47 Self-Esteem Quotes You Need To Read Today

Could you use some positive self-esteem quotes to give you a boost right now?

I’m glad you asked.

Here are some ideas:

  • Write them on your bathroom mirror in lipstick or dry-erase marker.
  • Write some on whiteboards around your home and keep one visible from your workspace.
  • Have a mug created with a favorite self-esteem quote and use it often.
  • Have a throw pillow created with a favorite quote and put it where you’ll see it.
  • Keep a folded note in your pocket with a favorite quote.
  • Create a new desktop wallpaper featuring a favorite quote.

So, now that you know how to use them, check out the quotes in this article and pick out the most healing and motivating ones.

Write them in your journal or at the top of your daily planning page. Say them out loud as if you mean every word. Then act as if you do.

You’re more than brave enough to do this. And your life will change.

47 Self-Esteem Quotes

Enjoy these high self-esteem quotes from the minds of those who’ve experienced both the pain of low self-worth and the peace that goes with a healthy degree of self-love.

Quotes about Self-Worth

These quotes on self-worth should get you thinking about how you judge your own value and that of others.

Most people go through life underestimating their value and their power. Choose to be more conscious of both.

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ― Sharon Salzberg

“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” ― Frederick Douglass

“To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.” ― Alan Cohen

“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” ― Lucille Ball

“Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are – completely; the good and the bad – and make changes as you see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” ― Stacey Charter

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” ― Lao Tzu

“It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others.” ― Sidney J. Harris


Related: 47 Badass Quotes To Get You Motivated


“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” ― Roy T. Bennett

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ― Marianne Williamson

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” ― Edward Everett Hale

“Whenever I am in a difficult situation where there seems to be no way out, I think about all the times I have been in such situations and say to myself, ‘I did it before, so I can do it again.’” ― Idowu Koyenikan

Self-Motivation Quotes

Low self-esteem can demotivate and even paralyze you, keeping you stuck in a life you don’t want.

You know you want more out of life, so allow yourself to be inspired by the example of those who’ve gone before you.

“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ― Thomas Jefferson

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” ― Ayn Rand

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” ― Bob Moawad

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

“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.” ―T. Harv Eker

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You may be the only person left who believes in you, but it's enough. It takes just one star to pierce a universe of darkness. Never give up.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” ― Anne Sweeney

“Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ― E.E. Cummings

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go.” ― Dr. Seuss

Self-Respect Quotes

Respect yourself before you expect others to. Take the time to consider the following quotes and look at yourself through the lens they provide.

“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” ― Charlotte Brontë

“The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters.” ― Dan Coppersmith

“I started living the day I learned to respect and accept myself completely.” ― Maxime Lagacé

“You will never gain anyone’s approval by begging for it. When you stand confident in your own worth, respect follows.” ― Mandy Hale

“Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?” ― A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

“Respect yourself and others will respect you.” ― Confucius

“I think the most important thing in life is self-love, because if you don’t have self-love, and respect for everything about your own body, your own soul, your own capsule, then how can you have an authentic relationship with anyone else?” ― Shailene Woodley

“They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character, his self-respect, or his self-confidence. He is still a King.” ― Orison Swett Marden

“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

“Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel

Low Self Esteem Quotes

Many others have been where you are, now. Allow the empathy and truth in these quotes to remind you that you’re not alone and that, if others can rise out of the pit, so can you.

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” ― Mark Twain

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” ― Louise L. Hay

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

“I had to grow to love my body. I did not have a good self-image at first. Finally it occurred to me, I’m either going to love me or hate me. And I chose to love myself. Then everything kind of sprung from there. Things that I thought weren’t attractive became sexy. Confidence makes you sexy.” ― Queen Latifah

“Your problem is you're too busy holding onto your unworthiness.” ― Ram Dass

“Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world making the most of one's best.” ― Harry Emerson Fosdick

“It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes.” ― Sally Field

“To establish true self-esteem, we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” ― Denis Waitley

“Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on.” ― Maxwell Maltz

“To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections.” ― Sandra Bierig

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” ― Marie Curie

“If one is estranged from oneself, then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.” ― Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” ― Vincent van Gogh

Did these self-esteem quotes help you today?

I hope you enjoyed these self-esteem quotes and that they gave you the boost you need to feel better about yourself.

Read your favorite quotes throughout the day for a booster shot of self-esteem.

You can even create a journal of your own with a favorite quote to meditate on each day or week.

However you use them, the important thing is that you become more aware of your value, so you can make the most of your gifts and inspire others — just as I hope these quotes inspired you.

May your courage and resilience influence everything you do today.