In a world full of distractions and temptations, mastering the art of self-control has never been more vital. Whether you're striving for personal growth, professional success, or simply a more balanced life, self-control is the key that unlocks many doors. Famous thinkers and leaders have long recognized the power of self-control, and their insights can help guide our paths to self-improvement. This article explores famous quotes about self-control, organized under ten subheadings, providing a rich tapestry of wisdom and inspiration. Don't miss the final words, where we delve deeper into how these timeless truths can resonate with your personal journey.
Quotes on Emotional Self-Control
"The best time for you to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or burst." - Josh Billings
"He who angers you conquers you." - Elizabeth Kenny
"Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage." - Thucydides
"A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a hundred moments of regret." - Ali Ibn Abi Talib
"Anger is the enemy, peace is our true friend." - Buddha
"You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger." - Buddha
"Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret." - Ambrose Bierce
"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not easy." - Aristotle
"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow." - Chinese Proverb
"Anger doesn't solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything." - Lawrence G. Lovasik
"Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. Over time, by exercising that muscle, we can become skilled in choosing happiness." - Roni Jay
Quotes on Mental Self-Control
"I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself." - Pietro Aretino
"Rule your mind or it will rule you." - Horace
"The mind is everything. What you think you become." - Buddha
"You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius
"The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you." - Tony Robbins
"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer." - William S. Burroughs
"Calmness is the cradle of power." - Josiah Gilbert Holland
"Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do." - Napoleon Hill
"Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Mind is a flexible mirror, adjust it, to see a better world." - Amit Ray
"Be the master of your mind rather than mastered by your mind." - Zen Proverb
"The biggest obstacle you’ll ever face is your mind. But the mind can be trained just as muscles can." - Unknown
Quotes on Self-Control in Relationships
"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Understanding is an art and not everyone is an artist." - Unknown
"The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Self-control and understanding come through forgiveness." - Mary McAleese
"Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have." - Robert Holden
"Before you move forward double check there's someone beside you to count on." - Unknown
"We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics." - Joyce Meyer
"Real love is accepting other people the way they are without trying to change them." - Jelena Djokovic
"The greatest relationships are the ones you never expected to be in." - Unknown
"Letting go of negative people doesn’t mean you hate them. It just means that you love yourself." - Anonymous
"Over time, you will see relationships change as they change you." - Unknown
"Pulling away from other's opinions will let you see who you are truly meant to be." - Unknown
Quotes on Financial Self-Control
"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like." - Will Rogers
"A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some." - Joe Moore
"Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving." - Warren Buffett
"Financial independence is about having more choices." - Robert Kiyosaki
"To be satisfied with little is the greatest wisdom." - Christian Nestell Bovee
"Every time you borrow money, you’re robbing your future self." - Nathan W. Morris
"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." - Babe Ruth
"Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs." - Zig Ziglar
"It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep and how hard it works for you." - Robert Kiyosaki
"Getting rich begins with the decision to get rich. If you want to be rich, you must decide that you want it." - Raymond Holliwell
"Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship." - Benjamin Franklin
"The secret to getting ahead is getting started." - Mark Twain
Quotes on Personal Growth and Self-Control
"All progress takes place outside the comfort zone." - Michael John Bobak
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." - Jim Rohn
"Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong." - Mandy Hale
"Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far." - Gary Vaynerchuk
"Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time and energy needed to develop yourself." - Denis Waitley
"If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want." - Kevin Ngo
"Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world." - T. Harv Eker
"Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment." - Stephen Covey
"Change is never easy, but always possible." - Barack Obama
"Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become." - Jim Rohn
"Don’t let the fear of the unknown be greater than the excitement of change." - Unknown
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller
Quotes on Self-Control in Decision Making
"Control yourself; take only what you need." - Unknown
"Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching." - Thomas Jefferson
"In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take." - Lewis Carroll
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Confucius
"It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement." - Isocrates
"The first step to getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are." - J.P. Morgan
"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape." - Chinese Proverb
"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." - Pablo Picasso
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right." - Henry Ford
"What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds." - Wayne Dyer
"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try." - John F. Kennedy
"The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen Covey
Quotes on Self-Control in Health and Fitness
"The greatest wealth is health." - Virgil
"To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise." - Gene Tunney
"It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver." - Mahatma Gandhi
"Good health is not something we can buy. However, it can be an extremely valuable savings account." - Anne Wilson Schaef
"The body achieves what the mind believes." - Unknown
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn
"The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor." - Chinese Proverb
"Exercise not only changes your body, it changes your mind, your attitude and your mood." - Unknown
"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." - John F. Kennedy
"A healthy outside starts from the inside." - Robert Urich
"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination." - Tommy Lasorda
"Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure." - Sylvester Stallone
Quotes on Self-Control for Stress Management
"Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace." - Dalai Lama
"It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it." - Lou Holtz
"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened." - Lao Tzu
"Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be." - Sonia Ricotti
"Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax." - Mark Black
"Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that's very important for good health." - Dalai Lama
"Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've started." - David Allen
"Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’." - Eckhart Tolle
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you." - Walt Whitman
"Don’t stress yourself out about the temporary world. Live in peace with eternal thoughts." - Unknown
"We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us." - Virginia Satir
"Smile, breathe, and go slowly." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Quotes about Self-Control in Leadership
"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionable integrity. Without it, no real success is possible." - Dwight Eisenhower
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
"The clarity of vision leads to motivation. The strength of motivation leads to action." - Unknown
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis
"People respond well to those that are sure of what they want." - Anna Wintour
"Successful leaders are not afraid to take risks, but their decisions are based on integrity and a sense of responsibility." - Unknown
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker
"Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is disciplined carrying it out." - Stephen Covey
"Leadership is not about ruling the people but serving them." - Saji Ijiyemi
"Challenge is the driving force of leadership." - Tyler Shandro
"True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve." - Unknown
Quotes on Spiritual Self-Control
"Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays." - Søren Kierkegaard
"He who has conquered his fears and desiers thus possesses true freedom." - Epictetus
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence." - Albert Einstein
"Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl Jung
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." - George Eliot
"Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion." - Buddha
"The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind." - Caroline Myss
"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough." - Emily Dickinson
"We must encounter life courageously and live it fully. The highest point in life can be attained." - Unknown
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." - Zig Ziglar
"To conquer oneself is a great task." - Unknown
Final words
Self-control is a fundamental skill that shapes our daily experiences and overall quality of life. It acts as the bridge between goals and accomplishments across various facets of existence—emotional, mental, and spiritual, as well as in relationships, finances, leadership, and health. The reflections and insights offered by these quotes can serve as guiding lights, empowering you to make conscious choices, cultivate discipline, and live a life that harmonizes with your core values. Remember, self-control is not about rigid restraint but rather about thoughtful and mindful living that encourages positive growth. As you embark on your journey towards mastering self-control, let these quotes remind you of your innate potential to become not just who you choose to be, but who you are destined to be.