73 Self-Motivation Quotes to Help You Get Through Difficult Times

Life has ups and downs, but a positive attitude will strengthen you in the face of adversity, while negativity will weaken you. It would help if you had the right self-motivation quotes to keep your spirits up and remain positive.

Motivation is an external or internal process that creates a desire for change to satisfy a need or an objective. Each person has different motivations, and the degree of motivation they have to achieve what they want will depend on them.

When one is self-motivated, one can initiate a process by themselves without immediate encouragement or coercion from others. They will also carry out the necessary operations carefully and consistently until they have achieved their goals. Self-motivated people are committed to their goals, take the initiative, are resilient, and are optimistic.

To help boost your spirit and become motivated yourself, check out these 73 self-motivation quotes.

Wayne Dyer's quote: "If you don't love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won't be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self." | Image: AmoDays

Self-Motivation Quotes to Help You Build Trust in Yourself

"Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction." ― Germany Kent

"Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives. The vision of your true destiny does not reside within the blinkered outlook of the naysayers and the doom prophets. Judge not by their words, but accept advice based on the evidence of actual results. Do not be surprised should you find a complete absence of anything mystical or miraculous in the manifested reality of those who are so eager to advise you. Friends and family who suffer the lack of abundance, joy, love, fulfillment and prosperity in their own lives really have no business imposing their self-limiting beliefs on your reality experience." ― Anthon St. Maarten

"You are your master. Only you have the master keys to open the inner locks." ― Amit Ray

"You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can't have it." ― Dr. Robert Anthony

"Do not depend on a good motivator! Find your words of self-motivation!" ― Toba Beta

Amit Ray's quote: "You are your master. Only you have the master keys to open the inner locks." | Image: AmoDays

"Raise your awareness and share your uniqueness to the world." ― Amit Ray

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

"Always be yourself and have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and try to duplicate it." ― Bruce Lee

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less-than-perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful." ― Mark Victor Hansen

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." ― Golda Meir

Bruce Lee's quote: "Always be yourself and have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and try to duplicate it." | Image: AmoDays

"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do." ― Dr. Benjamin Spock

"Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love." ― Brené Brown

"Don't waste your energy trying to change opinions … Do your thing, and don't care if they like it." ― Tina Fey

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

"Let your creative and imaginative mind run freely; it will take you places you never dreamed of and provide breakthroughs that others once thought were impossible." ― Idowu Koyenikan

Tina Fey's quote: "Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions … Do your thing, and don't care if they like it." | Image: AmoDays

"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

"Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all." ― Nathan W. Morris

"It is confidence in our bodies, minds, and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures." ― Oprah Winfrey

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

"Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends." ― Author-Poet Aberjhani

Nathan W. Morris's quote: "Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It's your masterpiece after all." | Image: AmoDays

Self-Motivation Quotes for a Better Understanding of Your Inner Nature

"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?" ― Marianne Williamson

"Most people can motivate themselves to do things simply by knowing that those things need to be done. But not me. For me, motivation is this horrible, scary game where I try to make myself do something while I actively avoid doing it. If I win, I have to do something I don't want to do. And if I lose, I'm one step closer to ruining my entire life. And I never know whether I'm going to win or lose until the last second." ― Allie Brosh

"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

"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

"You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe deserve your love and affection." ― Buddha

Idowu Koyenikan's quote: "Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside." | Image: AmoDays

"Confidence is a habit that can be developed by acting as if you already had the confidence you desire to have." ― Brian Tracy

"Depression weighs you down like a rock in a river. You don't stand a chance. You can fight and pray and hope you have the strength to swim, but sometimes, you have to let yourself sink. Because you'll never know true happiness until someone or something pulls you back out of that river― and you'll never believe it until you realize it was you, yourself, who saved you." ― Alysha Speer

"If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think." ― T. Harv Eker

"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." ― Dale Carnegie

"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

Parker Palmer's quote: "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." | Image: AmoDays

"Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical." ― Sophia Loren

"There is a God part in you. The consciousness. The pure Self. Learn to listen to the voice of that Power." ― Amit Ray

"The first place where self-esteem begins its journey is within us." ― Stephen Richards

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance." ― Oscar Wilde

"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." ― Sir Edmund Hillary

Stephen Richards' quote: "The first place where self-esteem begins its journey is within us." | Image: AmoDays

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you." ― William Jennings Bryan

Self-Motivation Quotes That Promote the Value of Positive Thinking

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." ― Helen Keller

"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

"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

Helen Keller's quote: "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." | Image: AmoDays

"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 consistent focus on your goals and desires." ― Stephen Richards

"Write it on your heart you are the most beautiful soul of the Universe. Realize it, honor it and celebrate the life." ― Amit Ray

"Stand up for who you are. Respect yourself and ignite the divine sparks in you. Access your powers. Choose your rights and work together with others to bring blessings into their lives." ― Amit Ray

"Manifesting is a lot like making a cake. The things needed are supplied by you, the mixing is done by your mind and the baking is done in the oven of the universe." ― Stephen Richards

"It is not enough if you just live life as it comes to you like a floating leaf in a pond. Make use of the powers bestowed in you and soar like an eagle." ― Stephen Richards

Stephen Richards' quote: "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 consistent focus on your goals and desires." | Image: AmoDays

"A good self-esteem level is mostly dependant on how we value ourselves without any bias." ― Stephen Richards

"Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself, and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive." ― Brittany Burgunder

"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

"The thing that makes you say, "I want to do something"—that is the beginning of talent." ― Stella Adler

"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

Stephen Richards' quote: "A good self-esteem level is mostly dependant on how we value ourselves without any bias." | Image: AmoDays

"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do." ― Eleanor Roosevelt

"Low self-confidence isn't a life sentence. Self-confidence can be learned, practiced, and mastered―just like any other skill. Once you master it, everything in your life will change for the better." ― Barrie Davenport

"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation." ― Arthur Ashe

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

"But failure has to be an option in art and in exploration―because it's a leap of faith. And no important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks ... " ― James Cameron

Eleanor Roosevelt's quote: "You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do." | Image: AmoDays

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." ― Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong." ― Peter T. Mcintyre

"Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they're yours." ― Richard Bach

"The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable." ― Paul Tillich

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." ― Thomas Alva Edison

Paul Tillich's quote: "The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable." | Image: AmoDays

"Shyness has a strange element of narcissism, a belief that how we look, how we perform, is truly important to other people." ― Andre Dubus

"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

"When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." ― Jean Shinoda Bolen

"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

Brigham Young's quote: "Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?" | Image: AmoDays

"To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." ― Robert Morley

"Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we'll ever do." ― Brené Brown

"One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself." ― Shannon L. Alder

"Once you embrace your value, talents, and strengths, it neutralizes when others think less of you." ― Rob Liano

"You are enough just as you are." ― Meghan Markle

Robert Morley's quote: "To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." | Image: AmoDays

"If you don't love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won't be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self." ― Wayne Dyer

"Loving yourself isn't vanity. It's sanity." ― Katrina Mayer

"The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself." ― Maya Angelou

"It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself." ― Diane Von Furstenberg

Katrina Mayer's quote: "Loving yourself isn't vanity. It's sanity." | Image: AmoDays

It is normal to have fears and concerns as these have served as powerful motivators. Positively motivating yourself can be difficult, and motivation is very individual.

In the long run, you will only succeed in being motivated if you want to! When you are motivated, you realize your ideas and wishes because the best drive comes from within. Effective self-motivation is one of the essential skills that distinguishes successful people from unsuccessful ones.

If you need more words on self-motivation, then these quotes on focusing on yourself for yourself will help remind you why your priorities matter.