130+ Best Be Yourself Quotes—Live Life on Your Own Terms

Being yourself sounds simple, but it’s something we all struggle with from time to time. We live in a world where comparison is constant, and the pressure to fit in can feel overwhelming.

But deep down, we all know that the only way to truly live a fulfilling life is to embrace who we are, flaws and all. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it.

In this collection of quotes, you’ll find wisdom from famous figures, all reminding you why being yourself is so important. Whether you need a little motivation, some uplifting words, or just a good laugh, these quotes have you covered.

Best Be Yourself Quotes

• “Be yourself, but always your better self.” — Karl G. Maeser
• “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton
• “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” — Mahatma Gandhi
• “Don’t try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough.” — Arthur Freed
• “Don’t compromise yourself—you’re all you have.” — Janis Joplin

• “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” — Maya Angelou
• “Just be yourself, there is no one better.” — Taylor Swift
• “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” — Marilyn Monroe
• “Be yourself, don’t take anything from anyone, and never let them take you alive.” — Gerard Way
• “If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.” — Maya Angelou
• “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” — Coco Chanel
• “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
• “This above all: to thine own self be true.” — William Shakespeare, Hamlet
• “It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” — André Gide

• “Be yourself. People don’t have to like you, and you don’t have to care.”
• “When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.” — Lao Tzu
• “Don’t let others box you into their idea of what they think you should be. A confined identity is a miserable way to exist.” — Golda Poretsky
• “If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.” ― Frank Zappa
• “Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” — John Jakes
• “You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” — Louise Hay

Inspirational Be Yourself Quotes

• “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” ― Harvey Fierstein
• “About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all.” ― Rita Mae Brown
• “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.” — Steve Jobs
• “I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” — Brené Brown

• “Don’t dilute yourself for any person or any reason. You are enough! Be unapologetically you.” — Steve Maraboli
• “You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less what people think of you.” — Robert Greene
• “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
• “Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.” — Jim Carrey
• “Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.” — Ellen Sue Stern

• “The more you try to crush your true nature, the more it will control you. Be what you are. No one who really loves you will stop.” ― Cassandra Clare
• “Never apologize for burning too brightly or collapsing into yourself every night. That is how galaxies are made.” ― Tyler Kent White
• “We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.” — Virginia Satir
• “I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” — Johnny Depp
• “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” ― St. Catherine of Siena
• “Never complain, never explain. Resist the temptation to defend yourself or make excuses.” — Brian Tracy

Thought-Provoking Be Yourself Quotes

• Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. — Steve Jobs
• “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  
• “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” ― Bernard M. Baruch
• “He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.” — Raymond Hull

• “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” — Kurt Vonnegut
• “We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.” — André Berthiaume
• “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” — E.E. Cummings
• “The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.” — Rita Mae Brown
• “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” — Malcolm S. Forbes

• “You were not born on earth to please anyone; you have to live life to express yourself, not to impress someone. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, and never lose yourself in search of other people’s acceptance and approval.” ― Roy T. Bennett
• “The little things, I can obey. The big things—how we think, what we value—those you must choose yourself. You can’t let anyone—or any society—determine those for you.” ― Mitch Albom
• “Some people say you are going the wrong way, when it’s simply a way of your own.” — Angelina Jolie
• “Take care not to listen to anyone who tells you what you can and can’t be in life.” — Meg Medina
• “When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn’t.” — Jodi Picoult

Short Be Yourself Quotes

• “You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” — John Mason
• “The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh
• “Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” — Allen Ginsberg
• “If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.” — David Carradine
• “To find yourself, think for yourself.” — Socrates

• “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” — Steve Jobs
• “Be yourself—the world worships the original.” — Ingrid Bergman
• “You change the world by being yourself.” — Yoko Ono
• “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E.E. Cummings
• “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot
• “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” — Dr. Seuss

• “You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities.” — Oprah Winfrey
• “Be yourself; no one can say you’re doing it wrong.” — Charles M. Schulz
• “You are enough just as you are.” — Meghan Markle
• “Be who you are, not who the world wants you to be.” — Coco Chanel
• “Never apologize for being yourself.” — Paulo Coelho
• “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde
• No one is you and that is your power.

Funny Be Yourself Quotes

• “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” — Margaret Mead
• “I’m not weird, I’m limited edition.”
• “Don’t worry about what people think. They don’t do it very often.”
• “People will stare. Make it worth their while.” — Harry Winston

• “Be yourself, but if you can be a unicorn, always be a unicorn.”
• “I tried to be normal once. Worst two minutes of my life.”
• “You can’t make everyone happy. You aren’t tacos.”
• “It’s not your job to like me… that’s my job!”

Be Yourself Quotes for Women

• “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” — Malala Yousafzai
• “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform.” — Diane Mariechild
• “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” — Coco Chanel
• “Don’t be the girl who fell. Be the girl who got back up.” — Jenette Stanley
• “There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” — Michelle Obama
• “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

• “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” — Nora Ephron
• “I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.” — Calamity Jane
• “Never apologize for being a powerful woman.”
• “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” — Emma Stone
• “I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.” — Madonna
• “The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence.” — Beyoncé
• “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Maya Angelou  
• “She believed she could, so she did.” — R.S. Grey
• “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” — Emma Watson

• “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” — Oprah Winfrey
• “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
• “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” — Michelle Obama
• “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• “Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” — Jennifer Lopez
• “There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.” ― Steve Maraboli
• “‎Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put on some sunglasses, cuz we were born this way bitch!” ― Lady Gaga

Be Yourself Quotes for Success

• “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
• “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” — Anne Sweeney
• “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” — Maya Angelou

• “Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” — David Frost
• “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer
• “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” — Christian D. Larson
• “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” — P.T. Barnum
• “It’s better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” — Herman Melville
• “Authenticity is the alignment of head, mouth, heart, and feet—thinking, saying, feeling, and doing the same thing—consistently. This builds trust, and followers love leaders they can trust.” — Lance Secretan

Quotes About Embracing Your Flaws

• “Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, magical person that you are.” — Mandy Hale
• “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
• “I think every single imperfection adds to your beauty. I’d rather be imperfect than perfect.” — Sonam Kapoor
• “Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” — Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones

• “Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
• “Flaws are the things that make us unique.”
• “The thing that makes you different or weird—that’s your strength.” — Meryl Streep
• “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” — Alfred Adler
• “Be sure what you want and be sure about yourself. Fashion is not just beauty, it’s about good attitude. You have to believe in yourself and be strong.” — Adriana Lima
• “There is beauty in everything, even in silence and darkness.” — Helen Keller
• “You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.”
• “You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” — Amy Bloom

Quotes About Being Yourself in Relationships

• “A great relationship is about two things: First, appreciating the similarities, and second, respecting the differences.”
• “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow—this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
• “A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be himself — to laugh with me, but never at me; to cry with me, but never because of me. Such a relationship is based upon freedom and can never grow in a jealous heart.” — Leo Buscaglia  
• “Don’t settle for a relationship that won’t let you be yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey

• “You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”
• “Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” — James Baldwin
• “The best relationships are those where you can be your true self, no masks, no facades.”
• “The right person will love you for who you are, not who they want you to be.”
• “Let go of the ones who can’t handle the real you.”
• “The best relationships are built on a foundation of accepting each other’s true selves.”
• “You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” — Oscar Wilde

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