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170 Self-Improvement Quotes To Make Your Life Better

170 Self-Improvement Quotes To Make Your Life Better

Do you want to improve the quality of your life? Become the best version of yourself?

Here are the greatest self-improvement quotes that will help you acquire some useful ideas on getting started!

These wise words from some of the world’s most notable authors, philosophers, and various influential people will push you toward achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself.

Just read carefully and try to apply their wisdom to your life, and believe me, they will boost your mindset growth.

I collected these self-improvement quotes that hit hard from various online sources, and I believe that you’ll find them suggestive and helpful.

Let’s begin!

Top 20 Self-Improvement Quotes

1. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ― Ernest Hemingway

illustration of a girl with flowers instead of head representing self-improvement quote

2. “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” ― William Faulkner

3. “Become addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement.” ― Anthony J. D’Angelo

4. “Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” ― Pat Summitt

5. “You are essentially who you create yourself to be, and all that occurs in your life is the result of your own making.” ― Stephen Richards

You are essentially who you create yourself to be, and all that occurs in your life is the result of your own making

6. “The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” ― Confucius

7. “Work on yourself more than you do on your job.” ― Jim Rohn

8. “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” ― Aldous Huxley

10. “Life improvement begins with self-improvement.” ― ATGW

Life improvement begins with self-improvement

11. “There is no challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself.” ― Michael F. Staley

12. “Improvement begins with I.” ― Arnold H. Glasow

13. “The safest principle through life, instead of reforming others, is to set about perfecting yourself.” — B. R. Haydon

14. “Self-improvement is the name of the game, and your primary objective is to strengthen yourself, not to destroy an opponent.” — Maxwell Maltz

15. “Any man’s life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day.” — Booker T. Washington

Any man’s life will be filled with constant and unexpected encouragement if he makes up his mind to do his level best each day

16. “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time, and energy needed to develop yourself.” ― Denis Waitley

17. “If you are moving forward in your life, If you are progressing personally, professionally, emotionally, spiritually ― you will be happy.” ― Tony Robbins

18. “Commit yourself to constant improvement. Commit yourself to quality. Be persistent, persistent, persistent…and have a grateful heart!” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr.

19. “By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid only of standing still.” ― Benjamin Franklin

20. “How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” — Seth Godin

How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable

See also: Top 90 Never Settle For Less Quotes To Encourage You

Inspirational Quotes On Bettering Yourself

1. “Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better by the changes we make in ourselves.” ― Swami Vivekananda

illustration of a graduation girl representing quote on bettering yourself

2. “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make that change.” ― Michael Jackson

3. “Do your best, and be a little better than you are.” — Gordon B. Hinckley

4. “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli

5. “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

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

6. “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

7.  “If you continuously compete with others, you become bitter, but if you continuously compete with yourself, you become better. Choose the second, I got your back.” ― Unknown

8. “Don’t downgrade your dream just to fit your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.” ― Stuart Scott

9. You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously. ― Sophia Bush

10. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ― Paulo Coelho

girl who just graduated illustration representing bettering myself quote

11. “Those who seek a better life must first become a better person.” — Jim Rohn

12. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” ― Maya Angelou

13. “Excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends.” ― Brian Tracy

14. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ― Edith Wharton

15. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” ― Sean Patrick Flanery

Do something today that your future self will thank you for

16. “With self-discipline, most anything is possible.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

17. “Improve in private. Surprise everyone.” ― Unknown

18. “Don’t waste my time by making me judge other people. I am busy improving myself, and I have no time to criticize others.” ― Unknown

19. “Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today.” ― Doe Zantamata

20. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” ― Albert Einstein

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value

21. “Gratitude, compassion, and kindness are pillars to make you a better person.” — Invajy

22. “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” ― Bernice Johnson Reagon

23. “Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer working for you.” ― Nedra Glover Tawwab

24. “My life is constantly under construction. There’s always something to improve.” ― Unknown

25. “Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person from yesterday.” ― Jordan Peterson

Compare yourself to the person from yesterday.

See also: 80 Most Famous Jordan Peterson Quotes To Blow Your Mind

26. “At the time, my life just seemed too complete, and maybe we have to break everything to make something better out of ourselves.” ― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

27. “Beginning today, set an intention and a relentless focus on living your life as the greatest person you can be, in all situations.” — Brendon Burchard

28. “Focus on making yourself better, not on thinking that you are better.” ― Bohdi Sanders

29. “Never neglect an opportunity for self-improvement.” — Unknown

30. “Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

illustration of a graduate woman representing self-change quote

See also: 220 Best Proverbs About Success To Give You Inspiration

Personal Growth Quotes

1. “Don’t go through life, grow through life.” ― Eric Butterworth

girl reading a book illustration representing quote about personal growth

2. “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” ― Abraham Maslow

3. “Be patient with yourself. You are growing stronger every day. The weight of the world will become lighter…and you will begin to shine brighter. Don’t give up.” ― Robert Tew

4. “Be so committed to your growth that it encourages the ones around you to grow as well. Be so committed to your growth that it sacres away ones that are tempted to drop you down to their level.” ― Unknown

5. “It only takes one person to change your life ― you.” ― Ruth Casey

It only takes one person to change your life

6. “Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.” ― Norman Mailer

7. “If you can dedicate yourself to asking questions to reveal your potential, you will discover your potential and start to fulfill your mission.” — Sunday Adelaja

8. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” ― Amelia Earhart

9. “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” ― John Muir

10. “Improvement starts within you and depends on your efforts. So, make the effort.” ― Remez Sasson

Improvement starts within you and depends on your efforts

11. “You complete me in a way that I’ve become the best version of myself. Thank you for being my inspiration.” — Unknown

12. “Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.” — John C. Maxwell

13. “When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you…never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ― Harriet Beecher Stowe

14. “The important thing is that we must be constantly moving forward ― yes, the progressive realization of a predetermined goal. And our growth should never end.” ― Og Mandino

15. “You’re either green and growing, or you’re ripe and rotting.” — John Addison

You’re either green and growing, or you’re ripe and rotting

16.  “Don’t let anyone control your path. You are stronger than you think, and you are the charioteer of your life, always remember that. ” ― Unknown

17. “I would like to think that all of my successes in life are really just the fruit of my failures.” ― Yvie Oddly

18. “Determine that today you will overcome your self of the day before, tomorrow you will win over those of lesser skill, and later you will win over those of greater skill.” ― Miyamoto Musashi

19. “You can waste your life drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” ― Shonda Rhimes

20. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” ― Denis Waitley

It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not

21. “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experiences that reveal the human spirit.” ― e.e. Cummings

22. “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” ― Larry Bird

23. “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli

24. “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… Unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

25. “What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do

26. “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” ― Diane von Furstenberg

27. “By doing the work to love ourselves more, I believe we will love each other better.” ― Laverne Cox

28. “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” ― Babe Ruth

29.  “You are who you decide to be. If you want to be a positive person, decide to be. If you want to be a successful person, decide to be. You have to create the life you want and cut off people who prevent you from achieving it.” — Unknown

30. “The key to happiness is really progress and growth and constantly working on yourself and developing something.” — Lewis Howes

The key to happiness is really progress and growth and constantly working on yourself and developing something

Self-Development Quotes

1. “The swiftest way to triple your success is to double your investment in personal development.” ― Robin Sharma

man with a laptop illustration representing self-development quote

2. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” ― Les Brown

3. “Investing in your own growth and self-development isn’t selfish. It’s self-care.” ― Dr. Eric Weis

4. “Never allow your mind to wander untamed like a wild animal that exists on the basis of survival of the fittest. Tame your mind with a consistent focus on your goals and desires.” ― Stephen Richards

5. “You are struggling with the walls of resistance that you have built around yourself.” — Sadhguru

You are struggling with the walls of resistance that you have built around yourself

6. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl

7. “The mind is just like a muscle ― the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

8. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.” ― Ephesians 4:22 (Bible Verse)

9. “Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” — Rhyanna Watson

10. “What you dislike in another, take care to correct in yourself.” — Thomas Sprat

flowers on a woman's head illustration representing quote about change and growth

11. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” — Helen Keller

12. “A strong man cannot help a weaker unless the weaker is willing to be helped, and even then, the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition.” ― James Allen

13.  “Remember, you are in control of your life and how you will live it. You are a lone wolf who chooses to be big and not shrink for the comfort of others. Give yourself permission to take up space, and bloom wildly without regret.” — Unknown

14. “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” ― Benjamin Mays

15. “Your most important sale in life is to sell yourself to yourself.” — Maxwell Maltz

Your most important sale in life is to sell yourself to yourself

16. “First things first might be a cliche, but it’s a useful one that means prioritizing what matters most to you and believing there is no wrong answer.” ― Stacey Abrams

17. “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” ― Rick Warren

18. “Repeat anything often enough, and it will start to become you.” — Tom Hopkin

19. “Realizing that our actions, feelings, and behavior are the results of our own images and beliefs gives us the level that psychology has always needed for changing personality.” — Maxwell Maltz

20. “Who is a true seeker grows, learns, and discovers that he is the only one responsible for what happens.” — Jorge Bucay

Who is a true seeker grows, learns, and discovers that he is the only one responsible for what happens

21. “The dreaming has to be backed up by the doing.” — Carrie Wilkerson

22. “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

23. “Life is a series of problem-solving opportunities. The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you depending on how you respond to them.” — Rick Warren

24. “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.” — Buddha

25. “Look within, for within is the wellspring of virtue, which will not cease flowing if you cease not from digging.” — Marcus Aurelius

Look within, for within is the wellspring of virtue, which will not cease flowing if you cease not from digging

26. “You’ve got to have rules to live by, and one of mine is always say yes. Put yourself in danger of something amazing happening to you.” — Tom Bilyeu

27. “Each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity.” — Marie Curie

28. “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” ― Jim Rohn

29.  “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” — Carl R. Rogers

30. “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” — Dale Carnegie

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still

Self-Improvement Quotes For Personal Growth

1. “Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness.” ― Jean Vanier

girl with a blossoming head illustration representing personal growth quote

2. “If you can see yourself as an artist, and you can see that your life is your own creation, then why not create the most beautiful story for yourself?” ― Miguel Ruiz

3. “Only through suffering do you have change and self-improvement.” — Unknown

4. “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” ― Ella Fitzgerald

5. “Be the type of person you want to meet.” ― Tom McCallum

Be the type of person you want to meet

6. “I am all for changing, even if mistakes are made in the process. Mistakes do not matter.” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti

7. “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” ― Rob Siltanen

8. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” ― Malala Yousafzai

9. “Let us cultivate our garden.” ― Voltaire, Candide

10. “Change is your friend, not your foe; change is a brilliant opportunity to grow.” — Simon T. Bailey

flowers on a woman's head illustration representing quote about change and growth

11. “It is not the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare

12. “The type of person you are is usually reflected in your business. To improve your business, first improve yourself.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

13. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” ― Thomas Jefferson

14. “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ― Warren Buffett

15. “There’s always room for improvement.” — Joey Logano

There’s always room for improvement

16. “Growth is actually contagious, so if you want to reach your goals, you’ve got to get around people who are going in the same direction you want to be going, and you will catch the success.” — Dr. Henry Cloud

17. “When we’re growing up, there are all sorts of people telling us what to do when really what we need is space to work out who to be.” ― Elliot Page

18. “I do not believe in taking the right decision, I take a decision and make it right.” ― Muhammad Ali Jinnah

19. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw

20. “Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.” — Baltasar Gracian

Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement

21. “There’s only one investment that will never go down — an investment in yourself.”― Frank Sonnenberg

22. “Choose progress over perfection.” ― Unknown

23. “People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you’re fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

24. “Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

25. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” — Jimmy Johnson

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra

26. “There’s nothing wrong with self-improvement, as long as you recognize that at some point you’re going to have to accept yourself in all your imperfect glory. What’s wrong with liking yourself the way you are?” — Jessica Zafra

27. “Everything is within your power, and your power is within you.” — Janice Trachtman

28. “There will be times in your life when things simply have to be replaced because they are tired, broken, worn out, harmful, outdated, or irrelevant. Take an inventory of the things that no longer serve your best and highest good so you can replace them with things which do.” — Susan C. Young

29. “The difference between being mediocre and achieving excellence is you.” — Stephen Richards

30. “You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow.” ― Idowu Koyenikan

You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow

More Quotes On Self-Growth

1. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” ― Stephen Covey

illustration of a graduate girl representing quote on self-growth

2. “He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” ― Confucius

3. “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” ― Kevin Ngo

4. “Pain, pleasure, and death are no more than a process for existence. The revolutionary struggle in this process is a doorway open to intelligence.” ― Frida Kahlo

5. “It is not as much about who you used to be as it is about who you choose to be.” ― Sanhita Baruah

It is not as much about who you used to be as it is about who you choose to be

6. “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” ― Albert Einstein

7. “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ― Mark Twain

8. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.” — T.D. Jakes

9. “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ― George Bernard Shaw

10. “Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.” ― Socrates

Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for.

11. “When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.” ― Unknown

12. “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” ― Oprah Winfrey

13. “Look for the small improvements, recognize those successes, and let them be a big deal.” ― Elise Cripe

14. “The time is now. Stop hitting the snooze button on your life.” — Mel Robbins

15. “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ― Carl Bard

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending

16. “We should not judge people by their peak of excellence, but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” ― Henry Ward Beecher

17. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” ― Jane Goodall

18. “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” ― Deborah Day

19. “It is never too late to be who you might have been.” ― George Eliot

20. “You cannot reach where you are going if you continue to be the same person you have always been.” ― Germany Kent

You cannot reach where you are going if you continue to be the same person you have always been

21. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” ― Henry Ford

22. “Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” ― Hillary Clinton

23. “Everyone must choose one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” ― Jim Rohn

24. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” ― Frederick Douglass

25. “Leap off the fence of indecision. Get out of the ‘Want to Lane’ and put yourself into the ‘Got to Lane.’” — Gloria Mayfield Banks

Leap off the fence of indecision. Get out of the ‘Want to Lane’ and put yourself into the ‘Got to Lane

26. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau

27. “What we think, we become.” ― Buddha

28. “When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” ― Karen E. Quinones Miller

29. “Sometimes in life, we take a leap of faith. Remember, the leap is not about getting from one side to the other. It’s simply about taking the leap…and trusting the air, the universal breath will support your wings so that you may soar.” ― Kristi Bowman

30. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it, and eventually, the confidence will follow.” ― Carrie Fisher

Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action

See also: 220 Confident Girl Quotes To Uplift & Motivate You

Wrapping It Up

I hope these self-improvement quotes turned yours by reminding you that, in order to make your life better, you must have the right attitude about life and a strong will to become the best version of yourself. You got this!

Read next: 140 You Are Amazing Quotes To Fall In Love With Yourself

170 Self-Improvement Quotes To Make Your Life Better