We all feel the pressures to conform throughout our lives -- to the expectations, values or worldviews of others, be it in our intimate circles or in society at large. In the short run, it can seem the easy way out to simply bend to the opinions of others in our pursuits of intimacy, acceptance and achievement. It's only in the long run that we realize this "success" can bring little happiness, because it's a kind made for the life of another.
The harder path, in the short run, is the one we chart ourselves. But down the road, the destination has our name inscribed above the doorway, with love and fulfillment waiting for us on the other end.
It's time you faced your fears and found the courage to build your future from the inside out. To aid you on your journey, here are our Top 10 Quotes to Inspire You to Be Yourself.
The Top 10 Be Yourself Quotes to Inspire You
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.- Oscar Wilde (more Oscar Wilde quotes)
Our time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.- Steve Jobs (read more quotes)
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.- Bernard Baruch
Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.- Nelson Mandela (read more quotes)
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.- Friedrich Nietzsche
You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.- Eleanor Roosevelt (read more quotes)
Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.- Judy Garland
I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.- Rita Mae Brown
Be yourself, but always your better self.- Karl Maeser
Two of Mr. Moriarty's students pose with their yearbook from 1982.WHAM via CNN / Video
man holding a yearbookWHAM via CNN / Video
Black and white photos from school yearbookWHAM via CNN / Video
Patrick Moriarty (center, blue shirt) and a group of his former students watched the solar eclipse together on Monday in New York.Caitlin Moriarty Hynick
