The best ally we can have in life is ourselves. Knowing our worth, building our self-esteem, and being confident are beliefs we should work on daily. These are crucial not only at rock bottom but also in our peaks, whether in love, career, or online. So embrace yourself as you read our handpicked know your worth quotes below.
Quick links to our selection of know your worth quotes:
One simple first step you can take to help know your worth is cultivating a positive mindset with a pen and notebook:
We are all worthy. We just need a reminder! So keep these know your worth quotes in your bank of positive words. For more info, read up on the benefits of a positive attitude, or check out our happiness quotes for a range of positive perspectives.
"Maturity is learning to walk away from people and situations that threaten your peace of mind, self-respect, values, morals and self-worth."
"If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development."
"Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face."
"Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her."
"Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters."
We may think words with attached "self" at the beginning are similar - self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth. Yes, they have subtle differences, but they all boil down to how we feel about ourselves.
We have confidence in certain aspects of our lives. Nathaniel Branden, the author of The Psychology of Self-Esteem (here on Amazon), describes self-esteem as the combination of self-confidence and self-respect or the belief of being competent and worthy of living. At the core is self-worth, wherein we accept ourselves no matter what.
So what should you prioritize? Build your confidence and self-esteem, but remember to maintain your self-worth at the end of each day. May these know your worth quotes be your companion.
"You are the only person on earth who can use your ability."
"Know your worth, hold your own power, be you."
"Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth."
"Self-esteem is that deep-down inside our skin feeling you have of your own self-worth."
"We are the brightest star of our sky though we often fail to notice our own brilliance in the presence of others' light."
"You need to love yourself. Love yourself so much to the point that your energy and aura rejects anyone who doesn't know your worth."
"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself."
"With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world."
"You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks."
Like the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, we should strive for the right amount of confidence and self-esteem because having too high or too low of these traits can negatively affect our lives.
To elaborate, people with an overly inflated sense of self could come across as arrogant and unapproachable. Inversely, someone with low self-esteem could have a fixed mindset and feel worthless, thus not reaching their full potential (for more info, read about the difference between a fixed and growth mindset). Both extremes can lead to difficulty building and maintaining healthy relationships, achieving goals, and overall happiness.
As you read the following know your worth quotes, remember to strive for balance.
"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."
"Always be yourself and have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and try to duplicate it."
"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."
"Only if you love yourself, only if you're happy with yourself and only if you know your own worth will you ever be happy."
"Only you can make the decision for what you believe your worth is and that will determine how you allow people to treat you."
"Your net worth can fluctuate, but your self-worth should only appreciate."
"She understood her worth which made her powerful. The world gravely needed a hero so she became one. No superpowers really, just a strong woman who took no nonsense from anyone."
The phrase "love is blind" is scientifically accurate. According to neurobiologist Semir Zeki3, when engaging in romantic relationships, the brain's amygdala, responsible for helping humans stay safe through fear responses, shuts down. Also, our judgment, a prefrontal cortex function, declines.
Now we know why falling in love makes our minds go overdrive, we should remember to step back and think logically to make rational decisions. Because, in the end, choosing our better half is a critical decision.
Engage your rational thinking as these know your worth quotes remind you to slow down when in love.
"Dignity will only happen when you realize that having someone in your life doesn’t validate your worth."
"It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being."
"You know you’re in love when you don’t want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
"I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride."
"Chasing a person doesn’t give you value or build values in you. You earn your value by chasing morality and practicing dignity."
"So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you."
"Things of value require sacrifice. If people are too hurt, too busy or too damn stupid to see that you're a blessing they've been asking for, just fall back. Know your worth."
"The beautiful thing about love is that you just need to plant it once and nurture it and it shall bloom into blossoms that would cover the valleys."
"You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free."
Experiencing adverse events can have a significant impact on how the way we look and treat ourselves. It can lead us to doubt our abilities and feel inferior to others. But we have it in our hands to counteract these effects.
Aside from cultivating a positive mindset, as shared above, we should also be in the moment and quit comparing ourselves. I know it can be challenging, but we owe ourselves this compassion and respect.
If you still need support check out our mental health quotes after reading the know your worth quotes below.
"Sometimes walking away has nothing do with weakness, and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth and value, but because we finally realize our own."
"Only when you are aware of the uniqueness of everyone's individual body will you begin to have a sense of your own self-worth."
"The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I'm not going to let myself pull me down anymore."
"He who understands you is greater kin to you than your own brother. For even your own kindred neither understand you nor know your true worth."
"If you don't know your own value, somebody will tell you your value, and it'll be less than you're worth."
"Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend."
"You must find the courage to leave the table if respect is no longer being served."
As mentioned, self-worth is accepting ourselves no matter what happens. So we should never anchor our worth to external, fleeting, and worldly things. For example, success and failures do not directly measure our value. Our job and net worth also do not define us. Nor do our social media followers, grades, relationship status, and many more. Our possessions and social validations shouldn't determine our worth. Ideally, we should check how we behave toward ourselves and others.
Read the following know your worth quotes and our list of affirmations to remind yourself of your innate value.
"There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life. If you're holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you're wasting your time. You must be fearless enough to give yourself the love you didn't receive."
"True abundance isn't based on our net worth, it's based on our self-worth."
"You may be basing a portion of your self-worth on your bank account without even realizing it. Try to pinpoint the activities and qualities that, free of charge, fulfill you."
"Until you know your worth you'll continue to seek other people's approval just to feel good about yourself."
"When you understand that your self-worth is not determined by your net-worth, then you'll have financial freedom."
"The moment you feel like you have to prove your worth to someone is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away."
"Strong people have a strong sense of self-worth and self-awareness; they don’t need the approval of others."
"Retrieve your self-esteem so it is not dependent on how they do or don’t respond to you. You are enough. You are worthy."
Who do you look up to that inspires you to recognize your value? For women, the pioneering physicist and chemist Marie Curie and the mathematician who sent astronauts to the moon Katherine Johnson are a few of the thousands of ladies in STEM that inspire little girls today. In sports, we have Michael Jordan and Serena Williams. In art, we have Van Gogh and Bob Ross.
But aside from scientists, athletes, and artists, I believe the best people who continuously remind us of our worth are those close to us - our parents, friends, and life partners.
After picking the brains of famous people through their know your worth quotes below, remember to follow and surround yourself with people that benefit your self-worth.
"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."
"Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting."
"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."
"Only make decisions that support your self-image, self-esteem and self-worth."
"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him."
"We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves."
"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."
"Your sense of self worth comes from you alone. Never the opinion of others."
Nowadays, we compare ourselves with others more frequently on online platforms where people can filter photos or fabricate stories. According to a survey of 38,000 people, one in five participants remembered seeing a post that made them feel discouraged. Half of them wished they'd never seen the post, and a third felt glad for the person who posted.
The researchers concluded that social comparison is higher when people share positive aspects of their lives2. But when the pandemic hit and everyone was going through a tough time, social comparison online improved psychological well-being1.
"In your own life it's important to know how spectacular you are."
"The man of genius inspires us with a boundless confidence in our own powers."
"When you know your worth, no one can make you feel worthless."
"A person's worth in this world is estimated according to the value they put on themselves."
"Don't waste your energy trying to change opinions. Do your thing, and don't care if they like it."
"Self-talk reflects your innermost feelings."
"Low self-esteem is like driving through life with the handbrake on."
1 | Stefano Ruggieri, Sonia Ingoglia, Rubinia Celeste Bonfanti, Gianluca Lo Coco, The role of online social comparison as a protective factor for psychological wellbeing: A longitudinal study during the COVID-19 quarantine, Personality and Individual Differences, olume 171, 2021, 110486, ISSN 0191-8869 |
2 | Burke, Moira & Cheng, Justin & Gant, Bethany. (2020). Social Comparison and Facebook: Feedback, Positivity, and Opportunities for Comparison. 1-13. 10.1145/3313831.3376482. |
3 | S. Zeki, The neurobiology of love, FEBS Letters, Volume 581, Issue 14, 2007, Pages 2575-2579, ISSN 0014-5793 |