Self-Control Quotes
“Willpower is easy. Won’t power is hard!”
-Clifton Bauer
“Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.”
-James Allen
“We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation.”
-Jane Fonda
“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”
-Brian Tracy
“Silence is not always a sign of weakness; it’s also a sign of strong self-control.”
-Anonymous
“Developing mental strength is about improving your ability to regulate your emotions, manage your thoughts, and behave in a positive manner, despite your circumstances.”
— Amy Morin
“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.”
-Clint Eastwood
“Self-determination is fine but needs to be tempered with self-control.”
-Anonymous
“Finding oneself was a misnomer; a self is not found but made.”
-Jacques Barzun
“Discipline and concentration are a matter of being interested.”
-Tom Kite
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
-Benjamin Franklin
“The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.”
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson
“Everything is habit-forming, so make sure what you do is what you want to be doing.”
– Wilt Chamberlain
“What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.”
-H.P.Liddon
“If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.”
-William Feather
“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”
-Anonymous
“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.”
-Lao Tzu
“Anger doesn’t demand action. When you act in anger, you lose self-control.”
-Joe Hyams
“You must have discipline to have fun.”
-Julia Child
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”
—Fred DeVito
How can you use Quotes?
- Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.
- Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.
- Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.
- Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.
- Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.
- Make it fun: You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.