14 Personal Development Quotes That Will Motivate You
Are you in desperate need for some kick-butt inspiration? This pandemic has got us all feeling a little sluggish and unmotivated. Sometimes we need to just lean into those feelings by laying on the couch, binging Netflix, and eating a frozen pizza. But you know what? We also need a dose of tough love sometimes. Yes, the world seems bananas and out of control right now, but that doesn’t mean we stop striving to be the fully-fledged humans we were born to be. We need to make personal development a priority!
Still not feeling up to the challenge? I’ve got just the thing for you. Here are 14 personal development quotes that will definitely hit you with a virtual dose of motivation!
1. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” –MAYA ANGELOU
This personal development quote from Maya Angelou reminds us that personal growth is not just about increasing our productivity, it’s so much more than that. Not only do we want to develop the skills to work smarter and achieve our goals quicker, but we also want to develop our compassion muscle, our sense of humor, and how we express ourselves to the world.
Reading memoirs and articles written by people who are different from you can help grow that sense of empathy and compassion for others. Scheduling weekly Zoom happy hours with your closest friends will make sure that you are giggling and connecting with others amidst all your hard work. Invest in things that remind you of who you truly are and can showcase that to the world, whether it be clothing and fashion, interior design, how you do your hair or paint your nails, the art you make—anything!
2. “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.” –ROBIN SHARMA
Investing in yourself is not selfish; in fact, it’s the opposite. Investing in yourself means taking time for self-care, disciplining yourself to complete projects, and even purchasing things that will help to improve or express yourself. When you are functioning at your highest potential, everyone around you benefits. It’s time to invest!
3. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” –RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Being yourself is hard work! In a noisy world, it can be difficult to cut out all the noise of what other people are saying and tune back into who you truly are. Take time to be alone with yourself, for that is where you will gain the strength and grounding to be your true self out in the world.
4. “It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.” –WARREN BUFFET
Anyone else feel a wave of relief after reading this quote? It can be overwhelming to look at a huge goal we want to achieve and feel as though we have to do huge things in order to get there. Buffet reminds us that changing and doing the small things in our day-to-day is what brings about those big results you’ve pinned to your vision board.
But how exactly do you cultivate daily habits and growth? I’ve got you, girl! One of my favorite tools for daily reflection and personal growth is The Five Minute Journal. It has daily approachable, structured exercises that will help lead you towards the enhanced version of the person that you already are. For an added bonus, their journals are printed on sustainably-sourced paper stock from FSC suppliers. We love an eco-friendly moment!
The Five Minute Journal is an elegant tool that provides simple daily routines rooted in time-tested methodologies that empower you to instill positive changes in your life today, creating a more fulfilling tomorrow. And it only takes five minutes a day! Can it get any better than that? Click here to grab yours now!
5. “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time and energy needed to develop yourself.” –DENIS WAITLEY
And you know what? You ARE. You have something extremely unique to share with the world, and it is your job, nay, your destiny, to bring that into the world.
We’re not done with Denis Waitley quite yet, because when it comes to personal development quotes, he’s your guy:
6. “Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience.” –DENIS WAITLEY
Personal development is not something you will ever “complete.” Rather, it is a continuous way of life, taking the time each day to work on your growth and knowledge. This can mean learning a new skill or system, but it can also mean learning more about what makes you you.
7. “You wanna know what scares people? Success. When you don’t make moves and when you don’t climb up the ladder, everybody loves you because you’re not competition.” –NICKI MINAJ
When making moves towards personal development and growing as a person, it can scare those who aren’t doing the same. This is your reminder that as you work to grow and develop, people may try to pull you back down. Keep on growing, girl!
8. “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” –JIM ROHN
Personal development is not just about increasing our productivity and adjusting our mindset; it also has to do with how we treat our bodies. What this does NOT mean is trying to achieve someone else’s standard of beauty and what “health” looks like in the media. This means listening to our own bodies: what they need, what they want, what makes them feel good, etc.
For some, this means eating a plant-based diet and walking a few miles every day. For others, this means avoiding dairy and doing cross-fit workouts a few times a week. For some, this means taking lots of naps and doing yoga with friends every once in a while.
How we move and what we eat is important to our health, but since every person’s body is different, the ways in which we fuel our bodies will be different. There is no “one size fits all” for taking care of our bodies, but it is important that you find the self-care practices that work for you.
Now get ready…because we’re coming in hot with another one of these personal development quotes from our man Jim Rohn:
9. “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job” –JIM ROHN
Take a moment to think about how many hours you spend not only working at your job, but how many hours you spend on top of that thinking about your job. It’s probably a lot, huh? Same, girl.
When we are working a job, we are spending that time serving and working for others. But, if you remember Robin Sharma’s quote from earlier, we must invest in ourselves first before we can effectively invest in others.
Taking time for personal development is a major key when also trying to work or serve others.
When we take that time to look inwards and grow (with the help of all these personal development quotes inspiring us to do just that), we learn about ourselves. We learn what our true skill sets are, what energizes us, what drains us, what inspires us, what we truly want out of life. When we know these things about ourselves, not only do we become more fully realized versions of ourselves, but we also become better at our jobs and better at serving others. It’s a win-win!
These two personal development quotes by Brian Tracy go hand-in-hand, so we’ll look at them together:
10. “Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” –BRIAN TRACY
11. “Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.” –BRIAN TRACY
The more we learn about ourselves and how we work, the better we will be at setting our lives up in a more fulfilling and efficient way. When you work on your own personal growth, you learn how to set yourself up for productivity and avoid things that slow you down. The less time it takes you to achieve your goals, the faster you become the fully-realized person you were meant to be.
The Productivity Planner is a great tool to help fast track you to achieving your goals, while also prioritizing your personal development. Unlike other planners, The Productivity Planner takes advantage of the Pomodoro Technique, empowering you to focus your mental energy on the most meaningful tasks ahead. And if you love personal development quotes as much as we do, you’ll be excited to learn that this planner is littered with them to inspire you on every page! Check it out here!
12. “I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something I just had to be.” –LUPITA NYONG’O
At first glance, this may not seem like it fits on a list of personal development quotes, but the work it takes to truly internalize this belief about our individual beauty takes intentional time and energy. It will take daily practice, and it isn’t something you will eventually get to tick off your to-do list.
As women, we are constantly bombarded with the idea that we need to achieve a specific version of beauty that can be created via the right blend of products. This is especially resonant with us millennials, since the creation of social media has given companies the ability to shove ads and unrealistic beauty standards in our face at any time of day.
Just like how taking care of your body will look different in every person, so will each woman’s version of beauty.
What does beauty look like to you? Not the media’s version of beauty, but YOUR version of beauty and how it will manifest itself within you. Learning and internalizing that about ourselves is imperative to personal growth and becoming a more enhanced version of ourselves.
13. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” –ZIG ZIGLAR
The daily practice of showing up for yourself is where the magic happens. We’ve all heard the phrase “consistency is key,” and that’s because it’s true! Doing small things everyday will make more of an impact on your life than doing one huge thing every once in a while. There is a big misconception that motivation is something you have to wait for, when in actuality it is something you have to cultivate and make a habit.
One actionable way to do this is to create a sure-fire morning routine that will springboard you into action. This could be taking an energizing walk, writing in your copy of The Five Minute Journal, drinking your favorite cup of coffee (aka motivation juice), re-reading this list of personal development quotes for inspiration, or grabbing your colored pens and Productivity Planner for a think-sesh!
Feeling inspired yet?
I hope so…because I sure am!
But inspiration is nothing without some action attached to it. Make a plan to carve out time for personal development each day this week.
Don’t have a clue what you are going to do with that time? An easy place to start is by snagging The Five Minute Journal or Productivity Planner to help guide you (or even better, both)! Whatever you choose to do with your personal development time is your choice, but the important thing is that you make it a priority.
If you can’t get enough quotes, then you should follow Miss Millennia Magazine on Instagram @missmillmag! I’ll leave you with one last personal development quote for the road (and it just so happens to be one of my favorites):
14. “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
Brooke Benson is a freelance writer, actor, and content creator based out of Sarasota, FL. She strives to destroy the “Starving Artist” trope by sharing her personal finance research and experience with creative freelancers and runs an Instagram community/coaching platform called “Not Starving Artists.” You can follow her on Instagram @notstarvingartists. Her love for content creation and writing began while working for the brand Margaritaville in college (she’s a huge Jimmy Buffett fan and wants everyone to live on island time). Some of her favorite things are scrapbooking, a huge stack of library books, T-Pain, rainy days, her Passion Planner, cinnamon apple spice tea, and super soft blankets.
