A selection of top 120 inspirational thoughts to help setting boundaries and effective communication in order to reduce violation to your personal space and prevent emotional pain.
I have personally chosen the best amongst 1500 quotes. These quotes do not assume any belief on your part.
=> At the bottom of this page, you can download the free PDF for easy reference.
Givers need to set limits because takers rarely do. ― Rachel Wolchin
Speak in your own voice about the things that matter to you. ― Marty Rubin
I encourage people to remember that “No” is a complete sentence. ― Gavin de Becker
Lack of boundaries invites lack of respect. ― Anonymous
The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom. ― Tara Brach
When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. ― Brené Brown
Your personal boundaries protect the inner core of your identity and your right to choices. ― Gerard Manley Hopkins
Choose to be pro-active, assertive and self-defining. ― Bryant McGill
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
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
Boundaries aren’t all bad. That’s why there are walls around mental institutions. ― Peggy Noonan
Boundary setting is really a huge part of time management. ― Jim Loehr
I’ve always been attracted to women who are assertive and have confidence. They don’t play games. They know what they want, and they’re not afraid to tell you. ― Taye Diggs
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘No’ to almost everything. ― Warren Buffett
The more severe the dysfunction you experienced growing up, the more difficult boundaries are for you. ― David W. Earle
Being able to say “No” is a necessary ingredient in a healthy lifestyle. ― David W. Earle
When trying to teach someone a boundary, they learn less from the enforcement of the boundary and more from the way the boundary was established. ― Bryant H. McGill
You best teach others about healthy boundaries by enforcing yours. ― Bryant McGill
A broken soul doesn’t invest in boundaries because the world has crossed them, without mercy. ― Shannon L. Alder
We need people who push boundaries rather than retreat inside them. ― Tim Fargo
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Boundaries represent awareness, knowing what the limits are and then respecting those limits. ― David W. Earle
It is necessary, and even vital, to set standards for your life and the people you allow in it. ― Mandy Hale
Boundaries and risk management are very important parts of living a healthy and positive life. ― Bryant McGill
Individuals set boundaries to feel safe, respected, and heard. ― Pamela Cummins
You need boundaries… Even in our material creations, boundaries mark the most beautiful of places, between the ocean and the shore, between the mountains and the plains, where the canyon meets the river. ― Wm. Paul Young
Families living in dysfunction seldom have healthy boundaries. Dysfunctional families have trouble knowing where they stop and others begin. ― David W. Earle
I’ve worked very hard at understanding myself and learning to be assertive. I’m past the point where I worry about people liking me. ― Pam Dawber
There’s boldness in being assertive; there’s strength and confidence. ― Bryan Cranston
Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for – You. ― Shannon L. Alder
People who violate your boundaries are thieves. They steal time that doesn’t belong to them. ― Elizabeth Grace Saunders
Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it. ― Malcolm X
Honouring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too. ― Gina Greenlee
Confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit because of someone’s version of your reality is not their reality. ― Shannon L. Alder
It is a mistake to look at someone who is self-assertive and say, ‘It’s easy for her, she has good self-esteem.’ One of the ways you build self-esteem is by being self-assertive when it is not easy to do so. There are always times when self-assertiveness requires courage, no matter how high your self-esteem. ― Nathaniel Branden
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
Whatever you are willing to put up with, is exactly what you will have. ―Anonymous
We can say what we need to say. We can gently, but assertively, speak our mind. We do not need to be judgmental, tactless, blaming or cruel when we speak our truths. ― Melody Beattie
Many of us live in denial of who we truly are because we fear losing someone or something and there are times that if we don’t rock the boat, too often the one we lose is ourselves. It feels good to be accepted, loved, and approved of by others, but often the membership fee to belong to that club is far too high of a price to pay. ― Dennis Merritt Jones
Let Life race you out beyond your own boundaries over and over again until you are comfortable with watching the map of normal’s edge disappear behind you. Let Life show you that it is safe to exceed your own expectations and reputation and prove that the only danger in following her into the wilderness is a loss of your own fear. This is when we gain the warrior’s heart, the master’s eye, and the student’s mind. After that, Life holds our hand in every adventure and shows us things not possible before. ― Jacob Nordby
The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others, but with yourself. ― Shannon L. Alder
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First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak. ― Epictetus
Most people have to talk so they won’t hear. ― May Sarton
An open ear is the only believable sign of an open heart. ― David Augsburger
Constantly talking isn’t necessarily communicating. – Charlie Kaufman
If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. ― Thumper from Bambi
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. ― Epictetus
You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time. ― Scott Peck
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something. ― Plato
Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. ― Eleanor Roosevelt
The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become. ― May Sarton
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ― George Bernard Shaw
Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid. ― Homer
The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue. ― Malala Yousafzai
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. ― Dorothy Nevill
Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn’t listening. ― Emma Thompson
My belief is that communication is the best way to create strong relationships. ― Jada Pinkett Smith
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. ― Buddha
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it. ― Voltaire
You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life. ― Zig Ziglar
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The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become. ― May Sarton
The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t being said. The art of reading between the lines is a life long quest of the wise. ― Shannon L. Alder
To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. ― Tony Robbins
In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone’s letter. ― Chinese proverb
Words of comfort, skilfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man. ― Louis Nizer
A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation. ― Mark Twain
When you take the time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it’s amazing what you can learn. ― Greg Mortenson
So the whole war is because we can’t talk to each other. ― Orson Scott Card
No one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves. ― Marianne Williamson
When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective. ― Stephen R. Covey
Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good. ― Lao Tzu
Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it. ― Robert Frost
Many times in life I’ve regretted the things I’ve said without thinking. But I’ve never regretted the things I said nearly as much as the words I left unspoken. ― Lisa Kleypas
A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow. ― William Shakespeare
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. ― Anne Morrow Lindbergh
When we change the way we communicate, we change society. ― Clay Shirky
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble. ― Yehuda Berg
I have always found it odd that people who think passive aggressively ignoring a person is making a point to them. The only point it makes to anyone is your inability to articulate your point of view because deep down you know you can’t win. ― Shannon L. Alder
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind. ― Bernard M. Baruch
Speaking with kindness creates confidence, thinking with kindness creates profoundness, giving with kindness creates love. ― Lao Tzu
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So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them. ― Sylvia Plath
No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. ― Ansel Adams
When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret. ― Shannon L. Alder
Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall. ― Oliver Wendell Holmes
There are two circumstances that lead to arrogance: one is when you’re wrong and you can’t face it; the other is when you’re right and nobody else can face it. ― Criss Jami
Because of the self-confidence with which he had spoken, no one could tell whether what he said was very clever or very stupid. ― Leo Tolstoy
When you open your mind, you open new doors to new possibilities for yourself and new opportunities to help others. ― Roy Bennett
Swearing doesn’t make your argument valid; it just tells the other person you have lost your class and control. ― Shannon L. Alder
You are not what others think you are. The important thing isn’t what other people think you are; it’s who you are. ― Shannon L. Alder
How would your life be different if you approached all relationships with authenticity and honesty? Let today be the day you dedicate yourself to building relationships on the solid foundation of truth and authenticity. ― Steve Maraboli
Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free. ― Eckhart Tolle
Why would you continue to compromise something that’s beautiful to create something that is fake? ― Steve Maraboli
We try so hard to make ourselves lovable, and yet each layer of this mask puts another wall around us – a wall that keeps love out. ― Vironika Tugaleva
Embrace the possibility of a fulfilled dream. ― Lailah Gifty Akita
By no longer relying on approval from others for (false) reassurance or acceptance, you access a Divine channel of freedom. ― Maria Flynn
A lot of the conflict you have in your life exists simply because you’re not living in alignment; you’re not be being true to yourself. ― Steve Maraboli
What we believe in our heart, we must declare with our mouth. ― Lailah Gifty Akita
Don’t live in dissatisfaction, leave for, and live in satisfaction. ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
The opposite of self-assertiveness is self-abnegation; abandoning or submerging your personal values, judgment, and interests. Some people tell themselves this is a virtue. It is a “virtue” that corrodes self-esteem. ― Nathaniel Branden
Let others see their own greatness when looking in your eyes. ― Mollie Marti
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Just say what you want to say . . . and say it with all your heart. ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Be assertive, in speech and in conduct. ― Lailah Gifty Akita
You may meet opportunities; you may miss opportunities; you may create opportunities. Opportunities may recur; opportunities may be equivalent but not equal. For the sake of the vicissitudes of life and the mutability of time, watch your time. ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
It’s a fact that you’re going to have a different opinion or view on certain topics or issues. You need stand your ground by sharing your view. ― Michael Barbarulo
We must teach our girls that if they speak their mind, they can create the world they want to see. ― Robyn Silverman
Trust that it is more important to fulfill your authentic desires than listen to your fears. Trust that your intuition is leading you somewhere. Trust that the flow of life contains you, is bigger than you, and will take care of you. If you let it. ― Vironika Tugaleva
Conformity begins the moment you ignore how you feel for acceptance. ― Shannon L. Alder
You have the right to say ‘No’ without feeling guilty. ― Manuel J. Smith
Who was I fooling, telling my heart to quiet its beautiful song so I could march in the parade of conformity? My biggest fool was me. ― Vironika Tugaleva
We conform to pain until we don’t notice it anymore; it’s what you call ‘numb’ and it tragically blots out our pleasure too. ― Bryant McGill
Think about the word mould for a moment. A mould is a device into which one crams and smashes something until it becomes the shape that they desire. Don’t spend your life letting other people destroy you while they try and force you into their moulds. ― Dan Pearce
A man who loves others based solely on how they make him feel, or what they do for him, is really not loving others at all – but loving only himself. ― Criss Jami
While you’re sitting there wondering why you’ve kept all the rules and you still haven’t achieved everything you’ve been promised, someone else has been breaking all the rules and seeing all the success that comes from doing so. ― Dan Pearce
Great people have one thing in common: they do not conform. ― P.K. Shaw
Two reasons why people hate and/or fight change: People fear the unknown; and there are always people profiting from how things are. ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
The problem with this generation is they are so quick to define who they are in the process of searching. It is their need for immediate acceptance that keeps them from exploring further. ― Shannon L. Alder
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself. ― Harvey Fierstein
Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else. ― Judy Garland
Don’t compromise yourself – you’re all you have. ― John Grisham
I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it. ― Maya Angelou
Final Words
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