101 Best Quotes About Finding Yourself

Growing in self-knowledge is a lifelong journey.

But when something happens that throws your sense of identity into chaos (however briefly), it can help to know you’re not alone. 

We’ve collected 101 finding yourself quotes from people all over the world.

Some will strike you as more familiar than others.

Some may get you thinking in ways you haven’t tried yet. 

Keep your journal handy. 

101  Quotes About Finding Yourself 

Read through the following quotes for finding yourself, and make a note of the ones that stand out for you and get you thinking. 

Quotes About Finding Yourself After A Break-Up

Break-ups are good for shaking up your idea of who you are outside the relationship, as well as you who were inside of it. Use the insights in the following quotes to get better acquainted with your independent self. 

1. “I will not allow myself to not feel chosen every single day. And I’ll wait till whenever that is.” — Hannah Brown

2. “The woman who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet.” — Mohadesa Najumi

3. “Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” — Robert Holden

4. “Every time you thought you couldn’t keep moving forward, you did. Take a moment to appreciate your strength.” — Karen Salmanson

6. ”Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tiptoe if you must, but take the step.” ― Naeem Callaway

7. “Don’t be afraid to stand for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone.” — Andy Biersack

8. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman

9. “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln

10. “Most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.” —Elle Woods

11. “You can love them, forgive them, want good things for them … but still move on without them.” — Mandy Hale

12. “Pain makes you stronger, fear makes you braver, heartbreak makes you wiser.” —Drake

13. “Sometimes, I don’t know what haunts me more… The memories of you… Or the happy person I used to be.” —Ranata Suzuki

15. “I didn’t lose you. You lost me. You’ll search for me inside of everyone you’re with and I won’t be found.” — R.H.Sin

16. “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” — RuPaul

17. “I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” — Alex Elle

18. “Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over.” — Guy Finley

19. “Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.” – Deborah Reber

20. “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” – Carl Sagan

21. “The day I met you, was the day I lost myself… The day you left me, was the day I found myself…” ― Ama H. Vanniarachchy

Short Quotes About Finding Yourself

Sometimes, you just want something short, clear, and succinct. We collected this group of quotes to fit that mood.  

22. “Sometimes when you lose your way, you find YOURSELF.” ― Mandy Hale

23. “I just want to be someone, to mean something to anyone…” ― Charlotte Eriksson

24. “Don’t worry about finding your soul mate. Find yourself.” ― Jason Evert

25. “People who fit don’t seek. The seekers are those that don’t fit.” ― Shannon L. Alder

26. “To find yourself, think for yourself.” –Socrates

28. “This is the practice. It isn’t easy. It isn’t certain. It is beautiful.” – Leo Babauta

29. “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t… You’re right.” — Henry Ford

30. “The more I stepped away from darkness, the less it felt like home.” ― Mitali Meelan

31. “Find yourself and you will find your freedom.” ― Gillian Duce

32. “The only journey is the journey within.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

33. “All scars bring us closer to our deeper self.” ― Bert McCoy

34. “Stop living someone else’s definition of happiness and start living your own.” ― David Paul Vosburg

35. “Lovely days don’t come to you, you should walk to them.” ― Rumi

36. “Not until we are lost do we being to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau

37. “Find your mirror and take great notes.” ― Bert McCoy

38. “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.” – Lao Tzu

39. “Know thyself” If I knew myself, I’d run away.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

40. “Find yourself; it’s worth the treasure.” ― Amaranthine Poetry

41. “What you have to find is yourself first.” ―Nishi De Silva

42. “You never find yourself until you face the truth.” — Pearl Bailey

44. “All the wonders you seek are within yourself.” –Thomas Browne

Famous Quotes About Finding Yourself

Some quotes or some of the people behind them are more famous than others. They didn’t get that way by hiding—from themselves or from anyone else. You deserve to be known. 

45. “By discovering nature, you discover yourself.” –Maxime Lagace

46. “Be who you are, and find yourself so you can be your own person and enjoy life with no regret.” – Bonnie Zackson Koury

47. “And into the forest, I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” –John Muir

48. “Each man’s life represents a road toward himself.” – Herman Hesse

49. “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” – Jean de La Fontaine

50. “Know yourself. Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.”– Ann Landers

51. “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” –Carl Jung

52. “As I began to love myself, I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is authenticity.” –Charlie Chaplin

53. “Love the life you have while you create the life of your dreams.” –Hal Elrod

55. “The moment you know yourself, you have known the most precious thing in existence.”  –Osho

56. “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you won’t do anything with it.” –M. Scott Peck

57. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” – George Moore

58. “The story ends up being a journey of self-discovery.” — Elijah Wood

59. “And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?” — Rumi

60. “First find the man in yourself if you will inspire manliness in others.” —Amos Bronson Alcott

Inspirational Finding Yourself Quotes

You may find inspiration in quotes from others who have been where you are now and who have learned something new and precious about themselves. You will, too. 

61. “I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

62. “Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” –Joseph Campbell

63. “I don’t want to be just one thing. I want to be brave and selfless and intelligent and honest and kind.” ― Veronica Roth

64. “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” — T.S. Elliot

65. “Whatever it takes to find the real you, don’t be daunted if the rest of the world looks on in shock.” ― Stephen Richards

66. “It is one thing to lose people you love. It is another to lose yourself. That is a greater loss.” ― Donna Goddard

67. “You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.” — Jerry Gillies

68. “You cannot find yourself till you lose yourself.” ― Abhijit Naskar

69. “With movement comes identity.” ― Karl Kristian Flores

71. “Be unapologetically yourself. That’s easier said than done, but most worthwhile things are.” ― Nina Guilbeau

72. “The quickest way to find your true self is to forget who you are.” ― Marty Rubin

73. “Your real self may be hiding somewhere, look for it within, when you find yourself, you can freely be what you want to be.” – Michael Bassey Johnson

74. “When you know yourself you are empowered. When you accept yourself you are invincible.” — Tina Lifford

75. “You must befriend a few skeletons before you’ll find your deepest self.” ― Curtis Tyrone Jones

76. “When you devote your life to ‘finding yourself,’ you probably won’t.” ― Laura Schlessinger

77. “It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.” –Diane Von Furstenberg

78. “Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.” –Richard Wright

79. “Whatever you are doing, love yourself for doing it. Whatever you are feeling, love yourself for feeling it.” –Thaddeus Goals

80. “Finding yourself is just the beginning. Making the best of what you find is the real challenge.” ― Drishti Bablani

81. “I feel the older I get, the more I’m learning to handle life. Being on this quest for a long time, it’s all about finding yourself.” –Ringo Starr

83. “One must know oneself. If this does not serve to discover truth, it at least serves as a rule of life, and there is nothing better.” –Blaise Pascal

Quotes About Finding Your Way

When you’ve lost your sense of direction, the following quotes can help you find it again and take the next steps forward. 

84. “Nature is a beautiful place to get lost and find yourself. A place which will never disappoint you and you will love it always. A place close to your heart where you can find peace. A place where you can feel lively and get to know a little more of you.” –Aksu

85. “Unlike many other journeys, when it comes to finding self and matters of the heart you’ll swiftly find yourself lost if you follow someone else’s” ― Rasheed Ogunlaru

86. “It‘s not about your wildest dreams coming true but being able to dream the wildest side of you.” ― Talismanist Giebra

87. “When you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy; care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” –Jean Shinoda Bolen

88. “I had to lose my mind to find myself, and when I found myself, my mind returned.” ― Sanjo Jendayi

89. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” –Brene Brown

90. “Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — Lolly Daskal

92. “When we find a purpose that is bigger than ourselves, we become more powerful in our ability to create.” — Jack Delosa

93. “At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” — Lao Tzu

94. “You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” – James A. Froude

95. “If you’re being ignored, that’s a good time to concentrate on finding yourself and creating your own mystery.” — Lykke Li

96. “The only way to learn who you are is to leave home.” ― Sana Krasikov

97. “Don’t be afraid of who you’re not.. Be afraid of never knowing who you are. Defend your authentic self.” ― Karen Laffey

98. “You can find a better you inside of you. Why don’t you search for that?” ― Munia Khan

99. “I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’” — Oprah Winfrey

100. “I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision. “ –Eleanor Roosevelt

101. “It is not only the most difficult thing to know oneself, but the most inconvenient one, too.” – H.W. Shaw

---

More Related Articles

51 Fun Facts About Yourself That Everyone Wants To Hear

25 Exquisitely Beautiful Poems About Life

50 Of The Best Growth Mindset Quotes For Kids And Teachers

---

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve looked through all 101 discover yourself quotes, no doubt some of them felt more relevant to where you are now. Some have come closer to putting your own experience and perspective into words. 

It’s no accident, either. When someone feels the way you do, now, they can’t help wanting to express that. The desire to know oneself and to be known by others is universal. 

So, which quotes stood out for you? And what have you learned from them?