Setting high standards in our lives helps us strive for excellence. While it can be challenging, maintaining high expectations for ourselves and others often leads to greater achievements and personal growth. Quotes can inspire and remind us of the importance of aiming high.
In this article, we’ve collected some of the best quotes about high standards. These words of wisdom will motivate you to keep your expectations high and encourage you to pursue your goals with determination.
Quotes on Setting High Standards
“High standards are like lighthouses; they guide us to the shores of our best selves.” – John Doe
“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” – W. Clement Stone
“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.” – Omar N. Bradley
“Excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.” – Ralph Marston
“Set high standards for yourself and don’t settle for anything less. You are worth more than that.” – Unknown
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” – Aristotle
“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine
“High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton
“If you don’t set standards for yourself, you will always be led by others.” – Unknown
“The sky is not the limit. Your mind is.” – Marilyn Monroe
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar
“High standards protect you from low-quality experiences.” – Unknown
“If you want to grow, you must set higher standards.” – Unknown
“The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.” – Helmut Schmidt
“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” – Booker T. Washington
“Chase perfection, catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
“Be so busy improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.” – Chetan Bhagat
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“High standards bring you into the arena of excellence.” – Jane Smith
“Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall.” – Muhammad Ali
“Live up to your highest standards.” – Unknown
Achieving Excellence Through Quotes
“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” – Ralph Marston
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
“High expectations are the key to everything.” – Sam Walton
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.” – Charles Kingsleigh, Alice in Wonderland
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” – Norman Vincent Peale
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“Excellence is not being the best; it is doing your best.” – Anonymous
“Success is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“High standards bring high outcomes.” – Original
“Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
“The road to excellence is always under construction.” – Anonymous
“Success is a journey, not a destination.” – Ben Sweetland
“Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” – Socrates
“High standards are not achieved by accident. They are a product of relentless pursuit.” – Original
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson
“Aspire to inspire before we expire.” – Eugene Bell Jr.
“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” – Victor Kiam
“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.” – Charles Kettering
“You don’t have to be perfect to be amazing.” – Anonymous
Inspirational Quotes for High Achievers
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
“The harder you work for something, the greater you’ll feel when you achieve it.” – Author Unknown
“Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.” – Author Unknown
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” – William Butler Yeats
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.” – Bo Bennett
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You got to keep going.” – Chantal Sutherland
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” – Tony Robbins
“Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.” – Author Unknown
Quotes on the Importance of Standards
“Standards are not just benchmarks; they are a way of life.” – Unattributed
“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” – Ray Kroc
“High standards are the foundation of great achievements.” – Unattributed
“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
“Demanding the best from oneself is a mark of a truly great individual.” – Unattributed
“Don’t lower your standards to fit in; keep them high and let others rise to meet them.” – Unattributed
“It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.” – David Allan Coe
“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Without standards, there can be no improvement.” – Taiichi Ohno
“Raise your standards, and the universe will meet you there.” – Tony Robbins
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” – Colin Powell
“Your standards reflect your values and worth.” – Unattributed
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine
“When you set high standards, you set a higher expectation for success.” – Unattributed
“It’s very important that we don’t all have exactly the same standards.” – Rudolph Giuliani
“High standards must not be feared but embraced.” – Unattributed
“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” – Ralph Marston
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Set your standards high, and don’t stop until you get there.” – Bo Jackson
“Our worth is determined by the standards we uphold.” – Unattributed
“Choose to deliver amazing service to your customers. You’ll stand out because they don’t get it anywhere else.” – Kevin Stirtz
“High standards are the essence of greatness.” – Unattributed
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
Motivational Quotes for Maintaining Quality
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“Excellence is not a skill, it’s an attitude.” – Ralph Marston
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.” – John Ruskin
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” – Walt Disney
“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” – Napoleon Hill
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” – Aristotle
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” – Aristotle
“To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Douglas Adams
“Good is not good when better is expected.” – Vin Scully
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.” – Tony Robbins
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” – Steve Jobs
“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” – Booker T. Washington
“The race for quality has no finish line – so technically, it’s more like a death march.” – Quality Quote
“It is quality rather than quantity that matters.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” – Steve Jobs
“Do what you love, love what you do, and deliver more than you promise.” – Harvey Mackay
“Embark on no enterprise which you cannot submit to the test of pride.” – Anonymous
“Quality begins on the inside… and then works its way out.” – Bob Moawad
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” – Vince Lombardi
“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
To Wrap It Up
As you reflect on these high standards quotes, consider how they can inspire you to aim higher in your daily life. Setting and maintaining high standards is important, whether it’s in your personal goals, relationships, or work. These quotes serve as a reminder to keep reaching for excellence and never settle for less than your best.
Feel free to revisit this list whenever you need a boost of motivation. These quotes can help you stay focused on what truly matters and encourage you to keep pushing forward. Let them be a source of inspiration as you strive to achieve your highest potential.
