what you are, only what you do.” – Philip Pullman
  2. “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
  3. “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
  4. “The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” – Nathaniel Branden
  5. “Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person you were yesterday.” – Unknown
  6. “Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring.” – Unknown
  7. “Focus on what you are and what you can rather than what others aren’t & can’t. You have to win; they don’t necessarily have to lose for you!” – Alok Mishra
  8. “Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive.” – Brittany Burgunder
  9. “The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.” – Brian Tracy
  10. “A person today who seems to have a great sense of self-esteem has his or her childhood days to thank for it.” – Stephen Richards
  11. “By being yourself, you fulfill your destiny. It’s your unique gifts, thoughts, and ideas that the world needs. No one else can give them to the world because they’re yours. Be yourself and bask in the power derived from self-realization.” – Art Rios
  12. “I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions” – Unknown
  13. “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  14. “The first place where self-esteem begins its journey is within us.” – Stephen Richards
  15. “Know that now is only a moment and that if today is all we have, then we should make the most of it.” – Shane Koyczan

Self-improvement quotes about changing yourself

  1. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  2. “If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.” – Buddha
  3. “Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect.” – Unknown
  4. “The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill
  5. “Don’t be afraid of change; it is leading you to a new beginning.” – Dodinsky
  6. “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Buddha
  7. The only limits in life are the ones you make.” – Celestine Chua
  8. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” – Jim Rohn
  9. “It is not enough to change your mind. You must also change your heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  10. “Grateful souls focus on the happiness and abundance present in their lives and this in turn attracts more abundance and joy towards them.” – Stephen Richards
  11. “Try giving up all the thoughts that make you feel bad, or even just some of them, and see how doing that changes your life. You don’t need negative thoughts. All they have ever given you was a false self that suffers. They are all lies.” – Gina Lake
  12. “It is not until you change your identity to match your life blueprint that you will understand why everything in the past never worked.” – Shannon L. Alder

Stoic quotes on self-improvement

  1. “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
  2. “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius
  3. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
  4. “You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” – Brian Tracy
  5. “When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where your power is.” – Unknown
  6. “You are not your circumstances; you are not what happens to you; you are what you make of it.” – William James
  7. “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus
  8. “If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.” – Marcus Aurelius
  9. “You willed yourself to where you are today, so will yourself out of it.” – Stephen Richards
  10. “Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor.” – Alexis Carrel

Motivational self-improvement quotes

  1. “Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn
  2. “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
  3. “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” – Zig Ziglar
  4. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
  5. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
  6. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
  7. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
  8. “The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
  9. “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
  10. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
  11. “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
  12. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
  13. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
  14. “There will be times in your life that you will be challenged to choose between honor and something else. I am asking that you not sacrifice your honor for the sake of acquiring easy things.” – Idowu sunken
  15. “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einstein
  16. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
  17. “It’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving.” – Mike Tyson
  18. “If you want something You’ve never had, You must be willing to do something You’ve never done.” – Unknown
  19. “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” – Albert Einstein
  20. “Where we fall are the stepping-stones for our journey.” – Lolly Daskal

Funny self-improvement quotes

  1. “It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else.” – Erma Bombeck
  2. “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs… one step at a time.” – Joe Girard
    3. “The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein
  3. “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama
  4. “I’ve learned so much from my mistakes… I’m thinking of making a few more.” – Unknown
  5. “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
  6. “I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.” – Oprah Winfrey
  7. “I’m not lazy; I’m on energy-saving mode.” – Unknown
  8. “My mind is like my internet browser. At least 19 tabs open, 3 of them are frozen, and I have no idea where the music is coming from.” – Unknown
  9. “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it?” – Steven Wright
  10. “I put my phone in airplane mode, but it’s not flying!” – Unknown
  11. “I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.” – Unknown
  12. “I don’t need a hairstylist; my pillow gives me a new hairstyle every morning.” – Unknown
  13. “The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.” – Betty White
  14. “I’m on a seafood diet. I see food, and I eat it.” – Unknown

Changing our lives requires dedication and hard work, but it’s possible with the right mindset and a willingness to take action. I compiled a list of 40 inspiring self-improvement quotes that can help us change make the positive changes we desire for a better life.

Changing our lives can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. These 40 self-improvement quotes are just words and until we make meaning of each of them, they can do not for us.