87 Quotes to Inspire You to Always Prioritize Yourself
Use these 87 prioritize yourself quotes to become empowered to make yourself the highest priority. You are the only person who can fully meet your needs.
The greatest act of self-care you can ever do is to prioritize yourself. In fact, your mental health depends on you making yourself a top priority.
Take care of your authentic self and make a powerful declaration that YOU ARE IMPORTANT.
Be sure to understand that prioritizing yourself is not a selfish act. In fact, the most important thing you can do for your loved ones is take care of your physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs in order to be fully available to them.
You know the saying, you can’t pour from an empty cup, right?
Treat yourself the way you treat your best friend. Become the poster child for prioritizing yourself and becoming unbothered by things that don’t matter so good things will come your way!
Related Article: How to Make the Self Love Movement Work For You
Prioritize Yourself Quotes #1-20
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
“When you can’t find your purpose in a day, make it to look after yourself.” – Dodie Clark
“How we care for ourselves gives our brain messages that shape our self-worth so we must care for ourselves in every way, every day.” – Sam Owen
“My happiness matters. My joy is important. My love is valuable. My worthiness is relevant. It’s not anyone else’s job to see that but mine.” – Alex Elle
“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.” – Brian Andreas
“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” – Mandy Hale
“Self-care is so much more than a beauty regimen or an external thing you do. It has to start within your heart to know what you need to navigate your life. A pedicure doesn’t last, but meditating every day does.” – Carrie-Anne Moss
“Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort.” – Deborah Day
“When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs and habits – anything that kept me small. My judgment called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” – Kim McMillen
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield
“When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do.” – John O’Donohue
“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer
“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn
“You can’t afford to get sick, and you can’t depend on the present health care system to keep you well. It’s up to you to protect and maintain your body’s innate capacity for health and healing by making the right choices in how you live.” – Andrew Weil
“Self-care has become a new priority – the revelation that it’s perfectly permissible to listen to your body and do what it needs.” – Frances Ryan
“Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is your greatest and grandest responsibility. It’s about listening to the needs of your soul and then honoring them.” – Kristi Ling
“Do something every day that is loving towards your body and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the sensations of your body.” – Golda Poretsky
“In my own deepening understanding of myself I find my capacity to serve others is deepened as well. The better I am at self-care the more genuinely nurturing of others I am able to be.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman
“When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” – Paulo Coelho
More Prioritizing Yourself Quotes #21-40
“I also learned what I and many other wives were doing wrong. We were neglecting ourselves. We were born women yet were taking care of our roles as mom, employee or wife before we took care of ourselves. But in order to adequately fulfill those roles, we have to put ourselves first.” – Elona Washington
“Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of others.” – Jennifer Williamson
“Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.” – Anna Taylor
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Maya Angelou
“Practice self-rescue first before you ‘help’ someone else.” – Maureen Joyce Connolly
“Put yourself at the top of your to-do list every single day and the rest will fall into place.” – Unknown
“I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.” – Audre Lorde
“Unless you fill yourself up first, you have nothing to give anybody. Therefore, it is imperative that you tend to your joy first. People are responsible for their own joy. When you tend to your joy and do what makes you feel good, you are a joy to be around and you are a shining example to every child and every person in your life. When you are feeling joy, you don’t even have to think about giving. It is a natural overflow.” – Rhonda Byrne
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” – Eleanor Brown
“By taking care of myself I have so much more to offer the world than I do when I am running on empty.” – Ali Washington
“Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.” – Akiroq Brost
“When you get into your car, shut the door and be there for just half a minute. Breathe, feel the energy inside your body, look around at the sky, the trees. The mind might tell you, ‘I don’t have time.’ But that’s the mind talking to you. Even the busiest person has time for 30 seconds of space.” – Eckhart Tolle
“It’s okay to take time for yourself. We give so much of ourselves to others, and we need to be fueled both physically and mentally. If we are in balance, it helps us in all our interactions.” – Faith Hill
“Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire.” – Amy Ippoliti
“Take time to do what makes your soul happy.” – Unknown
“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Unknown
“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
“Solitude is where I place my chaos to rest and awaken my inner peace.” – Nikki Rowe
“There is enough time for self-care. There is not enough time to make up for the life you’ll miss by not filling yourself up.” – Jennifer Williamson
“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” – Banksy
Making Yourself a Priority Quotes #41-60
“Know what matters most to you and be unwilling to compromise those priorities at almost any price.” – Frank Sonnenberg
“The key is to not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen R. Covey
“Your personal growth is the only thing that matters. You own and write your story; no one else does. Believe in your unique steps up the mountain.” – Brittany Burgunder
“The biggest lie we fall for is that it doesn’t matter. Your opinion doesn’t matter. Your choices don’t matter. Your influence doesn’t matter. Your existence doesn’t matter. You don’t matter. It is the worst, most destructive lie we ever believe, and in consequence, it wreaks extensive damage to more lives than your own. Don’t fall for that evil lie. Don’t forget that everything about you absolutely does matter.” – Richelle E. Goodrich
“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.” – Marcus Aurelius
“You don’t need to buy yourself something every day. But you want to give yourself a gift every day.” – Rachel Jo
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” – Masaru Emoto
“Don’t dare to be different, dare to be yourself – if that doesn’t make you different then something is wrong.” – Laura Baker
“When you start loving yourself and respecting your time and energy, things will change. Get to know your worth, and your value will go up.” – Germany Kent
“Be you, love you. All ways, always.” – Alexandra Elle
“She decided that she wasn’t going to focus on always trying to please others. She felt determined to take the time to get to know, and love, herself. And she hoped that the warm glow of appreciation she always looked for might actually come from within.” – Phaedra Patrick
“People pleasing and putting others first literally diminished my mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being. Overwhelmingly, most emotionally wounded people demonstrate this trait. Many of us have been programmed to put others first; to be of service to others before we serve ourselves.” – Christopher Dines
“You always have to remember to take care of you first and foremost, because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others.” – Jada Pinkett Smith
“It’s not selfish, but selfless to be first, to be as good as possible to you, to take care of you, to keep you whole and healthy, that doesn’t mean that you disregard everything and everyone, but you gotta keep your cup full.” – Iyanla Vanzant
“When you start sacrificing yourself for other people, you make them a thief, because they are stealing from you what you need and they don’t even know it.” – Iyanla Vanzant
“Always putting others first creates deep resentment, destroys your happiness, and is unsustainable. Putting yourself first allows you to meet your needs in the most skillful way. This, in turn, increases your happiness, joy, and capacity to love, so you can give freely and create healthy relationships.” – Aziz Gazipura
“One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” – Shannon L. Alder
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown
“It’s not weak to stand by the person you love when they’re trying to fix a big mistake, and it’s not weak to decide to put yourself first.” – Sylvia Day
Quotes About Putting Yourself First #61-87
“Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?” – Brigham Young
“You have to be self-interested in order to be selfless. You have to put yourself first if you want to be of use to other people.” – Rachel Bartholomew
“Always choose yourself first. Women are very socialized to choose other people. If you put yourself first, it’s this incredible path you can forge for yourself.” – Rebecca Traister
“If you don’t make the choices in your own life, then someone else is going to end up making them for you and they are not gonna be good.” – James Altucher
“If you don’t workout, sleep, meditate, relax, or do whatever special things you need to do for you, you won’t be the best version of yourself. When you’re not your best version of yourself, you can’t do things for others. In a way, it’s actually selfless to take great care of yourself because it allows you to be more present for your family and friends.” – Heather Monahan
“To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” – Robert Morley
“If you want to have enough to give to others, you will need to take care of yourself first. A tree that refuses water and sunlight for itself can’t bear fruit for others.” – Emily Maroutian
“To gain self-respect, you need to put yourself first.” – Lorii Myers
“Don’t wait for a crisis to realize what matters most. Put yourself first right now. Because right now is all we have.” – Brittany Burgunder
“Whenever you feel compelled to put others first at the expense of yourself, you are denying your own reality, your own identity.” – David Stafford
“When you make a mistake, respond to yourself in a loving way rather than a self-shaming way.” – Ellie Holcomb
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” – Marianne Williamson
“Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
“Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” – Diana, Princess of Wales
“You were born an original work of art. Stay original always. Originals cost more than imitations.” – Suzy Kassem
“Looking after yourself is the greatest act of kindness you can give the world. Loving yourself first is the best way to spread love.” – Holly Bourne
“When you care for yourself first, the world will also find you worthy of care.” – Haemin Sunim
“There is a reason flight attendants tell you to put your mask on first in an emergency…you cannot be important to anyone else if you are not first and foremost important to yourself. Appreciate and love yourself then use that to do the same for others.” – Shelley K Wall
“Prove to the world you ARE worth something by treating yourself with the utmost respect and hope that other people will follow your example. And even if they don’t, at least one person in the world is treating you well: YOU.” – Carrie Hope Fletcher
“You should endeavor to give your body what it needs to be healthy, your mind what it needs to be peaceful and focused, and your soul what it needs to feel content.” – Dedeker Winston
“You deserve the love you so freely give to others.” – Unknown
“Write it on your heart you are the most beautiful soul of the Universe. Realize it, honor it and celebrate life.” – Amit Ray
“The only one you should compare yourself to is you. Your mission is to become better today than you were yesterday. You do that by focusing on what you can do today to improve and grow.” – John Maxwell
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
“To gain self-respect, you need to put yourself first.” – Lorii Myers
“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
Final Thoughts
You may have noticed that some of these prioritize yourself quotes look very similar to self care quotes or self love quotes. I carefully curated this list so it would represent the best quotes about prioritizing yourself, but there were some excellent quotes that seemed to fall into multiple inspirational categories, so I included them.
You may be interested in these related articles about self-care and self-love. You’ll find very different quotes.
- Favorite Inspirational Quotes and Beautiful Words of Wisdom About Life
- 60 Uplifting Quotes and Encouraging Words for Women
- 15 Reasons to Fall in Love with Taking Care of Yourself
- Let’s Make Self Care Sunday 365 Days a Year!
Please remember to honor your own needs and your true self prior to trying to take care of those around you. Think of the airline stewardess who tells you to put on your air mask FIRST in an emergency so you can help others around you. You won’t be any good to anyone if you can’t breathe, right? Love yourself first.
You’ll be a better person if you prioritize yourself — and then you’ll be able to meet other people’s needs.
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
Do You Have Other Favorite Prioritize Yourself Quotes?
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