113 Best Never Settle Quotes (with Commentary)

“Never settle” is a strong mantra that encourages you to strive for the best in every facet of your life, whether it’s personal growth, relationships, career, or education.

Quotes centered around the theme of “never settling” inspire you to push beyond your comfort zone and challenge the status quo.

They serve as reminders that true satisfaction and success are often the result of perseverance, high standards, and constant self-improvement.

Top Never Settle Quotes

Never settling is about striving for the best in ourselves and our lives. These powerful quotes inspire us to push beyond mediocrity, challenging us to pursue greatness and never accept less than what we deserve.

“Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. It’s not pride, it’s self-respect.” – Chanakya

“Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something.” Ashton Kutcher

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” – Steve Jobs

“You get what you settle for.” – Thelma and Louise

“Do not settle for the bottom rungs of excellence.” – Stanley Tucci

“Never settle for less than your dreams, somewhere, sometime, someday, somehow, you’ll find them.” – Danielle Steel

“Settling is for pilgrims – why settle when you can conquer?” – Sophia Amoruso

“Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in.” – Hillary Clinton

“Never settle for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

“Refuse to settle for something less than great. If it’s great, then pursue it.” – Lolly Daskal

Also Read: Lin-Manuel Miranda Quotes (with Commentary)

Never Settle Quotes on Personal Growth

Focusing on personal growth means constantly pushing beyond comfort zones and embracing challenges that foster development. These quotes encourage us to never settle in our quest for personal and professional growth, reminding us of the rewards of such perseverance.

“Growth and comfort do not coexist.” – Ginni Rometty

“Settle for more.” – Megyn Kelly

“The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today.” – Les Brown

“Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort.” – Peter McWilliams

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” – Max Depree

“There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone.” – Unknown

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily.” – Mike Murdoch

“Risk more than others think is safe. Dream more than others think is practical.” – Howard Schultz

Never Settle Quotes on Career Ambitions

Ambition fuels our drive to achieve and excel in our careers. These quotes inspire us to never settle for mediocrity in our professional lives, urging us to strive for excellence and to pursue our dreams relentlessly.

“Your career is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get. But everything you get is going to teach you something along the way and make you the person you are today.” – Nick Carter

“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

“If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso

“If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission.” – Anonymous

“Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.” – George Lucas

Never Settle Quotes on Relationships

In relationships, settling can mean compromising one’s happiness and fulfillment. These quotes emphasize the importance of holding out for a relationship that truly enriches and uplifts one’s life, highlighting the value of waiting for someone who meets not just some, but all your emotional and spiritual needs.

“Never settle for being someone’s other when you have the potential to be someone’s only.” – Unknown

“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky

“Never settle for a relationship that won’t let you be yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey

“You deserve someone who jumps fences to be with you not someone who is on the fence about being with you.” – Unknown

“If they don’t appreciate you, they don’t deserve you.” – Respect your worth

“Don’t settle for a relationship that won’t let you be yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey

“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.” – Robert Tew

“Never settle for less than you deserve. Demand the best, accept nothing less.” – Jeanette Coron

“Settling for mediocre love isn’t something you’d want for your child, so why is it acceptable for you?” – Shannon L. Alder

“In matters of the heart, nothing less than everything will truly satisfy.” – Harold S. Kushner

Never Settle Quotes on Education

Education shapes our worldviews and our futures, and it is crucial to never settle for less than the best when it comes to learning. These quotes inspire us to pursue knowledge relentlessly, embrace continuous learning, and challenge ourselves to expand our horizons.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle

“Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” – Chinese Proverb

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats

“Change is the end result of all true learning.” – Leo Buscaglia

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Never Settle Quotes on Dreams

Dreams fuel our aspirations and guide us towards our destinies. Emphasizing the importance of aiming high and pursuing our deepest desires, these quotes encourage us to never settle for the ordinary but to always strive for the extraordinary.

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.” – Mae Jemison

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho

“Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don’t give up.” – Rachel Corrie

“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” – Les Brown

Never Settle Quotes on Standards

Upholding high standards in every facet of life ensures that we do not compromise on the quality of our experiences, relationships, and personal achievements. These quotes inspire us to maintain high standards and remind us of the importance of striving for excellence in everything we do.

“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” Vince Lombardi

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” – Steve Jobs

“The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.” – Maureen Dowd

“Set your standards high; find men and women whose integrity and values you respect; get their agreement on a course of action; and give them your ultimate trust.” – John Akers

“If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” – James Cameron

“Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations.” – Ralph Marston

“When you set standards and stick to them, there are those who will resent you for it. But they are not the ones you should aspire to please.” – J. K. Rowling

“I am not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.” – Erica Cook

“Set high standards and few limitations for yourself.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

“Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life’s cultivation.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Never Settle Quotes on Self-Worth

Recognizing our self-worth empowers us to never settle for less than we deserve. These quotes highlight the significance of self-respect and self-love in our quest to lead fulfilling and authentic lives.

“Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” – Unknown

“Know your worth. Then add tax.” – Anonymous

“Never settle for anything less than your best.” – Brian Tracy

“When you know your worth, no one can make you feel worthless.” – Unknown

“The moment you feel you have to prove your worth to someone is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away.” – Alysia Harris

“Never settle for the path of least resistance.” – Lee Ann Womack

“Self-worth is everything. Without it, life is a misery.” – Julie Walters

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

“Don’t settle for a relationship that won’t let you be yourself.” – Oprah Winfrey

“Never settle for being a character in someone else’s story when you are meant to be the author of your own.” – Unknown

Never Settle Quotes on Innovation

Innovation thrives on the refusal to settle for the current ways of doing things. These quotes emphasize the importance of pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, and continuously seeking improvement and novel solutions in every endeavor.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw

“Innovation is taking two things that already exist and putting them together in a new way.” – Tom Freston

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There’s a way to do it better—find it.” – Thomas Edison

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke

“You can’t solve problems with the same thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein

“The world leaders in innovation and creativity will also be world leaders in everything else.” – Harold R. McAlindon

“Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go.” – Steven Jeffes

“Stay hungry, stay foolish.” – Steve Jobs

Never Settle Quotes on Happiness

Happiness is found in the pursuit of meaningful goals and living life in alignment with one’s values and desires. These quotes inspire us to never settle for less than what makes us truly happy, encouraging a life filled with joy and fulfillment.

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: if you pursue happiness you’ll never find it.” – C.P. Snow

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

“Don’t settle for what life gives you; make life better and build something.” – Ashton Kutcher

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Many people think excitement is happiness…. But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Happiness is not the absence of problems, it’s the ability to deal with them.” – Steve Maraboli

“Never settle for the path of least resistance. Living might mean taking chances, but they’re worth taking.” – Lee Ann Womack

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.” – Unknown

“Never settle for less than you deserve. Demand the best, accept nothing less.” – Unknown

“True happiness involves the full use of one’s power and talents.” – John W. Gardner

Never Settle Quotes on Adventure and Exploration

Adventure and exploration push the limits of what we know and where we have been. These quotes inspire us to embrace the unknown and challenge ourselves to explore new horizons, reminding us to never settle for the familiar when the extraordinary awaits.

“Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” – George Eliot

“To die will be an awfully big adventure.” – J.M. Barrie

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

“Explore, Dream, Discover.” – Mark Twain

“The danger of adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort.” – Paulo Coelho

“There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide

“Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jamie Lyn Beatty

Never Settle Quotes on Living Fully

Living fully means embracing every moment with passion and purpose, never settling for a half-lived life. These quotes motivate us to seize every day and make the most of our time on earth, urging us to live without regrets and with boundless enthusiasm.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.” – Henry David Thoreau

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde

“Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet.” – Sarah Louise Delany

“Never settle for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” – Nelson Mandela

“Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive.” – Matt Cameron

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

Also Read: Buford T. Justice Quotes (with Commentary)

Final Thoughts

“Never settle” quotes are not just motivational sayings; they are guiding tenets for a life lived with intention and purpose.

They encourage you to reflect on your current circumstances and to aspire to greater heights in all endeavors.

By embracing the spirit of these quotes, you learn to value your self-worth, demand more from your relationships, and aim for greatness in yourcareer.