We all experience inner battles that hold us back. Often, these struggles are due to self-doubt and fear. Self-sabotage can sneak into our daily lives, making it tough to reach our goals.
Understanding and recognizing these behaviors is the first step to change. The right words can offer comfort and clarity. This collection of self-sabotage quotes aims to inspire and encourage you on your path to self-improvement.
Understanding Self Sabotage Quotes
“The only person standing in your way is you.” – Black Swan (film)
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“Our inner fire always creates the outer light.” – Ernest Holmes
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel
“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” – Alyce Cornyn-Selby
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“The greatest enemy within lies not in our stars, but in our refusal to turn our gaze inward.” – Original
“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“Failure is a bend in the road, not the end of the road. Learn from failure and keep moving forward.” – Roy T. Bennett
“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you’re worthy of the trip.” – Glenn Beck
“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare
“The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” – John Milton
“We sabotage the great things in our lives because deep down we don’t feel worthy of having them.” – Original
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” – Walter Anderson
“The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate.” – Unknown
“You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.” – Pearl S. Buck
“Self-doubt is the anchor that keeps our ship from sailing.” – Original
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary
“You were born to be real, not to be perfect.” – Unknown
“We fear discovering that we are more than we think we are, that we can do more than we think we can.” – Marianne Williamson
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” – Steve Jobs
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
Overcoming Self Sabotage Quotes
“Self-sabotage is like a game of chess; just when you’re about to checkmate, you knock over the board.” – Anonymous
“We are our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.” – Tom Robbins
“The only way to overcome self-sabotage is to recognize and confront the enemy within.” – Brené Brown
“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford
“Don’t be your own worst enemy. Put your energy toward positive growth rather than self-doubt.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The greatest battle you will ever fight is with yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is simply believing you’re worthy of the trip.” – Glenn Beck
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
“In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without 100% dedication, you won’t be able to do this.” – Willie Mays
“Your limitations are only a reflection of your beliefs. Change your beliefs, and your limitations disappear.” – Anthony Robbins
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne
“Our greatest enemy is often our own self-doubt.” – Confucius
“It’s never too late to be what you might’ve been.” – George Eliot
“You’ve been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie
“The sooner you step away from your comfort zone, the sooner you’ll realize that it wasn’t all that comfortable.” – Eddie Harris Jr.
“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.” – Buddha
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” – Aristotle
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.” – Catherine Cook
“The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph.” – George Washington
“When the voice of fear whispers ‘you can’t’, the voice of truth counters ‘you already have.'” – Unknown
“The biggest obstacle you’ll ever have to overcome is your mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything.” – Unknown
“Take the stone of self-doubt and use it to carve a pathway to your dreams.” – Original
“Turn each self-sabotaging thought into a stepping stone for success.” – Original
Famous Self Sabotage Quotes
“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare
“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” – Alyce Cornyn-Selby
“We all have our ways of sabotaging our own happiness and success.” – Erin Morgenstern, “The Night Circus”
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“One’s greatest enemy is often themselves.” – Solange Nicole
“It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary
“You are your own worst enemy. If you can learn to stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others, you may find the happiness that has always eluded you.” – Lisa Kleypas
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” – Mary Shelley, “Frankenstein”
“Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” – Helen Keller
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
“Stop letting your fear condemn you to mediocrity.” – Steve Maraboli
“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Be careful of how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.” – Lisa M. Hayes
“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” – Seneca
“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.” – Janis Joplin
“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain
“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you’re worthy of the trip.” – Glenn Beck
“When you say ‘It’s hard’, it actually means ‘I’m not strong enough to fight for it.’ Stop saying its hard. Think positive!” – Domenico Mazza
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing that you’ll make one.” – Elbert Hubbard
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
“Believing in negative thoughts is the single greatest obstruction to success.” – Charles F. Glassman
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis
“Let today be the day you stop being haunted by the ghost of yesterday. Holding a grudge & harboring anger/resentment is poison to the soul.” – Steve Maraboli
Reflective Self Sabotage Quotes
“I am my own worst enemy.” – Unknown
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself.” – Jordan Belfort
“Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.” – Marianne Williamson
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The more you understand yourself, the less likely you are to sabotage yourself.” – Brian Tracy
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” – Anonymous
“Fear is a manipulative emotion that can trick us into living a boring life.” – Donald Miller
“When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.” – Susan Sarandon
“Don’t sabotage yourself. There are plenty of other people willing to do that for free.” – Jennifer Nettles
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
“You sabotage your future when you sabotage yourself in the present.” – Unknown
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
“The only way to deal with self-sabotage is to face it head-on with a clear mind and an open heart.” – Anonymous
“Self-sabotage is knowing exactly what you need to do, but not doing it.” – Arianna Huffington
“Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change.” – Anonymous
“Sometimes the worst place you can be is in your own head.” – Unknown
“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” – Charles Kettering
“You are not here to make others understand you. You are here to understand yourself.” – Leonard Jacobson
“Self-sabotage is the price we pay for wanting acceptance while rejecting ourselves.” – Anonymous
“The biggest obstacle you’ll ever have to overcome is your mind. If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything.” – Unknown
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu
“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” – Alyce Cornyn-Selby
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
Inspirational Self Sabotage Quotes
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James
“Don’t let your fear decide your future.” – Shalane Flanagan
“It’s not what you are that is holding you back; it’s what you think you are not.” – Denis Waitley
“You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” – Ed Cole
“Sometimes the most damaging thing you can do to yourself is underestimate your own potential.” – Unknown
“We are our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.” – Tom Robbins
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
“You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.” – Andrew Murphy
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra
“We sabotage ourselves when we are afraid to take a leap of faith.” – Unknown
“The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” – Nathaniel Branden
“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
“Self-sabotage is knowing exactly what you need to do, but not doing it.” – Unknown
“The biggest wall you have to climb is the one you build in your mind.” – Roy T. Bennett
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” – African Proverb
“Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.” – Lisa M. Hayes
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.” – Tony Robbins
“Our actions may be impeded… but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” – Marcus Aurelius
“Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” – Rabindranath Tagore
“Your biggest commitment must always be to yourself.” – Bridgett Devoue
“You are not the victim of the world, but rather the master of your choices.” – Unknown
Personal Growth Self Sabotage Quotes
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can’t achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort
“Our greatest enemy is our own self-doubt. If we can beat that, we can beat anything.” – Unknown
“Do not sabotage your new relationship with your last relationship’s poison.” – Steve Maraboli
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
“We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” – Kobe Bryant
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“You can choose courage or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.” – Brené Brown
“There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.” – Henry Ford
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” – Will Rogers
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner
“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“The obstacles in our path are mental barriers which can be broken by adopting a more positive approach.” – Unknown
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” – African Proverb
“Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” – Alyce Cornyn-Selby
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” – Rumi
“Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.” – Joyce Brothers
“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” – Suzy Kassem
“Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning.” – Robert Kiyosaki
“The more you know yourself, the more clarity there is. Self-knowledge has no end – you don’t come to an achievement, you don’t come to a conclusion. It is an endless river.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
“Rise above the storm and you will find the sunshine.” – Mario Fernandez
To Wrap Things Up
Self-sabotage is a common struggle many of us face, holding us back from reaching our full potential. The quotes shared here offer insight and motivation to help us recognize and overcome these self-defeating behaviors. Reflecting on these wise words can inspire a positive shift in our thoughts and actions.
Next time you’re feeling stuck or doubting yourself, revisit these quotes to boost your confidence and stay on track. They serve as powerful reminders that while self-sabotage can be a hurdle, it’s one that we can overcome with awareness and determination. Keep these quotes close and let them guide you toward a more empowered and fulfilling life.
