When you feel like you have to be someone else, these be yourself quotes will empower you to stay true to yourself and follow your heart.
“Just be yourself” is a phrase that is thrown all over the place. And honestly, it’s easier said than done. Although we crave authenticity and individuality, we also fear difference. Difference brings conflicts, and it’s our nature to avoid that.
I remember back in elementary school, my art teacher asked us to color a dolphin. Everyone in my class painted it sky blue, like the ones seen in cartoons. But instead, I colored it light-grey because that’s what I saw in documentaries.
So I was picked out by the teacher. I explained the reason behind my color choice. But I still got the lowest score in the class. And it got me thinking that maybe I should follow everyone else.
My mom, on the contrary, was pleased to see my work. She burst into laughter when she heard what happened. I was so angry because I believed that dolphins were grey, not blue. “Maybe they both exist. Dolphins don’t have to be all in the same color.”
It wasn’t until years later that I realized how much truth her words hold. Being yourself is not about being different from everyone else. It’s about believe in yourself and respect what others believe at the same time. Everyone thinks and acts differently, and it shouldn’t intimidate us or hurt our ego.
This story has always been a motivation for me to pursue authenticity. And if you feel hard to do so now and then, here is a list of be yourself quotes that will empower you in moments of doubt.
Table of content
- Inspiring be yourself quotes and sayings
- Short be yourself quotes for Instagram caption or bio
- Quotes on being yourself in love and friendship
Inspiring be yourself quotes and sayings
To make a difference, dare to be different.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
– Oscar Wilde
You are not for everyone. You shouldn’t be anyway.
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. Baruch
If your shoes don’t fit, you don’t change your feet. You change the shoes. So why change yourself to fit the expectations that are forced on you?
Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.
– Marilyn Monroe
Being yourself doesn’t mean you stop making yourself better. It’s doing so without comparing your journey to others.
If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.
– Frank Zappa
Real imperfections are better than fake perfections.
You can’t satisfy everyone. Be yourself and ignore your haters.
Some people hate you because of the way other people love you.
Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.
– Coco Chanel
Sometimes to be the best, you have to do differently from the rest.
The world will ask you to be a million things. Be yourself first.
Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.
– Allen Ginsberg
It’s hard to be yourself when others are all trying to be someone else. That makes you a winner here.
Authenticity is the new cool.
A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.
– Coco Chanel
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you.
– Lao Tzu
Why be a copy while you can be original?
Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.
– Judy Garland
Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.
– Lady Gaga
There’s power in staying true to yourself. Embrace it.
The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be.
– Leo Buscaglia
If you have tried to be someone else and it doesn’t go so well, why not be yourself and see what happens.
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you to do anything but be yourself.
– Lao Tzu
Never stop being a good person because of a bad person.
Real growth is rooted in honest reflection.
– Christian Bosse
Maybe you are meant to be different.
If I was going to succeed or fail, it was going to be up to me.
– Terry Crews
Have you ever started to do things you enjoy and found that your stress is gone? Instead, you find joy and passion. That’s the reward of being yourself.
If you keep walking on other people’s paths, you’ll never know how amazing your journey can be.
Don’t worry what people say or what people think. Be yourself.
– Brett Hull
Be yourself. The world worships the original.
– Ingrid Bergman
You are the director of your life. Don’t play the scripts written by others.
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
There’s no competition when you are manifesting on your own lane.
– Dulce Ruby
Allow no place or no one to disrupt your faith in yourself.
Be so authentic that others are not afraid to be themselves, too.
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.
– Bruce Lee
Be a little more you and a lot less them.
– Unknown
Do not put out your fire because someone else doesn’t understand your flame.
– Unknown
Short be yourself quotes for Instagram caption or bio
- Not a clone.
- Perfectly imperfect.
- Still myself, just v2.0.
- Not your average girl.
- I love the idea of being who they don’t want me to be.
- Different but worth it.
- No one asks you.
- Writing my own story.
- Unapologetically me.
- Be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons.
- You do you.
- Be savage, not average.
- Queen of myself, not the princess of some else.
Quotes on being yourself in love and friendship
The right person will choose you for who you are, every time.
There will always be people who don’t see your worth and people who do. Choose wisely.
A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself.
– Frank Crane
Read also:8 Signs that you have found a true friend
Don’t try to change anybody. And they should let you be yourself, “You loved me when you met me, so let’s keep going!”
– Willie Nelson
It’s good to have people in your life around whom you can be yourself.
– Varun Sharma
You need to love yourself and be yourself one hundred percent before you can actually love someone else.
– Christina Perri
Tips on how to be yourself
Besides these be yourself quotes, here are some tips I find helpful to stay true to yourself in times of doubt.
- Don’t imitate because it’s convenient.
It’s easier to follow other people’s steps than to find your own path. But this way, you will never know what you can achieve if you listen to your gut. By putting yourself in a box, you miss the possibilities out there.
Rita Mae Brown said, “the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.” If life is a book, write every chapter yourself. It can be a good book or a bad one, but at least you won’t regret it.
- Recognize the fact that you are multi-faceted.
You, just like everyone else, are born with multiple personality traits. You can be serious and cautious at work and be fun and chatty when you are with your friends. If how you act comes from your heart and a conscious mind, you are yourself.
- Let go of the fear of judgments
Difference upsets people. When someone is different from the rest of the crowd, people feel intimidated and confused. They think either you or they have something wrong. So they attack those who act differently or have a different voice. That’s why it may be difficult to stay true to yourself – you don’t want to be the minority that gets judged.
But what they fail to realize is that you and they could be both right despite the difference in between. Great minds welcome all minds. So don’t let narrow-mindedness stop you from doing your thing.
- Stop pleasing others
You are not a comedian. So it’s not your job to please others. As Lao Tzu said, “care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner.” The validation has to come from within.
Read also: 5 Subtle ways to stop giving f*cks
If you can please anyone, please yourself first. Say no to what you don’t want to do. Turn down requests in disguise as “small favors.” You’d be surprised how people respect you if you stand up for yourself. And that level of respect will never be achieved by being a people-pleaser.
Which of these be yourself quotes resonates with you?
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