54 Never Settle for Less Quotes to Inspire Your Journey

Check out our great selection of don’t settle for less quotes!

We have some of the most impactful “don’t settle for less” quotes available. 

What does never settle for less mean?

It is easy to argue that settling for less is natural, primarily since science supports this idea.

Humans are creatures of habit. 

Most of us do the same activities in our daily life. 

Here are some reasons why you should never settle for less:

• Settling is a form of giving up on your dreams and goals.
• Settling for less correlates with unhappiness. 
• Settling for less creates more limitations for you. 

Repeated exposure to the same conditions causes organisms to become accustomed to their environment as it is.

Humans are subject to these conditions as well. 

Behavioral psychologists call this phenomenon habituation. 

In the animal kingdom, we see this phenomenon demonstrated by the noble snail. 

The animal immediately goes into its shell if you gently poke a snail with a stick. 

If you wait for the snail to come out and poke it again, it will retreat more slowly into the shell. 

Repeat this process several times in a row, and eventually, the snail stops responding to the gentle poke. 

The snail does not perceive the stick as a threat to its life, so it settles for the conditions.

Humans have very similar psychology. 

If we go to a job where we feel overworked, underpaid, or not fully respected, at first, it might not feel fulfilling. 

However, over time, we become used to the conditions and eventually accept them.

The conditions become our norm, and we stop reacting to them. We settle for less. 

Check out our awesome “never settle for less” quotes below! 

Short never settle for less quotes

It doesn’t take many words to remind you not to settle for less. 

1. “Never settle for average.” ― Steve Jobs

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

3. “Never settle for second when first is available.” ― Lou Holtz

4. “It simply is not true that war never settles anything.” ― Felix Frankfurter

6. “The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” — Thomas Merton

5. “Don’t settle for relationships that won’t let you be yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey

7. “If you settle for what you’ve got, you deserve what you get.” — Kathie Lee Gifford

8. “Don’t settle for good when you were destined to be great.” — Charles F Glassman

9. “Do the math: You never settle for less than the whole if you knew the half.” ― Talib Kweli

10. “Be awesome. Live life to the fullest. Shoot for the stars and never settle.” ― Jillian Michaels

Why you should never settle for less quotes

Here are some excellent don’t settle for less quotes to help you get the best out of life.

11. “Never settle. There is no need to rush.” — Mark Cuban

12. “Don’t settle for less just because it’s available.” ― Dionne Neo Nkosazana Sithole

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

14. “When you refuse to settle for less than the best…the best tends to track you down.” ― Mandy Hale

15. “Don’t settle for less. Know your value and always tell yourself you deserve better.” ― Pertrice St Pierre

16. “Know who you are; know what you want; know what you deserve. And don’t settle for less.” ― Tony Gaskins

17. “There is always someone out there who will put you first. Don’t settle for someone who will put you next.” ― Tony Payne

18. “There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

19. “If you’ll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.” — Vince Lombardi

20. “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.” ― Steve Jobs

Never settle for less quotes to inspire you

These quotes remind you that you deserve the best! 

21. “Your body deserves to enjoy the taste of a good health. Never settle for less.” ― Edmond Mbiaka

22. “Never settle for a life you don’t want when God is trying to give you a better life.” — Shannon L. Alder

23. “Once you realize how good you really are, you never settle for playing less than your best.” ― Reggie Jackson

24. “There is a monumental difference between being alive and living. You should never settle for the first.” ― Matt Corby

25. “Never settle for that which is easy and comfortable or the necessity of seeking that which is difficult and uncomfortable.” ― Frederick Lenz

26. “There’s a huge difference between being in love and being in love with the thought of love. Recognize the difference. Never settle.” ― Behdad Sami

27. “When you accept the fact that your true identity includes being an overcomer, you will never settle for less than a miracle.” ― Craig Groeschel

28. “Don’t settle even if you have to remain alone for a lifetime. You deserve someone who will appreciate you for both for your beauty and your bruises.” — A.R. Lucas

29. “The idea of never settling for less surely doesn’t suggest not acknowledging and celebrating every accomplished step that leads to where you desire to be in the future.” ― Edmond Mbiaka

30. “If I had my way, there wouldn’t be a single lion or tiger in captivity anywhere in the world. They never take to it. They’re never happy. They never settle down. You can see it in their eyes.” — Hugh Lofting

Never settle for less than the best quotes

You should never take less than what you deserve. 

32. “Who you are is what you settle for, you know?” — Janis Joplin

33. “Once you say you’re going to settle for a second, that’s what happens to you in life.”  — John F. Kennedy

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

34. “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” — Jim Rohn

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

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

37. “Every dream is worth following in life. Never settle for the minimum when you can have so much more.” — Taneisha LaGrant

38. “Once you discover your happy place where you can be you, you will never settle for just any old space ever again.” — Christine E. Szymanski

39. “Make the most of the best and best of the worst, and keep your standards high. Never settle for anything less than you deserve or are capable of achieving.” — Roy T. Bennett

40. “Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that’s in us.” — Angela Bassett

I will never settle for less quotes

Make it your mantra; never settle for less. 

41. “Never settle for the crumbs of life.” — Og Mandino

42. “Never settle for anything less than you want.” — PJ Harvey

43. “Life is too short to settle for something less than spectacular.” — Paul Hudson

44. “Never settle. You are priceless and worth more than you could ever know.” — Zane Fab

45. “Find your own happy street; don’t settle for someone else’s address.” — Christine Szymanski

46. “Ten years from now, make sure you can say that you chose your life, you didn’t settle for it.” ― Mandy Hale 

47. “Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them.” — Mia Hamm

Motivational don’t settle quotes

If you need a strong dose of motivation, read the Never Settle quotes listed below. 

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

49. “Never settle for less than you desire or deserve because when you accept crumbs, people will assume that you will be happy with scraps.” — Stacye Branche

50. “To my fellow women: “Please don’t settle. Not in a job you hate, not in a town where you don’t feel at home, not with friendships that aren’t real, and especially, especially not with love.” — Marisa Donnelly 

51. “I am not naive enough to settle for anything less than a reasonable valuation of my worth.” — Roy Keane

52. “One key to success is demanding more than adequacy, never settling for good enough and always doing a little bit more.” — Michael Josephson

53. “Don’t pass on your passions to settle in the stale normality. Endure. Strive. Ensure.” — Anthony Liccione

54. “Never settle for the lesser ambition. The job, the title, the conventional loyalties, and the rewards. Stay focused on the larger ambition, which is making a difference in the world.” — David Ignatius

Don’t stress; never settle for less

Nobody wakes up and says to themselves, “I think I will settle for less today.” 

Settling for less occurs after habituation becomes our norm. 

Sometimes we do not realize that we have become desensitized to our environment.

Politician Roy T. Bennet provides some advice worth considering, mainly if we accept less than what we deserve. 

He notes, “Make the most of the best and best of the worst and keep your standards high.

Never settle for anything less than you deserve or are capable of achieving.”

Our perceptions become our reality, and if we have a belief system that says we deserve less, that theme will become our experience. 

If we think about someone we admire or love, we never want to see them settle for less. 

If we give ourselves the same treatment, we will never settle for less than we deserve. 

What is your biggest takeaway from these “never settle for less” quotes and sayings?

Be sure to let us know in the comments below.