Toxic people can often engage in manipulative, draining, or harmful behaviors that can undermine your self-esteem, happiness, and overall quality of life. Sometimes, you need to say enough is enough and just move ahead. We have the best toxic people quotes that will help to inspire you to look beyond the negativity and stress that toxic people can create.
Distancing yourself from toxic people is not about holding grudges or being unforgiving. It is a decision that you have to undertake in order to prioritize your mental health. Instead, make space for positive influences and nurture real relationships that encourage personal growth and resilience. We hope that these toxic people quotes will help to uplift you and take a step for a better tomorrow.
Toxic People Quotes That Will Help You Move On
1. “If you’ve been through trauma you don’t need more drama, so surround yourself with those who bring you peace.” ― Christy Ann Martine
2.“People inspire you, or they drain you. Pick them wisely.” — Hans F. Hasen
3. “I got tired of feeling like I was walking on eggshells. I finally learned that if you have to tiptoe around them, they aren’t your people.” ― Steve Maraboli
4. “There’s folks you just don’t need. You’re better off without em. Your life is just a little better because they ain’t in it.” ― William Gay
5. “Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.” — Dr. Steve Maraboli
6. “Don’t let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out.” — Robert Tew
7. “No matter how much you love the person, you cannot change them. You may influence them; but at the end of the day, they must decide for themselves.” — Robert E. Baines Jr.
8. “Controllers, abusers, and manipulative people don’t question themselves. They don’t ask themselves if the problem is them. They always say the problem is someone else.” — Darlene Quimet
9. “Fire False Friends as early as possible. Do it before they dig out the dream seeds you’ve planted! The earlier, the better; the quicker, the safer!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
10. “Don’t let toxic people infect you with the fear of giving and receiving one of the most powerful forces in this world… LOVE!” ― Yvonne Pierre
11. “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
12. “Leave toxic people where they belong — in your past.” ― Sherrie Campbell
13. “If someone thinks you’re being dramatic or selfish, then they obviously haven’t walked a mile in your shoes. It’s not important for you to explain yourself. You get a pass here. Don’t let anyone else try to saddle you with guilt or shame. If you need your space, take it.” ― Sarah Newman
14. “Sometimes there are things in life that aren’t meant to stay. Sometimes change may not be what we want. Sometimes change is what we need.” — Don Bolena Jr.
15. “My encouragement: delete the energy vampires from your life, clean out all complexity, build a team around you that frees you to fly, remove anything toxic, and cherish simplicity. Because that’s where genius lives.” — Robin S. Sharma
16. “It is really exhausting to live in a dictatorship of ‘Me’, which is basically a tyranny of others.” ― Stefan Molyneux
17. “Toxic people will pollute everything around them. Don’t hesitate. Fumigate.” ― Mandy Hale
18. “The people in your life will either help you shake hands with yourself or they’ll teach you what you don’t want. Everyone, eventually, does one or the other. All pain transforms to learning. All love transforms to self-awareness.” ― Vironika Tugaleva
19. “If it comes, let it come. If it goes, it’s ok, let it go. Let things come and go. Stay calm, don’t let anything disturb your peace, and carry on.” ― Germany Kent
20. “It’s very possible and very okay to forgive someone and still not want to spend time with them.” ― Karen Salmansohn
21. “I will not allow anyone to walk in my mind with dirty feet.” – Mahatma Gandhi
22. “Real love moves freely in both directions. Don’t waste your time on anything else.” — Cheryl Strayed
23. “Toxic people attach themselves like cinder blocks tied to your ankles, and then invite you for a swim in their poisoned waters.” ― John Mark Green
24. “Don’t settle for a relationship that won’t let you be yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey
25. “If they do it often, it isn’t a mistake; it’s just their behavior.” — Dr. Steve Maraboli
26. “Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings, and emotions.” — Will Smith
27. “Letting go of toxic people in your life is a big step in loving yourself.” — Hussein Nishah
28. “If you walked away from a toxic, negative, abusive, one-sided, dead-end low vibrational relationship or friendship — you won.” ― Lalah Delia
29. “There’s folks you just don’t need. You’re better off without them. Your life is just a little better because they ain’t in it.” ― William Gay
30. “Someone who smiles too much with you can sometime frown too much with you at your back.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson
31. “Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light. Try not to take it personally.” ― Kamand Kojouri
32. “Don’t let negative and toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out.” — Robert Tew
33. “Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.” — Lucille Ball
34. “A lot of people who have experienced trauma at the hands of people they’ve trusted take responsibility, and that is what’s toxic.” – Hannah Gadsby
35. “The true measure of leadership is not found in power or authority, but in the ability to inspire, empower, and nurture those under your guidance. Toxic leadership fails on all accounts.” ― Abhysheq Shukla
36. “When you notice someone does something toxic the first time, don’t wait for the second time before you address it or cut them off. Many survivors are used to the ‘wait and see’ tactic which only leaves them vulnerable to a second attack. As your boundaries get stronger, the wait time gets shorter. You never have to justify your intuition.” ― Shahida Arabi
37.“Relationships end, but they don’t end your life.” – Steve Martin
38. “Fire false friends as early as possible. Do it before they dig out the dream seeds you’ve planted! The earlier, the better; the quicker, the safer!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
39. “You create more space in your life when you turn your excess baggage to garbage.” ― Chinonye J. Chidolue
40. “I mean, if the relationship can’t survive the long term, why on earth would it be worth my time and energy for the short term?” – Nicholas Sparks
41. “Losing will not always amount to a loss, sometimes you have to lose those toxic relationships and bad habits to create a space for better things.” ― Gift Gugu Mona
42.“I think most people know when they’re in a toxic relationship – it requires an enormous amount of effort to keep it going, and you don’t get what you want from it.” – Joanna Coles
43.“No matter how valuable you are and your ideas, fools will certainly play both of you down, so exclude yourselves from the inflammatory environs of fools.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson
44. “It’s one thing if a person owns up to their behavior and makes an effort to change. But if a person disregards your feelings, ignores your boundaries, and continues to treat you in a harmful way, they need to go.” — Daniell Koepke
45. “Some people are in such utter darkness that they will burn you just to see a light. Try not to take it personally.” ― Kamand Kojouri
46. “The hardest part of being in an emotionally abusive relationship is actually admitting you’re in one.” ― Anna Akana
47. “Not all friends know they have lost you.” ― Joyce Rachelle
48. “My father once said, ‘If you’re in the desert and you’re dying of thirst, are you going to drink a glass of blood or are you going to drink a glass of water?’ I think what he was trying to say, interesting coming from my blood father, is sometimes there are people in your family that can be toxic.” – Nicolas Cage
49. “Let negative people live their negative lives with their negative minds.”― Moosa Rahat
More Toxic People Quotes
50. “Don’t let toxic people sabotage your happiness, ruin your positive attitude, contaminate your mind, or destroy your self-confidence. Instead, surround yourself with generous, positive, and nurturing people who will lift you up.”― Farshad Asl
51. “Remember…Whoever is trying to bring you down is already below you.” — Ziad K. Abdelnour
52. “If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” — Michael Jordan
53. “Cleanliness is a habit that keeps the body, mind, and environment neat, clean, and delightful and free from dirt and toxic things.” ― Amit Ray
54. “I found peace of mind when I walked away from small fights not worth fighting. I stopped fighting for people who gossiped about me. I stopped fighting for those who didn’t respect me. I quit worrying about those who wouldn’t value me for being me.” ― Dana Arcuri
55. “Let go of negative people. They only show up to share complaints, problems, disastrous stories, fear, and judgment on others. If somebody is looking for a bin to throw all their trash into, make sure it’s not in your mind.” — Dalai Lama
56. “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
57.“Because at some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life.” — Sandi Lynn
58. “Toxic leadership is a silent destroyer, poisoning the very essence of organizational health and stifling individual growth and potential.” ― Abhysheq Shukla
59. “Like arsenic, toxic people will slowly kill you. They kill your positive spirit and play with your mind and emotions. The only cure is to let them go.” — Dennisse Lisseth
60. “Everybody has bad relationships, and, at the end of the day, they are just a great way to set yourself up for a good relationship.” — Anne Hathaway
61. “As important as it is to learn how to deal with different kinds of people, truly toxic people will never be worth your time and energy – and they take a lot of each. Toxic people create unnecessary complexity, strife, and, worst of all, stress.” — Travis Bradberry
62. “There are people who break you down by just being them. They need not do anything. Dissociate.” ― Malebo Sephodi
63. “How you choose to feel today should not be dependent on others.” ― Anthon St. Maarten
64.. “You cannot expect to live a positive life if you hang with negative people.” — Joel Osteen
65. “Toxic relationships are like a good pasta that has been overcooked.” ― Asa Don Brown
66. “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.” — Goi Nasu
67. “Sometimes it’s better to end something and try to start something new than imprison yourself in hoping for the impossible.” — Karen Salmansohn
68. “The best emotional relief is not venting our problems, that only fuels the pain. It is focusing on something else, taking control of our lives and staying away from people that keep reminding us about our problems.” ― Rodolfo Peon
69. “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
Even More Toxic People Quotes
70. “Yes, the people around us can be insensitive, narcissistic, toxic, and sometimes even abusive, but it is up to us to take that energy on or let it flow through us. No one is responsible for taking away our happiness but us.” ― Aletheia Luna
71. “I burned my bridges so the devil couldn’t follow me.” ― L.M. Browning
72. “You don’t have to live happily ever after with every single person in your life in order to live happily ever after. Some unfortunate endings are necessary.” ― Joyce Rachelle
73. “I am worth more than these excuses. I am worth more than this inconsistent, unhealthy, disappointing dynamic. I am worthy of finding someone that is never going to allow us to settle into this toxic, distorted version of love.” ― Liz Newman
74. “If a person finds negative people in his life, then he needs to mend his own nature than that of others, for his own basic grounding decides the level of acidic or toxicity surrounding him.” — Anuj Somany
75. “I know people can be awful dooms for each other.” ― Iris Murdoch
76. “Never rely on another person to make you feel whole.” – Karen Salmansohn
77. “You lift your spirits by moving away from what upsets you. If the stove is hot, you can’t ask how to touch it but be happy about it.” ― Queen Tourmaline
78. “Pay no attention to toxic words. What people say is often a reflection of themselves, not you.” ― Christian Baloga
79. “Weeding out the harmful influences should become the norm, not the exception.” ― Carlos Wallace
80. “Forgiveness is a personal process that doesn’t depend on us having direct contact with the people who have hurt us.” ― Sharon Salzberg
81. “The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships.” — Anthony Robbins
82. “Many people get into a relationship as a way to compensate for something they lack or hate within themselves. This is a one-way ticket to a toxic relationship because it makes your love conditional – you will love your partner as long as they help you feel better about yourself.” — Mark Manson
83. “I’ve found the most tragic aspect of losing loved ones wasn’t the big boom of the fallout, but realizing later how much healthier I was without them.” ― Maggie Young
84. “Every day you must unlearn the ways that hold you back. You must rid yourself of negativity, so you can learn to fly.” — Leon Brown
85. “Surround yourself with positive people who believe in your dreams, encourage your ideas, support your ambitions, and bring out the best in you.” — Roy Bennett
86. “We don’t get to choose our family, but we can choose our friends. With courage, we can weed out narcissistic people. We can focus on those who do appreciate us, love us, and treat us with respect.” ― Dana Arcuri
87. “When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” — Karen E. Quinones Miller
88. “Unhappy people can be very dangerous, don’t forget that.” ― S.E. Lynes
89. “As you remove toxic people from your life, you free up space and emotional energy for positive, healthy relationships.” ― John Mark Green
90. “No one forces a person to be negative, and no one forces anyone to be positive. The choice is up to an individual and that person alone.” — Byron Pulsifer
91. “When people pressure you to engage in negative decisions and actions, look at them boldly in the eyes and dare them to do good.” ― Edmond Mbiaka
92. “The wrong person will give you less than what you’re worth but that doesn’t mean that you have to accept it.” — Sonya Parker
93. “Entitlement is an expression of conditional love. Nobody is ever entitled to your love. You always have a right to protect your mental, emotional, and physical well-being by removing yourself from toxic people and circumstances.” ― Dr. Janice Anderson & Kiersten Anderson
94 “There are only two kinds of people who can drain your energy: those you love, and those you fear. In both instances it is you who let them in. They did not force their way into your aura, or pry their way into your reality experience.” ― Anthon St. Maarten
95. “No matter how much you love the person, you cannot change them. You may influence them; but at the end of the day, they must decide for themselves.” — Robert E. Baines Jr.
96. “You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.” — C. JoyBell C.
97. “What’s more toxic than what they have done, think, or have said about you is how you let your mind receive it. In a world as ours filled with so much noise and hate, what suffers the most is our minds. Know when to keep your mind shut!” ― Chinonye J. Chidolue
98. “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
99. “The only relationships that exist are based on truth. Everything else is just a mutual and isolating delusion.” ― Stefan Molyneux
100. “We all have that toxic people around us that make our lives miserable… The day we take them out from our lives, we will all become better people; including them…” ― Rodolfo Peon
101. “Poisonous relationships can alter our perception. You can spend many years thinking you’re worthless. But you’re not worthless. You’re underappreciated.” — Dr. Steve Maraboli
102. “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
103. “Look around you at the people you spend the most time with and realize that your life can’t rise any higher than your friendships.” ― Mandy Hale
104. “Energy vampires prey on others because they are in pain, and their behavior is a disguised cry for help. However, the important thing to remember is that you are not responsible for resolving their issues. While you can offer help to an energy vampire, it is ultimately their responsibility to sort out their struggles.” ― Aletheia Luna
105. “Life is too short to hang around people who are causing you to compromise. Pulling you down. Your time is too valuable to waste it with people who don’t have a dream. People that aren’t going anywhere.” – Joel Osteen
106. “Sometimes you don’t get closure, you just move on.” ― Karen Salmansohn
107. “People will rarely apologize for how they treat you. They’re much more likely to criticize you for how you react to their treatment.” ― Steve Maraboli
We hope that these toxic people quotes help you to move on with your life and to better things. If you enjoyed these quotes, you may also enjoy this article on leadership.