Personal Growth and Development Quotes

This thought-provoking collection of personal growth and development quotes will inspire you on your journey of self-awareness and personal development.

Personal growth and development can mean many things to different people.

What we consider a small improvement, maybe a great show of growth for another.

We all have strengths and weaknesses.

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According to a study by The Conference Board, over 53% of American workers are dissatisfied with their jobs.

This statistic emphasizes the importance of personal growth and development to find fulfillment and purpose in one’s career.

One person growing by leaps and bounds in an area that someone else already has natural abilities at can look very different.

We all need to measure ourselves on an individual basis, to give ourselves credit where credit is due.

Here are some personal growth quotes that will help drive this idea home.

Also, check out our list of garden quotes that inspire personal growth.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Check out more inspirational quotes on our motivational quotes category page.

The Most Inspiring Personal Growth Quotes To Live By

A study by LinkedIn found that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development.

This statistic emphasizes the importance of employers investing in their employees’ personal growth and development.

1. “Be the change you want to see in this world.” – Gandhi

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2. “In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.” – The Dalai Lama

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3. “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

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4. “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how” – Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

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5. “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho

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6. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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7. “What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

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8. “Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.” – Zig Ziglar

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9. “A man’s true delight is to do the things he was made for.” – Marcus Aurelius

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10. “We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world”  – Helen Keller 

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Positive Personal Growth Quotes and Sayings

According to a study by the University of Scranton, only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions actually achieve them.

This statistic highlights the importance of setting achievable goals and developing a plan for personal growth and development.

11. “There is one single thread binding my way together…the way of the Master consists in doing one’s best…that is all.” – Confucius

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12. “What holds most people back isn’t the quality of their ideas, but their lack of faith in themselves. You have to live your life as if you are already where you want to be.” – Russell Simmons

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13. “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 harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

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14. “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.” – Eckhart Tolle, The Power Of Now

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15. “The word courage comes from the same stem as the French word Coeur, meaning “heart.” Thus just as one’s heart, by pumping blood to one’s arms, legs, and brain enables all the other physical organs to function, so courage makes possible all the psychological virtues. Without courage other values wither away into mere facsimiles of virtue.” – Rollo May

16. “But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.” – Stephen R. Covey

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17. “You have to begin to tell the story of your life as you now want it to be and discontinue the tales of how it has been or of how it is.” – Esther and Jerry Hicks

18. “As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.” – James Allen

19. “Don’t take anything personally. Nothings others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

20. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Personal growth quotes that will inspire you to become your best version

21. “So what is the difference between “power thinking” and “positive” thinking? The distinction is slight but profound. To me, people use positive thinking to pretend that everything is rosy, when they really believe that it’s not. With power thinking, we understand that everything is neutral, that nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it, and that we are going to make up a story and give something it’s meaning.” – T. Harv Eker

22. “We all have something that we are meant to do. Your genius will shine through, and happiness will fill your life, the instant you discover your higher purpose you will then direct all your energies towards it.” – Robin Sharma

23. “What we call our destiny is truly our character and that character can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible for our actions and attitudes does not need to be discouraging, because it also means that we are free to change this destiny.” – Anaïs Nin

24. “We see men who have accumulated great fortunes, but we often recognize only their triumph, overlooking the temporary defeats which they had to surmount before “arriving.” – Napoleon Hill

25. “Of course motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing; but it is something you should do on a regular basis.” – Zig Ziglar

26. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” – Buddha

27. “You are essentially who you create yourself to be and all that occurs in your life is the result of your own making.” – Stephen Richards

28. “An education is not so much about making a living as making a person.”― Tara Westover

29. “The greatest investment you’ll ever make is investing in you.”― Wesam Fawzi

30. “It’s really not your business what others are doing. What matters is what you’re doing.”― Clyde Lee Dennis

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Personal development quotes to help you reach your highest potential

31. “The longest journey is the journey inward.”- Dag Hammarskjold

32. “We all have internal struggles and personal challenges. Do not let anyone make you feel bad about yours.”― Izey Victoria Odiase

33. “If the people in your circle aren’t contributing to your growth, then you’re not in a circle… you’re in a cage.”― Kianu Starr

34. “Without continuous personal development, you are now all that you will ever become.” – Eli Cohen

35. “We are either moving forward or moving backward. There is no such thing as standing still.”― Becky Williamson-Martin

36. “The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development.” – Jim Rohn

37. “Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.” ―Norman Mailer

38. “Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.” ―Morihei Ueshiba

39. “Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” – Brian Tracy

40. “There’s only one investment that will never go down — an investment in yourself.” ― Frank Sonnenberg

41. “You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” ― Henry David Thoreau

42. “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time, and energy needed to develop yourself.” ― Denis Waitley

43. “Man’s life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self.” ― B. R. Ambedkar

44. “Life is never incomplete if it is an honorable one. At whatever point you leave life, if you leave it in the right way, it is whole.” – Seneca

45. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ― Ernest Hemingway

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Personal growth quotes to elevate your perspective

46. “Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness.” – Jean Vanier

47. “Your job is to be the best that you can possibly be.” – Brain Tracy

48. “Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.” – Brian Tracy

49. “Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” – Jim Rohn

50. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” ― Denis Waitley

51. “We can’t become what we want to be by remaining what we are.” – Max DePree

52. “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” – Lao Tzu

53. “To double your income and success, triple your investment in personal development and professional mastery.” – Robin Sharma

54. “Change equals self-improvement. Push yourself to places you haven’t been before.” ―Pat Summitt

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55. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

More personal growth quotes and sayings

56. “Your inner strength is your outer foundation.” – Allan Rufus

57. “You don’t need to change the world; you need to change yourself.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

58. “Know who you are, and be it. Know what you want, and go out and get it!” – Carroll Bryant

59. “Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness.” – Deborah Day

60. “The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves.” – Bob Proctor

61. “See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it. It always works, it works every time with every person.” – Bob Proctor

62. “It is in the deconstruction of ourselves that we begin to build our lives.” – Delora Argiro OBrien

63. “Don’t allow yourself to be satisfied with your success. Critique what you’ve achieved and ask what you can learn from others.” – Oscar Auliq-Ice

64. “You are too great an entity to keep yourself all to yourself: purposefulness in life comes through sharing what you have to offer with others.” – Kain Ramsay

65. “Progress comes with practice, and practice comes with purpose. Know your “why.”” – Melissa Steginus

Personal growth quotes to change your perspective

66. “Dare to love yourself

as if you were a rainbow

with gold at both ends.”

– Aberjhani

67. “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”  – Nelson Mandela 

68. “I want to grow. I want to be better. You Grow. We all grow. We’re made to grow.”  – Tupac Shakur

69. “The top players in every field think differently when all the marbles are on the line. Great performers focus on what they are doing, and nothing else…They let it happen, let it go. They couldn’t care less about the results.” – John Eliot

70. “You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow.” – Idowu Koyenikan

71. “It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen.”  – Donald Miller

72. “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”  – Germany Kent 

73. “A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul.”  – Jillian Michaels 

74. “If pain doesn’t lead to humility, you have wasted your suffering.” – Katerina Stoykova Klemer

75. “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”  – Rainbow Rowell

Personal growth quotes to help spark change

76. “Make a pledge to yourself right now, to declare that you are worth your time and energy.” ― Deborah Day

77. “Manners and politeness will never become old-fashioned.” ― Oscar Auliq Ice

78. “Thoughts frame your portrait, action paints it.” ― Charles F. Glassman

79. “Having healthy boundaries not only requires being able to say “no”, but also being willing and able to enforce that “no” when necessary.” ― Jessica Moore

80. “Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.” ― Paul O’Brien

81. “Curiosity improved the cat.” ― Brandon Nankivell

82. “The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, “I was wrong.” ― Sydney J. Harris

83. “The gift of willingness is the only thing that stands between the quiet desperation of a disingenuous life and the actualization of unexpressed potential.” ― Jim McDonald

84. “The key to ultimate happiness and fulfillment lies within our own transformation. The more we learn and grow and evolve as individuals, the more we will find happiness and satisfaction in relationships, work and life.” ― Kristi Bowman

85. “If you know what to do to reach your goal, it’s not a big enough goal.” ― Bob Proctor

Personal growth quotes to ruminate on

86. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” ― Jane Goodall

87. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” ― Albert Einstein

88. “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

89. “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

90. “Don’t go through life, grow through life.” ― Eric Butterworth

91. “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” ― Oprah Winfrey

92. “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” ― Rob Siltanen     

93. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” ― Frederick Douglass

94. “Recognizing that you are not where you want to be is a starting point to begin changing your life.” ― Deborah Day

95. “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

Personal Growth Quotes To Be Yourself

96. “Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.” — Jim Rohn

97. “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” — E.E. cummings

98. “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” — Aldous Huxley

99. “If we’re really committed to growth, we never stop discovering new dimensions of self and self-expression.” — Oprah Winfrey

100. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw

101. “We don’t know who we are until we see what we can do.” — Martha Grimes

102. “If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.” — Lord Chesterfield

103. “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

104. “If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.” — Jim Rohn

105. “I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.” — Albert Einstein

Personal Growth Quotes To Focus On Youself

106. “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” — Bruce Lee

107. “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” — Aristotle

108. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Will Durant

109. “Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life.” — Herbert Otto Gille

110. “I tell people everywhere I go that my success began the day I started focusing on developing who I am as a person.” — Eric Thomas

111. “Setting goals is essential when it comes to personal development.” — Thibaut Meurisse

112. “Unless you’re continually improving your skills, you’re quickly becoming irrelevant.” — Stephen Covey

113. “Your personal development goals can lead you forward to a more rewarding life despite challenges, pitfalls or trials. You do have a choice and you do have the option.” — Byron Pulsifer

114. “If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development.” — Brian Tracy

115. “Stay focused on self-direction and personal growth and away from finger-pointing.” — Nina Atwood

Which of these personal growth quotes can you relate with, and why?

It does not matter what growth looks like to anyone else, or what they consider to be growth and development.

What matters is what we consider to be growth and development to US.

When we set goals, we see growth within ourselves.

We should celebrate it, NOT make it a matter of comparison to anyone else.

That is why we call it personal growth and development because it is individual, personal, and unique to each of us.