Setting boundaries is sometimes hard but it’s also necessary to live a healthy, happy and self-loving life.
Because saying no a bit more often will reduce your stress and free up time for what matters the most to you.
And letting people know where your boundaries are will help you to foster healthy relationships and not let them become unbalanced or a place where resentment or other negative feelings start to creep in.
Plus, setting boundaries for yourself and for what you accept of yourself at work, in your relationships and in how you treat yourself can make a huge difference for your self-esteem and your quality of life.
So in today’s post I’d like to help you with all of that by sharing 80 of the most helpful boundaries quotes.
And if you want even more self-loving and uplifting inspiration then check out this post with quotes on being proud of yourself and also this one filled with you are worthy quotes.
Inspirational Boundaries Quotes
“Your personal boundaries protect the inner core of your identity and your right to choices.”
Gerard Manley Hopkins
“Healthy boundaries are not walls. They are gates and fences that allow you to enjoy the beauty of your own garden.”
Lydia Hall
“No is a complete sentence.”
Anne Lamont
“You can be a good person with a kind heart and still say no to people.”
Tracy A. Malone
“Honoring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too.”
Gina Greenlee
“If your boundary training consists only of words, you are wasting your breath. But if you ‘do’ boundaries with your kids, they internalize the experiences, remember them, digest them, and make them part of how they see reality.”
Henry Cloud
“Do not justify, apologize for, or rationalize the healthy boundary you are setting. Do not argue. Just set the boundary calmly, firmly, clearly, and respectfully.”
Crystal Andrus
“Boundaries are, in simple terms, the recognition of personal space.”
Asa Don Brown
“Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how to use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.”
Anna Taylor
“I swear to God, the second I learned how to say ‘no,’ I felt that was the best anti-aging I could do for myself.”
Gabrielle Union
“Let today mark a new beginning for you. Give yourself permission to say no without feeling guilty, mean, or selfish. Anybody who gets upset and/or expects you to say yes all of the time clearly doesn’t have your best interest at heart. Always remember: You have a right to say no without having to explain yourself. Be at peace with your decisions.”
Stephanie Lahart
“Whenever you feel compelled to put others first at the expense of yourself, you are denying your own reality, your own identity.”
David Stafford
“In order to thrive and be successful, you have to be able to set boundaries.”
Oprah Winfrey
“To gain self-respect, you need to put yourself first.”
Lorii Myers
“Boundary setting helps you prioritize your needs over other people’s wants.”
Lauren Kenson
Insightful Boundaries Quotes
“We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.”
Henry Cloud
“You best teach others about healthy boundaries by enforcing yours.”
Bryant McGill
“Healthy boundaries are important, but you may be building a brick wall when a picket fence would do.”
Amy Dickinson
“Walls keep everybody out. Boundaries teach them where the door is.”
Mark Groves
“The hardest part about setting boundaries with people, no matter who they are, is not feeling confident in our authority to do so. As long as you realize that setting boundaries is necessary for healthy relationships, you will feel better defining and keeping them.”
Tamera Mowry-Housley
“Boundaries protect the things that are of value to you. They keep you in alignment with what you have decided you want in life. That means the key to good boundaries is knowing what you want.”
Adelyn Birch
“If you do not respect your own wishes, no one else will. You will simply attract people who disrespect you as much as you do.”
Vironika Tugaleva
“If you spend your life sparing people’s feelings and feeding their vanity, you get so you can’t distinguish what should be respected in them.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Poisonous relationships cloud your vision. I wasted a lot of time adjusting my personal boundaries and justifying disrespect when it would have been so much easier (and a lot less painful) to simply adjust my life to their absence.”
Steve Maraboli
“People who violate your boundaries are thieves. They steal time that doesn’t belong to them.”
Elizabeth Grace Saunders
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘No’ to almost everything.”
Warren Buffett
“Boundaries are easier to manage when your values are well-defined.”
Joe Jordan
“The only people who get upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who were benefiting from you having none.”
Unknown
“Know what matters most to you and be unwilling to compromise those priorities at almost any price.”
Frank Sonnenberg
“Much of the time, the things we feel guilty about are not our issues. Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty.”
Melody Beattie
“The more severe the dysfunction you experienced growing up, the more difficult boundaries are for you.”
David W. Earle
“Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give, and nobody will care for you.”
Karl Lagerfeld
“Having healthy boundaries not only requires being able to say “no”, but also being willing and able to enforce that “no” when necessary.”
Jessica Moore
“If you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won’t like you. It may not be easy, but it’s essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.”
Cheryl Richardson
Self-Loving Boundaries Quotes
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others.”
Brené Brown
“When you set personal boundaries you do it to protect your time, your heart and yourself and free up more space for what truly nurtures you.”
Unknown
“Power for me is ‘no.’ That’s when you know your worth, when you know your value. And that’s power for me.”
Taraji P. Henson
“Setting boundaries in a relationship implies your attempt to continue the relationship in a healthy way. It’s not an attempt to hurt the other person.”
Shilpa
“Setting boundaries is a way of caring for myself. It doesn’t make me mean, selfish, or uncaring just because I don’t do things your way. I care about me, too.”
Christine Morgan
“Saying NO can be the most empowering word if you struggle with codependency, abusive relationships or low self-esteem.”
Unknown
“If you have to ask to be treated right, you are around the wrong people. On the other hand, if you allow this behavior to enter into the relationship from the start, it can and will continue, and will be very difficult to change up later. Set your boundaries sooner than later.”
Christine E. Szymanski
“It is necessary, and even vital, to set standards for your life and the people you allow in it.”
Mandy Hale
“Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership. Knowing what I am to own and take responsibility for gives me freedom.”
Henry Cloud
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
Maya Angelou
“One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.”
Shannon L. Alder
“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 judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.”
Kim McMillen
“No boundary or barrier surrounds the heart of a person that loves their self and others.”
Shannon L. Alder
Quotes About Boundaries for Self-Care
“Families living in dysfunction seldom have healthy boundaries. Dysfunctional families have trouble knowing where they stop and others begin.”
David W. Earle
“If you feel “burnout” setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.”
Dalai Lama
“People who violate or cross your boundaries by being cruel, insensitive, thoughtless, abusive, rude or disrespectful should not be a part of your life. You deserve love, dignity and respect. People who willingly and knowingly cross boundaries have mental issues that need to be dealt with.”
Unknown
“Boundaries were necessary for a successful relationship. Most relationships aborted in the boundary defining stage. Not because people demanded what they needed. But because they didn’t, they got resentful about it.”
Karen Marie Moning
“When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you’re not saying ‘no’ to yourself.”
Paulo Coelho
“I know it is sometimes tough to set boundaries. But you need to do it because a lack of boundaries invites lack of respect and that will set you up for unhealthy relationships and work situations. And that can have a big impact on your mental health.”
Unknown
“Every time I have to set a boundary, it stresses me out. But I do it for the same reason I’ve been building blanket forts since I was a little kid. To create a safe place for myself.”
Nanea Hoffman
“Boundaries are a part of self-care. They are healthy, normal, and necessary.”
Doreen Virtue
“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
“I’m very clear with my boundaries…I hope I do influence other women to set better boundaries for themselves.”
Amy Schumer
“Every woman that finally figured out her worth has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change.”
Shannon L. Alder
Short Boundaries Quotes
“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated.”
Brené Brown
“Boundaries represent awareness, knowing what the limits are and then respecting those limits.”
David W. Earle
“Whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will get.”
Unknown
“Givers need to set limits because takers rarely do.”
Rachel Wolchin
“No one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves.”
Marianne Williamson
“You are not too nice. You are just too afraid to say no and honor your boundaries.”
Xavier Dagba
“You’re not responsible for people’s reactions and always making them feel good. Sometimes you gotta say no for your own sake.”
Unknown
“Set and enforce your personal boundaries.”
Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“To me, self-care does not mean going to the spa. It’s learning to say no.”
Tracee Ellis Ross
“Speak in your own voice about the things that matter to you.”
Marty Rubin
“Setting emotional boundaries prevents people from manipulating you, using you, and playing with your feelings.”
Remez Sasson
“Individuals set boundaries to feel safe, respected, and heard.”
Pamela Cummins
“Being able to say “No” is a necessary ingredient in a healthy lifestyle.”
David W. Earle
“If someone throws a fit because you set boundaries, it’s just more evidence the boundary is needed.”
Unknown
“If you’re offended by my boundaries, then you’re probably one of the reasons I need them.”
Steve Maraboli
“There are reasons to set boundaries for yourself, but there are also reasons to keep doors open.”
Ashley Graham
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“You get what you tolerate.”
Henry Cloud
“Boundaries are to protect life, not to limit pleasures.”
Edwin Louis Cole
“It’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.”
Steve Jobs
“Each time you set a healthy boundary, you say ‘yes’ to more freedom.”
Nancy Levin
If you liked these boundaries quotes then share them with a friend that may need them on social media or via email.
Want even more inspiration and help? Check out this post with one sided relationship quotes and this one with family isn’t always blood quotes.