122 Best Boundaries Quotes To Help Honor Your Space

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Dec 12, 2023 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Mar 25, 2021
Edited by Isobel Murphy
Legs of a couple standing opposite each other divided by the yellow asphalt line
Age: 0-99
Read time: 15.2 Min

The invisible line we draw around ourselves to recognize what is and isn't acceptable behavior to us is a boundary.

Boundaries are important because they preserve our emotional and mental energy and allow us to navigate who and what we let into our lives. Boundaries can represent stability, structure, and rules, and they are an important part of determining how we want to live our lives.

There are many types of boundaries, such as emotional boundaries, physical boundaries, financial boundaries, and more. To find out more about boundaries, you can read these boundaries quotes.

If you like these boundaries quotes, take a look at these focus on yourself quotes and you matter quotes too.

The Best Quotes About Boundaries

These great boundaries quotes about setting boundaries might inspire you to take better care of yourself!

1. "Givers need to set limits because takers rarely do."

― Rachel Wolchin.

2. "Boundaries aren't all bad."

― Peggy Noonan.

3. "Compassion is to look beyond your own pain, to see the pain of others."

― Yasmin Mogahed.

4. "When we change the way we communicate, we change society."

― Clay Shirky.

5. "There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined."

— Albert Camus.

6. "I understand now that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended."

— David Mitchell, 'Cloud Atlas'.

7. "Compassion is an action word with no boundaries."

― Prince.

8. "Dreams have always expanded our understanding of reality by challenging our boundaries of the real, of the possible."

― Henry Reed.

9. "No is a complete sentence."

― Anne Lamont.

10. "Once you see the boundaries of your environment, they are no longer the boundaries of your environment."

― Marshall McLuhan.

11. "Boundaries are actually the main factor in space, just as the present, another boundary, is the main factor in time."

― Eduardo Chillida.

12. "It is how we create firm boundaries and allow others to know who we are and what we value."

― John Earle.

13. "Tolerance is nothing more than patience with boundaries."

― Shannon L. Alder.

14. "Death is the ultimate boundary of human matters."

― Horace.

15. "Our ancestors dreamed of a world without boundaries, while we dream new boundaries to put around our homes, our children, and ourselves."

― Mira Grant.

16. "Boundaries help us keep the good in and the bad out."

― Henry Cloud.

17. "Boundaries don't keep other people out, they fence you in."

― Shonda Rhimes.

18. "We are defining the boundaries of normality by tearing apart the people outside it."

— Jon Ronson, 'So You've Been Publicly Shamed'.

19. "Children need boundaries, so they can know how far they have to go to get beyond them."

— Katharine Hepburn.

20. "Visionaries see beyond the boundaries of eyesight."

― Gift Gugu Mona.

21. "Knowledge once gained casts a light beyond its own immediate boundaries."

― John Tyndall.

22. "The choices we make within the boundaries of the twists of fate determines who we are."

― John Perkins.

Quotes About Boundaries And Self-Preservation

We all need to set boundaries to protect ourselves from harm and toxic people. These great boundaries quotes about setting boundaries will hopefully inspire you to protect yourself better!

23. "Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves, even when we risk disappointing others."

― Brene Brown.

24. "Individuals set boundaries to feel safe, respected, and heard."

― Pamela Cummins.

25. "Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions."

— Will Smith.

26. "Stop allowing people to disrespect your right to say no and enforce boundaries as a form of self-care..."

― Tasha McCray.

27. "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.

28. "Boundaries are a part of self-care. They are healthy, normal, and necessary."

― Doreen Virtue.

29. "It is really exhausting to live in a dictatorship of 'Me', which is basically a tyranny of others."

― Stefan Molyneux.

30. "Trust that the flow of life contains you, is bigger than you, and will take care of you. If you let it."

― Vironika Tugaleva.

31. "Letting go doesn't mean that you don't care about someone anymore. It's just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself."

— Deborah Reber.

32. "Compassion is the desire that moves the individual self to widen the scope of its self-concern to embrace the whole of the universal self."

― Arnold Toynbee.

33. "Voicing a limit or a boundary is not the same as a demand. It's telling someone what you prefer, where you stand on something."

― Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

34. "Words of comfort, skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man."

― Louis Nizer.

35. "You have the power today to reset your boundaries, restore your image, start fresh with renewed values and rebuild what has happened to you in the past."

— Shannon L. Alder.

36. "Your personal boundaries protect the inner core of your identity and your right to choices."

― Gerard Manley Hopkins.

37. "Boundaries and risk management are very important parts of living a healthy and positive life."

― Bryant McGill.

38. "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.

39. "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too can become great."

— Mark Twain.

40. "The most important distinction anyone can ever make in their life is between who they are as an individual and their connection with others."

― Anne Linden.

41. "The boundaries of your life are merely a creation of the self."

― Robin S. Sharma, 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'.

42. "We do not escape our boundaries or our innermost being. We do not change. It is true we may be transformed, but we always walk within our boundaries, within the marked-off circle."

— Ernst Jünger, ‘The Glass Bees’.

43. "Love yourself enough to set boundaries. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won't accept."

— Anna Taylor.

44. "Create boundaries. Honor your limits. Say no."

— Aletheia Luna.

Philosophical Quotes About Boundaries

Woman Saying 'No'. Asking for Personal Space and Alone Time.

Philosophical quotes about setting boundaries can help you to understand more about the importance of setting them.

45. "True compassion means not only feeling another's pain but also being moved to help relieve it."

― Daniel Goleman.

46. "But I need to continue to remember the key principles: boundaries, letting go, forgiveness after feeling my feelings—not before, self-expression, loving others but loving myself, too."

— Melody Beattie.

47. "Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good."

― Lao Tzu.

48. "The only boundaries we have are in form. There are no obstacles in thought."

― Wayne Dyer.

49. "The boundaries of design are the same as the problem of perception."

― John Hench.

50. "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.

51. "Darkness is your candle.

Your boundaries are your quest."

— Rumi, 'The Big Red Book'.

52. "What is beyond the mind, has no boundary, In it our senses end."

― Meera.

53. "Anger is an integrity-producing response to the invasion of your personal boundaries."

― Gabrielle Roth.

54. "Life always bursts the boundaries of formulas."

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

55. "Life already has so many boundaries and pressures - why add more in the garden?"

― Felder Rushing.

56. "Genius disregards the boundaries of propriety. Genius is permitted to shout if shouting is productive."

— Lois Lowry.

57. "Boundaries are, in simple terms, the recognition of personal space."

— Asa Don Brown.

58. "Call it the superego, call it common sense, call it pragmatism, call it learned helplessness, but the mind craves boundaries."

— N.K. Jemisin.

Healthy Boundaries Quotes

Setting healthy boundaries is an important aspect of looking after our mental health and well-being. Here are some of the best quotes on healthy boundaries!

59. "You best teach others about healthy boundaries by enforcing yours."

― Bryant McGill.

60. "Families living in dysfunction seldom have healthy boundaries."

― David W. Earle.

61. "You have the right to say 'No' without feeling guilty."

― Manuel J. Smith.

62. "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.

63. "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say 'No' to almost everything."

― Warren Buffett.

64. "Positive energy knows no boundaries. If everyone were to spread positive energy on the Internet, the world would be a much better place."

― Lu Wei.

65. "When we're looking for compassion, we need someone who is deeply rooted, is able to bend and, most of all, embraces us for our strengths and struggles."

― Brene Brown.

66. "Guard your heart, mind and time. Those three things will determine the health of everything else in your life."

― Adrena Sawyer.

67. "My belief is that communication is the best way to create strong relationships."

― Jada Pinkett Smith.

68. "Let today be the day you dedicate yourself to building relationships on the solid foundation of truth and authenticity."

― Steve Maraboli.

69. "Being able to say 'No' is a necessary ingredient in a healthy lifestyle."

― David W. Earle.

70. "It is necessary, and even vital, to set standards for your life and the people you allow in it."

― Mandy Hale.

71. "The boundary to what we can accept is the boundary to our freedom."

― Tara Brach.

72. "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.

73. "Evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of any relationship is your responsibility. You do not have to passively accept what is brought to you. You can choose."

― Deborah Day.

74. "It's nice to have boundaries, because as long as we have them, we can cross them a bit, and that's what perks interest. If you have full freedom, what do you do?"

― Pamela Anderson.

75. "Your mind has created and awaken to who you truly are: the fullness of freedom, unbound by any identifications, identities, or boundaries."

Adyashanti.

76. "By no longer relying on approval from others for (false) reassurance or acceptance, you access a Divine channel of freedom."

― Maria Flynn.

77. "As you remove toxic people from your life, you free up space and emotional energy for positive, healthy relationships."

― John Mark Green.

78. "The most basic boundary-setting word is 'no.' It lets others know that we exist apart from them and that we are in control of ourselves."

― Henry Cloud.

79. "Guard your heart, mind and time. Those three things will determine the health of everything else in your life."

― Adrena Sawyer.

80. "Your personal boundaries protect the inner core of your identity and your right to choices."

― Gerard Manley Hopkins.

81. "Everyone is allowed to have their own boundaries. You just are. No matter how you dress, no matter what you say or anything, and I feel strongly about that."

― Amy Schumer.

82. "Don't ever stop believing in your own transformation. It is still happening even on days you may not realize it or feel like it."

― Lalah Delia.

83. "Think about the most important things in life and set hard boundaries to protect them."

― Chris Yeh.

Pushing Boundaries Quotes

Expand your horizon with these amazing quotes about pushing the boundaries for people who are set to achieve greatness!

84. "Push your boundaries beyond the ordinary; be that 'extra' in 'extraordinary'."

— Roy T. Bennett, 'The Light In The Heart'.

85. "Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries."

― Paula Radcliffe.

86. "I'm here to break boundaries, man. That's all. I'm here to be the first so that the people after me don't have to think twice about expressing themselves and being free."

― ASAP Rocky.

87. "Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries."

— Corita Kent.

88. "Push your boundaries, that's what they're there for."

— Colleen Hoover, 'Slammed'.

89. "We need people who push boundaries rather than retreat inside them."

― Tim Fargo.

90. "Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty."

― Henri Frederic Amiel.

91. "So there's kind of a simultaneous aspect to pushing the boundaries, and being very safe."

― Bill Sienkiewicz.

92. "We need people pushing the boundaries. Exploration is what we, as humans, do."

― Heidi Hammel.

93. "Bullies do whatever they can get away with and keep pushing boundaries until they meet resistance."

― Benjamin Carson.

Respecting Boundaries Quotes

A healthy relationship starts with mutual respect, and that includes respecting each other's emotional and physical boundaries. Here are some of the best quotes about respecting boundaries that will inspire you!

94. "A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership."

― Henry Cloud.

95. "What you don't wanna do is assume that you know the boundaries of someone else - when truly - you don't."

― Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

96. "I don't care what people call me, labels have the negative value of making smaller boundaries for people."

― Michael Graves.

97. "I'd do almost anything for love, within safe boundaries. I've flown to places to surprise people, even if it was just for a day."

― Brittany Murphy.

98. "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.

99. "Honouring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too."

― Gina Greenlee.

100. "Just as we expect others to value our boundaries, it's equally important for us to respect the boundaries of others."

― Laurie Buchanan.

Overstepping Boundaries Quotes

Sometimes a person oversteps the boundaries of acceptable behavior. These great quotes about overstepping boundaries will teach you more about protecting yourself better!

101. "When people believe they have to be nice in order to give, they fail to set boundaries, rarely say no, and become pushovers, letting others walk all over them."

Adam Grant.

102. "Another person behaves inappropriately or in some way violates our boundaries. We challenge the behavior, and the person gets angry and defensive. Then we feel guilty."

― Melody Beattie.

103. "We do not have to be mental health professionals to identify the traits of the possible sociopaths among us."

― P.A. Speers.

104. "You are not being mean when you say no to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others."

― Beverly Engel.

105. "When two people are free to disagree, they are free to love. When they are not free, they live in fear, and love dies."

― Henry Cloud and John Townsend.

106. "The surest way of concealing from others the boundaries of one's own knowledge is not to overstep them."

— Giacomo Leopardi.

107. "I think that's the real loss of innocence: the first time you glimpse the boundaries that will limit your potential."

— Steve Toltz, 'A Fraction Of The Whole'.

108. "We love to overlook the boundaries which we do not wish to pass."

― Samuel Johnson.

109. "People who violate your boundaries are thieves. They steal time that doesn't belong to them."

— Elizabeth Grace Saunders.

110. "Anger is our reaction to the violation of our boundaries."

― Kathleen Dowling Singh.

111. "You have to step over the boundaries sometimes just to find out where they are."

Damien Hirst.

No Boundaries Quotes

Here are some quotes about the advantages and disadvantages of not having boundaries and how boundaries can affect you in various ways.

112. "An act of thinking without restriction- without boundaries or rules can lead to the point of no return."

― Sean William Scott.

113. "It is only physically that you are constrained by the limits of time and place; there are no mental boundaries."

― Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

114. "Beauty has no boundaries, no rules, no colors. Beauty is like a religion. You can include everything inside it."

― Alessandro Michele.

115. "In a lifestyle where there are no boundaries, it becomes a challenge to find one's true self. If everything comes easily, there is no way to establish worth."

― Tami Hoag.

116. "There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination."

― Edmund Burke.

117. "Prayers have no boundaries. They can leap miles and continents and be translated instantly into any language."

― Billy Graham.

118. "There are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together."

― Julia Roberts.

119. "When you open your mind, you open new doors to new possibilities for yourself and new opportunities to help others."

― Roy Bennett.

120. "The narrative of human life is most beautiful when told truthfully and without boundaries."

― Shonda Rhimes.

121. "I don't think people should have boundaries put on them, by themselves or society or another gender, because it's our birthright to experience life in whatever way we feel best suits us."

― Hilary Swank.

122. "Setting boundaries inevitably involves taking responsibility for your choices."

― Henry Cloud.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for boundaries quotes then why not take a look at these follow your heart quotes or stay in your lane quotes too?

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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