It takes a lot to be self-aware. It’s easy to get caught up in society’s standards for you, so much so that you forget who you are. This often leads to an identity crisis and could be a great source of stress if left unchecked.
It is important to take a step back and have a good look in the mirror. Imagine yourself in the future and try to picture a life of satisfaction. Are you doing what you love? Are you happy with the way things are? If the answer is no, it isn’t too late to change.
You need a fresh start, which can be hard to do if you’ve been following the same routine for years. Start with a small change that you’re happy with and gradually work that into the other aspects of your life. A great way to know if you’re doing what is best for you is to analyze your thoughts.
What better medium to do so than keeping a personal journal? There is something refreshing about putting your thoughts to paper and reading everything back to yourself. You’d be surprised by the self-discovery.
You may reach a point where nothing makes sense anymore. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed by your thoughts, and it is perfectly fine to bring in a friend. Talking to someone else is an excellent form of therapy, and they could end up having great advice for you.
Once you’ve regained some perspective on things, this is an excellent time to how you’ll reach your personal goals. You could wish for something simple or something complicated. Either way, you need to formulate milestones that will eventually get you to where you want to be in life.
Remember to enjoy the journey as well. Celebrate your successes and learn from your failures when appropriate. Make sure that you are doing what you enjoy because that leaves you feeling more fulfilled.
Never forget that you are not alone on your journey toward self-discovery. Many others are trying to find themselves, and you can take comfort in that. You could also find strength in the words of inspiring figures that embarked on a similar journey as yourself.
Focusing on Yourself Quotes
To this end, we have compiled a collection of quotes that tackle the ups and downs of focusing on yourself and hope to inspire you as you continue your journey.
1. “When I hear somebody sigh, Life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’”
– Sydney Harris.
2.“The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.”
– Albert Einstein.
3. “Your life is the fruit of your own doing. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
– Joseph Campbell.
4. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.”
– Tommy Lasorda.
5. “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”
– Michael Jordan.
6. “Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.”
– Rocky Balboa.
7. “Often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”
– Helen Keller.
8. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
– George Bernard Shaw.
9. “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.”
– Clint Eastwood.
10. “When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.”
– Ryan Reynolds.
11. “The more you are like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.”
– Walt Disney.
12. “Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.”
– Lao Tzu.
13. “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
– Buddha.
14. “Just look at yourself in the mirror and focus on what you need to do to get better.”
– Choo Freeman.
15. “Real change will come when you focus on yourself.”
– Ritu Ghatourey.
16. “Whatever you are, be a good one.”
– Abraham Lincoln.
17. “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi.
18. “If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.”
– Rick Riordan.
19. “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
– Dalai Lama.
20. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
– Theodore Roosevelt.
21. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
– George Eliot.
22. “No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt.
23. “Talk to yourself like you would someone you love.”
– Brene Brown.
24. “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your inner voice.”
– Steve Jobs.
25. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
– Abraham Lincoln.
26. “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.”
– George Lucas.
27. “If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.”
– Marvin Gaye.
28. “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt.
29. “Success in life is not for those who run fast, but for those who keep running and always on the move.”
– Bangambiki Habyarimana.
30. “At the very moment when people underestimate you is when you can make a breakthrough.”
– Germany Kent.
31. “Big goals amazing experiences more happiness less pain healthy relationships stay focused on what matters.”
– Unknown*.
32. “The more you focus on yourself, the less you care about…[the stuff] around you.”
– Nitin Namdeo.
33. “Don’t focus on the competition, focus on ways to make yourself better.”
– Hopal Green.
34. “Focus on your opinion of yourself and not the opinion others have of you.”
– Winnie Harlow.
35. “You’ve sacrificed too much for others. Now do the same for yourself.”
– Mitta Xinindlu.
36. “When you shift your attention to yourself, there are countless opportunities to explore.”
– Nitin Namdeo.
37. “Your life is controlled by what you focus on.”
– Tony Robbins.
38. “A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power.”
– Brian Tracy.
39. “My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused on a few things.”
– Bill Gates.
40. “Any artist that’s involved in their work is inevitably going to have a focus in what they do.”
– Jock Sturges.
41. “Looking after yourself is the greatest act of kindness you can give the world. Loving yourself first is the best way to spread love.”
– Holly Bourne.
42. “Focus on yourself. Some people just don’t deserve to have you in their life and there’s nothing you can do to bring them back to reality.”
– Unknown*.
43. “Know what matters most to you and be unwilling to compromise those priorities at almost any price.”
– Frank Sonnenberg.
44. “Be who you are and say what you feel because those mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
– Bernard Brauch.
45. “Find yourself first, like yourself first, love yourself first, and friendship and love will naturally find you.”
– Mandy Hale.
46. “Whenever you feel compelled to put others first at the expense of yourself, you are denying your own reality, your own identity.”
– David Stafford.
47. “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”
– M. Scott Peck.
48. “Always putting others first creates deep resentment, destroys your happiness, and is unsustainable.”
– Aziz Gazipura.
49. “You have to be self-interested in order to be selfless. You have to put yourself first if you want to be of use to other people.”
– Rachel Bartholomew.
50. “Always choose yourself first. Women are very socialized to choose other people. If you put yourself first, it’s this incredible path you can forge for yourself.”
– Rebecca Traister.
51. “Choose to put yourself first and make you a priority. It’s not selfish, it’s necessary.”
– Keysha Jade.
52. “To gain self-respect, you need to put yourself first.”
– Lorii Myers.
53. “If you don’t value yourself, you’re not going to draw valuable things into your life.”
– Robert Tew.
54. “Don’t wait for a crisis to realize what matters most. Put yourself first right now. Because right now is all we have.”
– Brittany Burgunder.
55. “If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.”
– Charles Bukowski.
56. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
– Lucille Ball.
57. “Value yourself first and only then you can learn to value others.”
– Charlyn Khater.
58. “You have to validate yourself first, and then you will receive the much-deserved healing validation from the rest of the world.”
– A.D. Posey.
59. “If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself.”
– Gabrielle Union.
60. “If you are really humble you will put yourself first when you need to take care of you.”
– Bryant McGill.
61. “Prove to the world you are worth something by treating yourself with the utmost respect and hope that other people will follow your example. And even if they don’t, at least one person in the world is treating you well: you.”
– Carrie Hope Fletcher.
62. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.”
– Brene Brown.
63. “Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?”
– Brigham Young.
64. “You are enough just as you are.”
– Meghan Markle.
65. “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.”
– Robert Morley.
66. “Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you.”
– Beyonce.
67. “Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”
– Maya Angelou.
68. “Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions…Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.”
– Tina Fey.
69. “Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.”
– Parker Palmer.
70. “No human being is ever going to love you more than you love yourself.”
– Avis J. Williams.
71. “Never underestimate the fact that loving others is a choice but loving yourself is a responsibility.”
– Germany Kent.
72. “In the journey of finding love I focus on having a great relationship with myself first.”
– Angel Moreira.
73. “Friendship with one’s self is all important, because without it one can not be friends with anyone else in the world.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt.
74. “When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”
– Oprah Winfrey.
75. “Loving you is the easiest way to do it.”
– Tjasa Luzovec.
76. “I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.”
– Johnny Depp.
77. “Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on.”
– Maxwell Maltz.
78. “One advantage of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.”
– A.A. Milne.
79. “It’s not your job to like me…it’s mine!”
– Byron Katie.
80. “You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.”
– Diane Von Furstenberg.
81. “I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.”
– Oscar Wilde.
82. “I am a queen because I know how to govern myself.”
– Lailah Gifty Akita.
83. “Accept who you are. Unless you’re a serial killer.”
– Ellen DeGeneres.
84. “The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.”
– Maya Angelou.
85. “Self-love seems so often unrequited.”
– Anthony Powell.
86. “We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.”
– Virginia Satir.
87. “When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.”
– Cathy Guisewite.
88. “When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘You’re either going to love yourself or hate yourself.’ And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.”
– Queen Latifah.
89. “Yes, I am weird, weird is good. Normal is overrated.”
– Mad-D.
90. “The things that make me different are the things that make me me.”
– A.A. Milne.
91. “We must fall in love with yourselves. I don’t like myself. I’m crazy about myself.”
– Mae West.
92. “Don’t belittle yourself. Be big yourself.”
– Corita Kent.
93. “It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.”
– Voltaire.
94. “Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.”
– Andre Gide.
95. “People think, ‘Oh, I’m loving myself by sitting on this sofa for four hours.’ Love yourself enough to get up!”
– Alison Sweeney.
96. “You were born to be real, not to be perfect.”
– Ralph Marston.
97. “Be a pineapple: stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.”
– Katherine Gaskin.
98. “The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs…one step at a time.”
– Joe Girard.
99. “The only one you should compare yourself to is you. Your mission is to become better today than you were yesterday. You do that by focusing on what you can do today to improve and grow.”
– John Maxwell.
100. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself and you will be happy.”
– Stephen Fry.
