Looking for meaningful quotes about having self-control? We have rounded up the best collection of self control quotes, sayings, proverbs, and captions (with images and pictures) to inspire you to be self-disciplined and patient in life to have full control over your emotions and actions.
Self-controlled people are in charge of their emotions and actions. They don’t get carried away by the way they feel, but do the right thing in balance and regulate their emotions well.
Also See: Discipline Quotes
Self-control is the strength of character as you don’t give in to your impulses and do what’s right or beneficial. It’s the ability to control emotions, impulses, or behaviors to achieve a greater goal.
Also See: Patience Quotes
If you are inspired by these self-control sayings and quotes then check our post on endurance quotes and God give me strength quotes to inspire you in hard times.
Famous Self Control Quotes
- “Master self-control within yourself.” – ATGW
- “I’m not dieting. I’m just practicing self-control.”
- “Never let your emotions overpower your intelligence.”
- “The main factor behind success is self-control.” – Rig Veda
- “If you lose self-control everything will fall.” – John Wooden
- “One’s greatest challenge is to control oneself.” – Kazi Shams
- “To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.” – Virginia Woolf
- “You need self-control in an out-of-control world.” – James C. Collins
- “With self-discipline most anything is possible.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” – Napoleon Hill
- “You can’t always control the wind, but you can control your sails.” – Dr. Bob Chope
- “I cannot trust a man to control others if he cannot control himself.” – Robert E. Lee
- “In the midst of movement and chaos keep stillness inside of you.” – Deepak Chopra
- “Self-control – what lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.” – Aristotle
- “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” – Donald Laird
- “When we direct our thoughts properly, we can control our emotions.” – W. Clement Stone
- “Anger doesn’t demand action. When you act in anger, you lose self-control.” – Joe Hyams
- “Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are today.” – Robert Schuller
- “Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln
- “By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.” – Grenville Kleise
- “Mastering self-control, the act of restraining one’s emotions is the true key to success.” – Timothy Pina
- “Self-discipline is when your conscience tells you to do something and you don’t talk back.” – W.K. Hope
- “You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do.” – A. J. Kitt
- “He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king.” – John Milton
- “You have to train your mind to be tougher than your emotions. I promise it’ll take you so much further.”
- “If you do not have control over your mouth, you will not have control over your future.” – Germany Kent
- “Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.” – Elie Wiesel
- “He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
- “Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.” – Thucydides
- “We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win.” – Edward Gibbon
- “If you can not control yourself to do what needs to be done, do you really think that you will be successful?” – ATGW
- “He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- “Seek always for the answer within. Be not influenced by those around you, by their thoughts or their words.” – Eileen Caddy
- “The one that angers you controls you. Don’t give anyone that power!!! Especially the one who does it intentionally…”
- “The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.” – Charles Darwin
- “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” – Aristotle
- “Your brain shall be your servant instead of your master. You will rule it instead of allowing it to rule you.” – Charles Popplestone
- “Self-control is a key factor in achieving success. We can’t control everything in life, but we can definitely control ourselves.” – Jan McKingley Hilado
- “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you don’t, life controls you.” – Anthony Robbins
- “Self-control is strength. Calmness is mastery. You have to get to a point where your mood doesn’t shift based on the insignificant actions of someone else. Don’t allow others to control the direction of your life. Don’t allow your emotions to overpower your intelligence.”
Quotes About Self Discipline
Discipline provides people with rules to live their lives efficiently and effectively. Sticking to rules may seem boring or tiring at times, but small sacrifices on a daily basis make a strong and bright future ahead.
Also See: Being Organized Quotes
Moreover, discipline promotes self-control and allows us to focus and work better towards our goals and not act based on our emotions. It is rightly said that; “Life without discipline is just like a ship without radar.” Therefore the importance of discipline in life just cannot be ignored.
- “Rule your mind or it will rule you.” – Horace
- “Win in your mind and you will win in your reality.”
- “Control your destiny or somebody will.” – Jack Welsh
- “Challenge yourself all the days of your life.” – Unknown
- “No man is free who cannot command himself.” – Pythagoras
- “Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not a tool for self-torture.”
- “The control centre of your life is your attitude.” – Anonymous
- “Control yourself or someone else will control you.” – Anonymous
- “It is not necessary to react to everything you notice.” – Anonymous
- “Don’t speak unless you can improve on the silence.” – Spanish Proverb
- “I never prod my nose into other man’s porridge.” – Miguel De Cervantes
- “Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” – Michel de Montaigne
- “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” – William Henley
- “What man’s mind can create, man’s character can control.” – Thomas Edison
- “If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.” – William Feather
- “Clean your own yard first before asking others to clean theirs.” – Bosnian Proverb
- “No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself.” – William Penn
- “It all begins and ends in your mind. What you give power to, has power over you.” — Leon Brown
- “Self-control, stop, think, what could happen? Is that what you want?” – Anonymous
- “Self-determination is fine but needs to be tempered with self-control.” – Anonymous
- “Don’t make a mouse of yourself, or else you will be eaten by cats.” – German Proverb
- “Self control is the ability to do the important thing over the urgent.” – Timothy Keller
- “You don’t control negative habits with force. You do so by developing positive habits.”
- “A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a hundred moments of regret.”
- “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” – Psalm 14:13
- “We can’t always control what we encounter, but we can always control how we engage it.”
- “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” – Anonymous
- “No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy–unless you let him.” – Napoleon Hill
- “The simplest way to strengthen your willpower is to consciously and intentionally exercise it.”
- “Believe that you can whip the enemy, and you have won half the battle.” – General J.E.B. Stuart
- “Self-control is the ability to control the expression of our passions and emotions.” – Anonymous
- “You are always responsible for how you act, no matter how your feel. Remember that.” – Anonymous
- “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
- “It is as proper to have pride in oneself as it is ridiculous to show it to others.” – Francois De La Rochefoucauld
- “You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.” – Vince Lombardi
- “Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions.” – Anonymous
- “When we have begun to take charge of our lives, to own ourselves, there is no longer any need to ask permission of someone.” – George O’Neil
- “The true value of the human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which one has attained liberation from the self.” – Albert Einstein
- “Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock.” – Mohandas Gandhi
- “Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.” – Napoleon Hill
- “You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic. If words control you that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.” – Bruce Lee
Self Control Is Strength Quotes
Self control is one of the greatest virtues a person can have. With self control you learn to be patient and to stay calm and not get angry, especially when there is a difficulty or you have to wait a long time.
Also See: Be Calm Quotes
Maintaing your endurance and calmness in times of shortcomings, misfortune, or pain, without complaint is true patience.
- “The best fighter is never angry.” – Lao Tzu
- “Discipline is remembering what you want.”
- “My super power is self-control.” – Anonymous
- “Don’t be slave to your emotions. Control them.”
- “You must have discipline to have fun.” – Julia Child
- “Man cannot live without self-control.” – Isaac Singer
- “Anger is only one letter short of danger.” – Unknown
- “He who angers you conquers you.” – Elizabeth Kenny
- “I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.”
- “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” – Seneca
- “Prudent, cautious self-control, is wisdom’s root.” – Robert Burns
- “If you learn self-control, you can master anything.” – Anonymous
- “Those who can command themselves, command others.” – Hazlitt
- “Such power there is in clear-eyed self-restraint.” – James Russell Lowell
- “No conflict is so severe as his who labors to subdue himself.” – Thomas Kempis
- “We have a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” – Anonymous
- “It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” – Buddha
- “When the fight begins within himself, a man’s worth something.” – Robert Browning
- “Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.” – James Allen
- “In that power of self-control lies the seed of eternal freedom.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
- “Self-control is the quality that distinguishes the fittest to survive.” – George Bernard Shaw
- “There never has been, and cannot be, a good life without self-control.” – Count Leo Tolstoy
- “Silence is not always a sign of weakness; it’s also a sign of strong self-control.” – Anonymous
- “The man who masters his own soul will forever be called conqueror of conquerors.” – Plautus
- “Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” – Steve Maraboli
- “You must learn to be still in the midst of activity, and to be vibrantly alive in repose.” – Indira Gandhi
- “You can’t control the fact people will annoy you, but what you can control is your reaction.” – Anonymous
- “I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.” – Billie Jean King
- “To rule self and subdue our passions is the more praiseworthy because so few know how to do it.” – Guiana
- “He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.” – Tao Te Ching
- “The best time for you to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or bust.” – Josh Billings
- “Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control–these three alone lead life to sovereign power.” – Alfred Tennyson
- “Don’t be curious of matters that don’t concern you; never speak of them, and don’t ask about them.” – Teresa of Avila
- “Your success depends mainly upon what you think of yourself and whether you believe in yourself.” – William Boetcker
- “Self-control: If A = success, then A = X+Y+Z, with X being work, Y play and Z keeping your mouth shut.” – Albert Einstein
- “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
- “Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” – Dale Carnegie
- “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
- “Ships do’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.”
- “It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are–not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within–that you can begin to take control.” – Oprah Winfrey
Self Control Quotes From The Bible
- “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13
- “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:21
- “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:6
- “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” – Proverbs 16:32
- “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
- “Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.” – Titus 1:8
- “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” – Romans 7:18
- “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12
- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23
- “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” – Romans 12:1
Maintaining self-control is a rare quality, and not everyone possesses it. But with practice and mainting your composure in stressful times, you can surely unleash the power of patience and see success come your way.
Read on to find these encouraging words of wisdom by famous authors, leaders, successful athletes, businessmen, and sportsmen who have changed their life and made them great with discipline and self-control.
Don’t forget to check out our collection of spiritual awakening quotes and fresh air quotes to enlighten your soul, body, and mind in the midst of mother nature.
If you have some of your favorite self-control sayings and idioms that are not included in the above list, please share them in the comments section below and we will love to add them to the list.
Feel free to share with friends and family on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more to extend your support to your loved ones.