60 Responsibility Quotes on Duty & Accountability

If you want to become a more dependable person, read these responsibility quotes we’ve compiled!

Responsibility means doing what needs to be done and sticking to one’s commitments. When we are responsible, we acknowledge every consequence of every action we take.

When we’re responsible, we’re more aligned with our goals. It also makes us dependable in the eyes of others. Indeed, responsibility is something that’ll benefit all aspects of our lives.

So, read the quotes below to better grasp the topic.

Let our collection help you make sure that you never get sidetracked from your goals!

Check out the complete list below.

And make sure to read these accountability quotes and determination quotes.

Best Responsibility Quotes

1. “Responsibility is the price of freedom.” – Elbert Hubbard

2. “Responsibility is the possibility of opportunity culminating in inevitable fulfillment.” – Sri Chinmoy

3. “Those who enjoy responsibility usually get it; those who merely like exercising authority usually lose it.” – Malcolm Forbes 

4. “It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” – Sir Josiah Stamp

5. “By choosing to take responsibility for your life, you will immediately gain an increased power to achieve your greatest potential.” – Anonymous

6. “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” – Jim Rohn 

7. “Responsibility is accepting that you are the cause and the solution of the matter.” – Anonymous

8. “Responsibility is demonstrated by actions and deeds; not by words or information inserted in some glossy magazines or corporate websites.” – Samuel O. Idowu

9. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln

10. “If you can take responsibility for your own life, then you will begin to realize that you can change it.” – H. K. Abell

Short Responsibility Quotes That’ll Get You Back on Track

11. “Take responsibility for yourself; it’s very rewarding.” – Amanda Green

12. “Every right has its responsibilities.” – Lewis Schwellenbach

13. “The price of greatness is responsibility.” – Winston Churchill

14. “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw

15. “The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Responsibility Quotes That’ll Make Your More Dependable

16. “Deliberately take the responsibility to change your life because you can; yes, you can!” – Okorote Emmanuel

17. “Being responsible is an enormous privilege—it’s what marks anyone a fully grown human.” – Barack Obama

18. “Anyone can do your duty. Your responsibility, only you can. A duty you love to do responsibly is a privilege.” – Girish Kohli

19. “Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

20. “The day you take complete responsibility for yourself, the day you stop making any excuses, that’s the day you start to the top.” – O. J. Simpson

21. “Responsibility is a grace we give ourselves. It is not something imposed from outside of us. We have a say in how our life goes.” – Kristen Moeller

22. “With great power comes great responsibility.” – Benjamin Parker

23. “It is only when you take responsibility for your life that you discover how powerful you truly are.” – Allanah Hunt

24. “You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.” – Oprah Winfrey

25. “Part of getting a second chance is taking responsibility for what you did wrong in the first place.” – Jack Bauer

26. “To let oneself be bound by a duty from the moment you see it approaching is part of the integrity that alone justifies responsibility.” – Dag Hammarskjšld

Also read: Positive Quotes, Encouraging Quotes

Responsibility Quotes to Live Your Life By

27. “Remember, you are responsible for your future, so take charge and turn your life into whatever it is that you want it to be.” – Sharlene Snow

28. “Start to reflect on your life after you accept, act, and take responsibility for your life.” – C. Payne

29. “Take responsibility, trust, and have faith in yourself that you can offer the world something that no one has ever known.” – Paul Martens

30. “Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.” – Eckhart Tolle

31. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

32. “There is always an alternative to the present urgency—and it’s not a vacation, it’s acknowledging deeper responsibility.” – Stewart Brand

33. “Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.” – Henry Ward Beecher

34. “You and I need to be the decision-makers in our own lives and careers. It is also our responsibility to allow and encourage others to do the same.” – Jay Rifenbary

35. “Taking responsibility for oneself is by definition an act of kindness.” – Sharon Salzberg

Wise Responsibility Quotes for Those Who Need Guidance in Life

36. “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” – Sigmund Freud

37. “Freedom without responsibility is like weight without gravity in physics—a logical impossibility.” – Robert C. Solomon

38. “Peak performance begins with your taking complete responsibility for your life and everything that happens to you.” – Brian Tracy

39. “Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will—his personal responsibility.” – Albert Einstein

40. “Fully accepting, loving, and being yourself allows you to be 100% authentic. This means being fully responsible for yourself.” – John Felitto

41. “It’s in responsibility that most people find the meaning that sustains them through life. It’s not in happiness. It’s not in impulsive pleasure.” – Jordan Peterson

42. “I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.” – John D. Rockefeller

43. “We are not put here on earth to play around. There is work to be done. There are responsibilities to be met. Humanity needs the abilities of every man and woman.” – Alden Palmer

44. “Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.” – G.K. Chesterton

45. “Men who reject the responsibility of thought and reason can only exist as parasites on the thinking of others.” – Ayn Rand

46. “The secret ingredients to true happiness? Decisive optimism and personal responsibility.” – Amy Leigh Mercree

Responsibility Quotes That Illustrate a Great Leader’s Mindset

47. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max de Pree

48. “We have a responsibility to influence the people in our lives to be the best possible people they can be: ‘Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” – Henry Cloud

49. “Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” – C. Everett Koop

50. “Take responsibility for your own learning and for the learning of those around you.” – Don Meyer

51. “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” – Adrienne Rich

52. “Taking responsibility is a commitment to own your life, to self-leadership, growth, and freedom.” – Christopher Avery

Also read: Winning Quotes, Mindset Quotes

More Responsibility Quotes to Keep In Mind

53. “You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you.” – Miguel Ruiz

54. “To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.” – Patrick Ness

55. “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.” – George R.R. Martin

56. “Concern yourself more with accepting responsibility than with assigning blame. Let the possibilities inspire you more than the obstacles discourage you.” – Ralph Marston

57. “Happiness is your responsibility. If you depend or wait for other people to make you happy, you will always be disappointed.” – Byron Pulsifer

58. “It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible but also for what we do not do.” – Moliere

59. “In order to win and succeed in life, responsibility is so important. This is a part of being an adult and learning how to be responsible for everything.” – Tonya R. Owens

60. “Responsibility changes everything. The moment we decide that we are the ones who are capable of and responsible for changing things, everything shifts.” – John B. Izzo

Did These Quotes Change Your Opinions on Responsibility?

Often, we feel like we’re too into the hustle and grind. In these cases, we sometimes let ourselves slip away from our responsibilities to have a break and a breather. Doing so once in a while is okay; after all, we all need some rest in order to not burn ourselves out.

However, doing this constantly or for long periods will affect our sense of responsibility. If we let ourselves get used to having an option to slack off and get sidetracked, we’ll never get closer to our goals. Being 100% responsible is important since our actions and decisions affect not only ourselves but others, too.

We all have duties in life, may it be at work, school, at home, and even to ourselves. And, along with each of those duties comes responsibility. To move through life effectively, we must commit to being responsible for each action we take and all our commitments.

So, read through this collection again whenever you feel like you’re slipping away from your responsibilities! Never turn away from what you ought to do. Remember not to get sidetracked and always be responsible for each action you take!

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

You can find me on MuckRack and LinkedIn.