Sometimes all you need is a gentle reminder that being yourself is the best thing you can do to be genuinely happy.
There is no one else like you in the world because you are special and unique from the moment you were born. So be bold and true to yourself. Recognize the true you and the best version of you that you can become.
Learn how to live your life authentically rather than faking or forcing it. Having the life you want and deserve requires trusting yourself and your purpose in life.
As a way of encouraging you to be YOU, we compiled a list of 60 of the best quotes about being yourself from iconic people in media and history that will motivate and encourage you to truly embrace the unique person that you are.
60 Best Quotes About Being Yourself
Quotes about being yourself and being happy
A flower doesn’t expect love. She is happy with herself. If she gets love, she celebrates.
– Debasish Mridha
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don’t compromise yourself – you’re all you have.
– John Grisham
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.
– Lao Tzu
When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. Encouragement should come from the inside.
– Joel Osteen
One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.
– Shannon L. Alder
We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.
– Francois de la Rochefoucauld
To help yourself, you must be yourself. Be the best that you can be. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.
– Dave Pelzer
Just be yourself, let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful & magical person that you are.
– Mandy Hale
The only way you’re going to get through life, happily, is being yourself.
– Nikki Blonsky
Being happy is something that each of us determines, it is not something that we find outside of yourself, it is within us and our choice.
– Catherine Pulsifer
Be happy without comparing yourself to others.
– Unknown
Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.
– John B. Sheerin
Why try to be someone you’re not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required.
– Robert Brault
Fully accepting, loving, and being yourself allows you to be 100% authentic. This means being fully responsible for yourself.
– John Felitto
Inspirational quotes about being yourself
Don’t worry what people say or what people think. Be yourself.
– Brett Hull
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. – Bruce Lee
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 self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are.
– Beyoncé
The things that make me different are the things that make me.
– Winnie the Pooh
Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.
– Harold Whitman
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. Maruch
I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.
– Jimi Hendrix
No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.
– Buckminster Fuller
You have your own challenges, and you, too, are imperfect. But you are the perfect YOU!
– Nick Vujicic
It sounds so simple, but if you just be yourself, you’re different than anyone else.
– Tony Bennett
Why escape your intended purpose by copying and trying to be someone else? You will discover who you were meant to be only after you have shown confidence being yourself.
– Suzy Kassem
Do not bend yourself to make others feel taller. When someone comes at you telling you what you are and slapping a label on you, simply ask them why. Why would you say that? Make THEM think.
– Rose McGowan
Don’t wish to be normal. Wish to be yourself. To the hilt. Find out what you’re best at, and develop it, and hopscotch your weaknesses. Wish to be great at whatever you are.
– Lois McMaster Bujold
Be yourself. Follow your heart. I know it sounds obvious, but it’s the best advice at anyone ever. Take advice from other people, but take from it what feels right for you.
– Michael Stipe
Funny quotes about being yourself
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
– Margaret Mead
I want to get paid to be myself. Sounds smart until you realize you’re clueless about who you are.
– Koki Oyuke
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
– Oscar Wilde
Be the person your dog thinks you are.
– Ricky Gervais
Ever loved someone so much, you would do anything for them? Yeah, well make that someone yourself and do whatever the hell you want.
– Harvey Specter, ‘Suits’
I’m not confused. I’m just well mixed.
– Robert Frost
So whatever you want to do, just do it…Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential.
– Gloria Steinem
Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that.
– Ellen DeGeneres
A wise woman once said, “fuck this shit” and lived happily ever after.
– Unknown
RIP to all the hours I spent explaining myself to other people.
– Unknown
Be messy, complicated, and afraid. And show up, anyway.
– Glennon Doyle
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.
– Jim Henson
I’ve always loved the idea of not being who people expect me to be.
– Unknown
I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not, but if you’d like to see me as someone who is funny, gorgeous, rich, and famous, that’s fine with me.
– Unknown
I’m not offended by blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb. And I also know that I’m not blonde.
– Dolly Parton
Quotes of life about being yourself
Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.
– Nelson Mandela
You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Don’t chase people. Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard. The right people—the ones who really belong in your life—will come to you, and stay.
– Will Smith
Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are.
– Julius Charles Hare
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. Be you and live free. Trust that in living true to yourself, you will attract people that support and love you, just as you are.
– Jaeda deWalt
The best advice I’ve ever got is to be yourself. Stay true to who you are and what you stand for and you’ll go far in life.
– Snoop Dogg
You cannot change what you are, only what you do.
– Philip Pullman
Take care not to listen to anyone who tells you what you can and can’t be in life.
– Meg Medina
Just try to be yourself and resist complacency and ignorance. All you can do is work, work; work and be disciplined.
– Raoul Peck
Success will come. Or it won’t. But I think you can only make a go at it in a big way by fully being yourself and taking risks. People can feel risks.
– Caroline Polachek
Always be yourself. At the end of the day, that’s all you’ve really got; when you strip everything down, that’s all you’ve got, so always be yourself.
– Al Roker
I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.
– Carl Jung
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
Find your place on the planet. Dig in and take responsibility from there.
– Gary Snyder
Being confident is the key to life. Don’t be afraid to be you! I’m super different from a lot of kids my age with style and personality, and I’m OK with it. And if you are OK with it, everyone else will be, too. Just be yourself.
– Leo Howard
Importance of being yourself
Everyone is unique in this life. There may be some similarities, probably for purposes of connection and finding your tribe, but you, the real YOU inside are the only one in this world.
So it is important that you develop the YOU that you are, not the YOU that others expect and think of you. Because being yourself makes you happier, more inclined to improve yourself, more open to new ideas, more friendly, and more confident, among other things.
Being yourself does not imply being selfish or unconcerned about others. It is being true to yourself, and loving yourself for who you are and who you will become.
It means living your life the way you want to live it, regardless of what others think. This is because you value yourself and believe in your ability to know what is best for yourself.
Also, in the end, everyone has their own life and is free to live it on their own terms and conditions.
Finally, by being yourself, you will gain a number of advantages that are necessary for success in life, such as:
- Living in alignment with your values and beliefs. Knowing yourself, your values, and your reasons for doing what you do will allow you to live according to your personal philosophies rather than being influenced by the values and beliefs of others.
- Establishing your own identity. When you develop a solid foundation for being yourself, you are establishing your own sense of identity. No matter what happens in your life, you will always know who you are and will not easily conform to other people’s ideas of you and lose yourself as a result of this.
- Building courage. Being true to oneself is a difficult challenge that requires, and thus develops, courage and inner strength. A well-developed courage as a result of being yourself allows you to become confident in yourself and to know that whatever comes your way, you will be able to handle it.
- Establishing Boundaries. Being yourself allows you to understand your limits and the boundaries you must set for yourself. When you are true to yourself, you are more likely to notice when others begin to take advantage of you.
- Finding focus and direction. You are more likely to have focus and direction in your life when you accept yourself for who you truly are. You will most likely know what goals you want to achieve and how to achieve them. And you will be able to maintain your focus as well as the path to take in order to achieve your goals.
So there you have it, once you realize that you only have to work hard on yourself and for yourself, your life will surely change for the better. Your acceptance and love for your uniqueness will definitely bring you genuine happiness.
How to be true to yourself
As mentioned earlier, being yourself is a constant challenge, particularly in light of the proliferation and dominance of social media.
Also, it might not even be clear what being yourself actually means. Because surely it is not about doing whatever you want, whenever you want since there are consequences to our every thought and action.
Being yourself, therefore, is more about strength, courage, and balance.
It is about valuing and respecting yourself in the same way that you value and look up to others. That can be a difficult combination to maintain at times because we are not always in situations where we feel safe, accepted, and supported.
So, here are some simple pointers to help you start being yourself.
Accept accountability
Take responsibility for your actions. and keep in mind that you are accountable for your words, actions, reactions, and decisions.
When you realize this, you will be free of the shackles of other people’s opinions. This is due to the awareness that, for something to change, all you really need to do is work and improve yourself.
You are not defined by your circumstances or the people around you. You have that power within you. And you have the freedom to be yourself and grow into your best self.
Acknowledge your feelings
Whatever emotion you are feeling right now, whether it is sadness, anger, guilt, grief, regret, fear, jealousy, or any other. Know that it serves a purpose. It does not simply materialize from nowhere.
However, as humans, we have a tendency to avoid pain and the emotions that we need to feel. As a result, we lie and drift further away from our true selves.
So, in order to be yourself, you must acknowledge and respect your feelings. Recognize that there is a reason for your emotions. Take a moment to reflect on them so you are better prepared to move forward.
Be truthful to yourself
Many people are unsure of what they want or who they are. So how can they possibly acknowledge something when they have no idea what it is?
Introspection should thus be a fundamental activity that you must intentionally devote time to as early in your life as possible.
Ask yourself open-ended questions like, What is important to you? What do you want to achieve? What are your life values? What are the things you will never give up? What are the things you are willing to sacrifice? What are your strong points and weak points? Can you put up with your flaws? If not, can you improve on them?
Asking yourself these questions and honestly answering them can help you understand who you are. To be true to yourself, you must first understand what is true for you.
Consider it an investment in yourself to spend time getting to know yourself.
Take courage and be patient with yourself
Being true to yourself is difficult. If it were easy, there wouldn’t be so many people in their middle and old age who regret not listening to their hearts, not doing what they really wanted to do, and not truly living their lives.
So, courage is an important trait to have in life, especially when it comes to being yourself. It’s your life, and you only get one shot, so make the most of it by being yourself.
Because regret is the one thing that will bring you the most grief in later life. The future is not guaranteed, and neither is your presence in it.
As such, instead of wasting time living other people’s lives, live your own. Make big plans. Follow your dreams. Fail. Bounce back and try again. So that when you are on your deathbed, you can rest assured that you have done everything you can and can “go gentle into that good night.”
Along with courage, you also need patience. With yourself and your progress.
As it is, accepting yourself and working on yourself for the better does not happen overnight. It takes time. Plenty of time. To better understand yourself, to better assess situations, and to make life-changing decisions without rushing into them.
Prioritize yourself
To reiterate, your life is your own. As such, any decision you make for yourself should be prioritized, along with the knowledge that it is the best thing for your life and overall well-being. Regardless of whether or not others agree with them.
We are often afraid of causing someone sadness, rejection, or disappointment because we are close to them, look up to them, or they have played a significant role in our lives. We would like them to agree with us. We want their approval and support for our choices.
However, if you are committed to being yourself, you must take a stand. Do not let unjustified expectations of others influence your best decisions. Go after what you want while keeping your values and beliefs in mind.
Prioritizing yourself enables you to live your life smoothly and effectively, bringing your best efforts to whatever priorities and challenges come your way. So, pay attention to your needs and always, always, remain true to yourself.
Make time for fun
Finally, make time to infuse some fun, leisure, games, and adventure into your life. Do something you enjoy. Do not let your hectic schedule keep you from connecting with yourself. Every now and then, let your hair down. It will be worth it.
Furthermore, you are all about being yourself when you are doing things that are close to your heart, bring you peace, and make you smile. And what a great way to connect with and strengthen yourself!
Regardless of how busy you become or how many responsibilities you rack up. Keep in mind that you are solely responsible for your happiness.
Conclusion
To conclude, being true to yourself is difficult. It takes time and a great deal of courage, as well as patience, to truly discover and accept yourself as you are.
However difficult, it is important that you remain true to yourself because it is what makes you happier, more inclined to improve yourself, more open to new ideas, more friendly, and more confident, among other things.
In addition, being yourself is about valuing and respecting yourself in the same way that you value and look up to others. That can be a difficult combination to maintain at times because we are not always in situations where we feel safe, accepted, and supported. So, here are some simple pointers to help you start being yourself:
- Accept accountability for your actions,
- Acknowledge your feelings,
- Be truthful to yourself
- Take courage and be patient with yourself,
- Prioritize yourself, and
- Make time for fun.
Please share your thoughts or ideas about 60 Best Quotes About Being Yourself To Be Genuinely Happy in the comments below. For more quotes, check out…
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