Looking for some inspiration to kick off a new chapter of growth or jumpstart your next evolution? Regardless of your goals, these words — from some of the most notable authors, scientists, artists, philosophers, politicians, activists, business professionals and athletes — are sure to resonate.
Bookmark these 50 best personal growthquotes to draw upon in the months ahead.
Quotes for a Growth Mindset
When your goal is personal development, fostering a growth mindset is a crucial first step.
- “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou
- “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” - Ernest Hemingway
- “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” - Carrie Fisher
- “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” - Abraham Maslow
- “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” - Oprah Winfrey
- “When we’re growing up there are all sorts of people telling us what to do when really what we need is space to work out who to be.” - Elliot Page
- “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” - Frederick Douglass
- “Permit yourself to change your mind when something is no longer working for you.” - Nedra Glover Tawwab
- “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” - Chinese Proverb
- “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” - Carl Bard
Quotes About Change
Sometimes the word "change" is intimidating — but it doesn't have to be. Whether you're experiencing shifts in your personal life, changing careersor navigating changes in the workplace, these quotes can help you alter your perspective and embrace what's ahead on your path to personal growth.
- “Change brings opportunity.” - Nido Qubein
- “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.” - Marilyn Monroe
- “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” - Steve Maraboli
- “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” - Deborah Day
- “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” - Rob Siltanen
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis
- “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall
- “Change is made of choices, and choices are made of character.” - Amanda Gorman
- “Tradition is nothing but ancestral peer pressure.” - Indya Moore
- “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” - John F. Kennedy
Quotes About Education
There's no doubt that education is important, and for many, personal growth and education go hand in hand. The following quotes might inspire you to harness education to usher in a new chapter of your life that's defined by knowledge and opportunity.
- “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X
- “A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.” - Helen Keller
- “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” - Walt Disney
- “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” - John Dewey
- “You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.” - Cesar Chavez
- “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” - Bill Nye
- “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” - Benjamin Franklin
- “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
- “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” - Sydney J. Harris
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” - Malala Yousafzai
Quotes About Success
People often think of achievement as an end goal, but if you're wondering how to be successful, you should prepare for an ongoing process of growth and self-discovery. Look to these quotes remind you of what's really important on your personal quest for success.
- “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” - Albert Einstein
- “The swiftest way to triple your success is to double your investment in personal development.” - Robin Sharma
- “I would like to think that all of my successes in life are really just the fruit of my failures.” - Yvie Oddly
- “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” - Warren Buffett
- “Always work hard and have fun in what you do because I think that's when you're more successful. You have to choose to do it.” - Simone Biles
- “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” - Thomas Jefferson
- “Failure is not the opposite of success; it is a stepping stone towards it.” - Sundar Pichai
- “When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” - Karen E. Quinones Miller
- “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” - Babe Ruth
- “Success isn't about the end result, it's about what you learn along the way.” - Vera Wang
Quotes About Life
Because personal growth is a long-term effort, you're bound to encounter obstacles along the way. These quotes might help you find your life directionor guide you toward growth when you're facing hardship or feeling discouraged.
- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
- “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” - Rick Warren
- “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” - Shonda Rhimes
- “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” - Diane von Furstenberg
- “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you… never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe
- “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” - Les Brown
- “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experiences that reveals the human spirit.” - e.e. cummings
- “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.” - Kevin Ngo
- “It is never too late to be who you might have been.” - George Eliot
- “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” - Dolly Parton
Whether you’re pursuing a new dream, working hard toward ongoing goals or making a plan to transform your life in some way, you're bound to encounter challenges along the way. But those challenges could be a gateway to growth and new opportunities.
If you find any of these quotes particularly inspirational, consider printing them out and posting them in the places you view often throughout the day. Sometimes a simple quote can impact you in the most positive of ways.
Know someone who needs a bit of motivation? Share these quotes and help them on their personal growth journey.
Mars Girolimon '21 '23G is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University where they earned their bachelor's and master's, both in English and creative writing. In addition to their work in higher education, Girolimon's short fiction is published in the North American Review, So It Goes by The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, X-R-A-Y and more. They're currently writing their debut novel, which was Longlisted for The First Pages Prize. Connect with them on LinkedIn.
