Assertive Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old assertive quotes, assertive sayings, and assertive proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

I have great faith in fools self-confidence my friends will call it. Edgar Allan Poe
Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. Wendy Wasserstein
They can do all because they think they can. Vergil
If you doubt yourself, then indeed you stand on shaky ground. Henrik Ibsen
The man of genius inspires us with a boundless confidence in our own powers. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don't let others put thoughts into your mind that takes away your self-confidence. Katori Hall
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything. Warren Buffett
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. Arthur Ashe
Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. Thomas Carlyle
Whether you think you can or think you can't – you are right. Henry Ford
Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. Edward Estlin Cummings
It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures. Oprah
The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others. Sonya Friedman
Assertiveness is not what you do, it's who you are. Shakti Gawain
Men give their confidence at once, but never their money. Tristan Bernard
The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it. J.M. Barrie
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. Attributed to Hanoch McCarty
Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will Jack Welch
Confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit because of someone's version of reality is not your reality. Shannon L. Alder
Don't let anyone steal your dream. It's your dream, not theirs. Dan Zadra
Always be yourself, express yourself have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. Bruce Lee
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it. Malcolm X
With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world. Dalai Lama
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do. Benjamin Spock
To be passive is to let others decide for you. To be aggressive is to decide for others. To be assertive is to decide for yourself. And to trust that there is enough, that you are enough. Edith Eva Eger
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Confidence is like a dragon where, for every head cut off, two more heads grow back. Criss Jami
Self-confidence grows on trees, in other people's orchards. Mignon McLaughlin
Life marks us all down, so it's just as well that we start out by overpricing ourselves. Mignon McLaughlin
Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. Peter T.Mcintyre
If you haven't confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started. Marcus Garvey
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you. William Jennings Bryan
Assertiveness is most effective when least applied. Wes Fesler
To be around someone whose self-confidence is more than what our first glance led us to expect is seductive. Abraham Verghese
Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control. Richard Kline
Being assertive in the home does not produce any smiling faces, but it does bring out a few tongues. Wes Fesler
Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed. Channing Pollock
Confidence is always the best accessory. Own the moment. Own your space. Andrena Sawyer
The assertive are ego against ego. Speaking out is not for the common good, according to the assertive philosophy but for getting ahead. Alfred Henry
Assertive is supposed to claim their ego is enough; affirmers justify their values. Alfred Henry
Adopt an assertive way of speaking— with confidence but without aggression. Pyramid
Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Bruce Lee
Adopt this attitude and you will be confident that you can cope with everything. Edmund Burke
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. Edmund Burke
Assertive people are not tolerated in California. My friend there would tell me one of two things. They either said, 'Go into therapy' or 'Go to New York.' And so I actually did kind of both of those things. Bill Heidbreder
Hell is full of talented but Heaven of the energetic. St. Jane Frances de Chantal
In the wild there is no Credo / Nor hideous disbelief; / Song-birds are never assertive / Of the Truth, the Bliss, or Grief. Gibran
But as women learn to be more assertive and assume more positions of authority, their insecure nature will be replaced with more confidence and an improved image of reliability. Lois Kerschen
The implication is that people become more assertive with age and are less likely to allow others to impose on them. Jamaican Saying
Unlike the quiet cow, in order to survive or to avoid being imposed upon, one needs to be assertive and aggressive as one who is too quiet is likely to be taken advantage of. Jamaican Saying
I'd like to go to an assertiveness training class. First I need to check with my wife. Adam Christing
The duty we owe ourselves is greater than that we owe others. Louisa May Alcott
Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl. Benjamin Jowett
I think naturally if you're an actor, there's a high level of assertiveness that you need to have to survive this business. There's boldness in being assertive, and there's strength and confidence. Bryan Cranston
Nothing is as irritating to a shy man as a confident girl. Mokokoma Mokhonoana
It's not harsh to be assertive, it's harsher when people take advantage of you. Janna Cachola
When you are fulfilling the meaning of your life, your steps are assertive, but when you are after power or pleasure, you become aggressive. Roumen Bezergianov
Some people hate people who are overconfident, only because their overconfidence reminds them of their underconfidence. Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Women are a little more assertive in terms of our ability to express our feelings when we fall in love. Alicia Machado
What some call rebellion, others call survival. Shirley Fessel
We are capable of performing the task. Laila Gifty Akita
One of the hardest expressions of self-assertiveness is challenging your limiting beliefs. Nathaniel Branden
A bully hides his fears with fake bravado. That is the opposite of self-assertiveness. Nathaniel Branden