41 Inspiring Self-Esteem Quotes

In the journey of life, self-esteem acts as our compass, guiding us through challenges and triumphs alike. A healthy sense of self-worth empowers us to embrace our unique qualities, pursue our dreams, and overcome obstacles with confidence and resilience. At times, however, life’s demands can cause our self-esteem to waver. During such moments, turning to words of wisdom can reignite our inner spark and remind us of our intrinsic value. This carefully curated collection of 41 inspiring self-esteem quotes serves as a wellspring of encouragement and positivity, offering gentle reminders of the strength and potential that reside within each of us. Whether you're seeking a boost to tackle the day or a grounding affirmation to carry with you on your path, these quotes are sure to uplift and inspire.

1. “Never underestimate yourself” - Carolyn Mackler

2. “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

3. “I have no nostalgia for the patriarchy, please believe me. But what I have come to realize is that, when that patriarchic system was (rightfully) dismantled, it was not necessarily replaced by another form of protection. What I mean is--I never thought to ask a suitor the same challenging questions my father might have asked him, in a different age.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

4. “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

5. “Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” - Iyanla Vanzant

6. “We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentment and mortality.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

7. “Dare to love yourselfas if you were a rainbowwith gold at both ends.” - Author-Poet Aberjhani

8. “You almost have to step outside yourself and look at you as if you were someone else you really care about and really want to protect. Would you let someone take advantage of that person? Would you let someone use that person you really care about? Or would you speak up for them? If it was someone else you care about, you'd say something. I know you would. Okay, now put yourself back in that body. That person is you. Stand up and tell 'em, "Enough!” - Queen Latifah

9. “But there were certain moments in life that forever defined one as a person - in one's own estimation, anyway. And one's own self esteem, when all was said and done, was of far more importance than the fickle esteem of one's peers.” - Mary Balogh

10. “One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.” - Michael J. Fox

11. “If you want me, you'll have to earn me. And, mister, I don't come cheap.” - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

12. “Stop trying to 'fix' yourself; you're NOT broken! You are perfectly imperfect and powerful beyond measure.” - Steve Maraboli

13. “In the story of Ugly Duckling, when did the Ugly Duckling stop feeling Ugly? When he realized that he was a Swan. Each of us has something Special, a swan of some sort, hidden inside somewhere. But until we recognize that it's there, what can we do but splash around, treading water? The Wise are Who They Are. They work with what they've got and do what they can do.” - Benjamin Hoff

14. “Be the winner in your life!” - Dr. Tae Yun Kim

15. “Did I love what I was doing, or did I love myself in doing it?” - C. Terry Warner

16. “If we can acquire an attitude of self-belief, then we will surely determine our future actions and our future life opportunities.” - Stephen Richards

17. “Failing to make it to the list of the best 5 students in class or not being named the team captain should not make anyone feel like they have failed.” - Stephen Richards

18. “Thank you very Much, I enjoyed myself” - Richard P. Feynman

19. “A diamond doesn't start out polished and shining. It once was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular. I'm that diamond.” - Solange nicole

20. “Any situation, circumstance or challenge is just a distraction and as you remain true to your goals and trust in God they will fall away".” - Michele Woolley

21. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35).” - Michele Woolley

22. “"...we’re all fucking Duffs.” (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)“I’m not the Duff,” Wesley said confidently.“That’s because you don’t have friends.” (Bianca)“Oh. Right.”” - Kody Keplinger

23. “Beauty discrimination has become necessary, not from the perception that women will not be good enough, but that they will be, as they have been, twice as good.” - Naomi Wolf

24. “Men were created before women. ... But that doesn't prove their superiority – rather, it proves ours, for they were born out of the lifeless earth in order that we could be born out of living flesh. And what's so important about this priority in creation, anyway? When we are building, we lay foundations on the ground first, things of no intrinsic merit or beauty, before subsequently raising up sumptuous buildings and ornate palaces. Lowly seeds are nourished in the earth, and then later the ravishing blooms appear; lovely roses blossom forth and scented narcissi.” - Moderata Fonte

25. “Women who love themselves are threatening; but men who love real women, more so.” - Naomi Wolf

26. “Consumer culture is best supported by markets made up of sexual clones, men who want objects and women who want to be objects, and the object desired ever-changing, disposable, and dictated by the market. The beautiful object of consumer pornography has a built-in obsolescence, to ensure that as few men as possible will form a bond with one woman for years or for a lifetime, and to ensure that women's dissatisfaction with themselves will grow rather than diminish over time. Emotionally unstable relationships, high divorce rates, and a large population cast out into the sexual marketplace are good for business in a consumer economy. Beauty pornography is intent on making modern sex brutal and boring and only as deep as a mirror's mercury, anti-erotic for both men and women.” - Naomi Wolf

27. “For the first time in history, children are growing up whose earliest sexual imprinting derives not from a living human being, or fantasies of their own; since the 1960s pornographic upsurge, the sexuality of children has begun to be shaped in response to cues that are no longer human. Nothing comparable has ever happened in the history of our species; it dislodges Freud. Today's children and young men and women have sexual identities that spiral around paper and celluloid phantoms: from Playboy to music videos to the blank females torsos in women's magazines, features obscured and eyes extinguished, they are being imprinted with a sexuality that is mass-produced, deliberately dehumanizing and inhuman.” - Naomi Wolf

28. “Healthy" and "diseased," as Susan Sontag points out...are often subjective judgments that society makes for its own purposes. Women have long been defined as sick as a means of subjecting them to social control.” - Naomi Wolf

29. “A man is unlikely to be brought within earshot of women as they judge men's appearance, height, muscle tone, sexual technique, penis size, personal grooming, or taste in clothes--all of which we do. The fact is that women are able to view men just as men view women, as objects for sexual and aesthetic evaluation; we too are effortlessly able to choose the male "ideal" from a lineup and if we could have male beauty as well as everything else, most of us would not say no. But so what? Given all that, women make the choice, by and large, to take men as human beings first.” - Naomi Wolf

30. “You don't have to be like anyone else. You just need to learn more about your own creative self and start blooming.” - Deborah Day

31. “Beliefs that are good promote your potential and enhance your unique special qualities.” - Deborah Day

32. “Whatever one does, someone is always happy...then again, someone else is not pleased” - ArLeaBelle

33. “Most misunderstandings in the world could be avoided if people would simply take the time to ask, "What else could this mean?” - Shannon L. Alder

34. “There are so many more important things to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.” - Dennis Lehane

35. “It is not important for life to meet your great expectations. What is important is that you hold high expectations of yourself and meet them greatly.” - Dr Roopleen

36. “You are real! Everyone has to be different or the world would be really boring. If we all looked the same, then no one could tell us apart. -Janelle” - Tara Michener

37. “I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.” - Charlotte Brontë

38. “Try not to be in a hurry to get older because youth happens once in your life. Thereafter, old age stays with you forever.” - Chris Jirika

39. “When it comes to your self-esteem, it is best not to value the opinions of deluded psychopaths.” - Rosen Trevithick

40. “It's all me. I'm not just one flavor. You're not, either. So it all comes down to which 'you' you want to show the world.” - Cyn Balog

41. “People will ask you the question 'how is life treating you?' But my question is 'how are you treating life?' On that your happiness rests” - Rasheed Ogunlaru