150 self-love and kindness quotes to inspire you

You spend a vast amount of emotional energy loving and caring for the people closest to you, but how much time do you spend loving yourself?

Self-love and kindness is the most important thing you can give yourself, and it is the foundation upon which all other relationships are built. If you cannot love and care for yourself, you’ll have difficulty loving others.

It’s natural to judge yourself harshly at times, but it’s important to accept yourself and forgive your mistakes. Only then can you truly enjoy life and feel at peace.

So when you feel like you need a little boost of self-compassion and kindness, look no further! This collection of 150 self-love and kindness quotes will make you feel inspired and motivated to take care of yourself.

Related post: How to love yourself: 23 simple rules

Self-love and kindness quotes

These are some of my favorite self-love and kindness quotes. I hope they inspire you to be more loving and compassionate with yourself.

1. Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt
2. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. – Oprah Winfrey
3. People who love themselves, don’t hurt other people. The more we hate ourselves, the more we want others to suffer. – Dan Pearce
4. Keep watering yourself. You’re growing. – E.Russell
5. My heart is beating, and I’m breathing, and nothing anybody has ever done has changed that. – Rupi Kaur
6. The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate. – Unknown
7. Be the love you never received. – Rune Lazuli
8. No other love no matter how genuine it is, can fulfill one’s heart better than unconditional self-love. – Edmond Mbiaka
9. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. – Marianne Williamson
10. Self-love is the greatest middle finger of all time. – Unknown
11. Learn to love yourself enough to be happy in your own company, not needing to use anyone as an escape. – Samantha Camargo
12. When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. – Kim McMillen
13. Comparison is an act of violence against the self. – Iyanla Vanzant
14. One day I woke up and realized I was not made for anyone. I was made for me. I am my own. – Unknown
15. You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop. – Rumi
16. Love yourself so much that when someone treats you wrong, you recognize it. – Rena Rose
17. Falling in love with yourself first doesn’t make you vain or selfish – it makes you indestructible. – Unknown
18. Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others. – Wilfred Peterson
19. Love yourself first, because that’s who you’ll be spending the rest of your life with. – Unknown
20. Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others. – Brené Brown
21. Everyone one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves. – Princess Diana
22. To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now. – Alan Cohen
23. You owe it to yourself to become everything you’ve ever dreamed of being. – Unknown
24. When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself. – Paulo Coelho
25. Self love, self respect, self worth… there is a reason they all start with ‘self’. You can’t find them in anyone else. – Anne Brown
26. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. – Buddha
27. Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. – J.K. Rowling
28. Love yourself. Be clear on how you want to be treated. Know your worth. Always. – Maryam Hasnaa
29. Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option. – Mark Twain
30. Sometimes your soulmate is yourself. Sometimes you have to be the love of your life until you discover that type of love in someone else. – R.H.Sin
31. Be silly. Be fun. Be different. Be crazy. Be you, because life is too short to be anything but happy. – Unknown
32. It is only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It is only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the heart of others. – Robin Sharma
33. You carry so much love in your heart. Give some to yourself. – R.Z. 
34. To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness. – Robert Morely
35. Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults. – Les Brown
36. Compassion for self and others may very well be the answer to healing our hurt, hate-filled world. – Laura Jack
37. Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are. – Unknown
38. When things change inside you, things change around you. – Unknown
39. You are what you believe yourself to be. – Paulo Coelho
40. We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light. – Mary Dunbar
41. The Golden Rule is a two-way street: we should do unto ourselves as we do unto others. – Rick Hanson
42. How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you. – Rupi Kaur
43. The entire universe deserve your love. You also deserve to experience it back. – Anonymous
44. Self-kindness is self-empathy. And even when I talk to myself like someone I love and it feels weird, it works. – Brene Brown
45. I know what I bring to the table… so trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone. – Unknown
46. If you have the ability to love, love yourself first. – Charles Bukowski
47. The worst outcome in this world is not having self esteem. If you don’t love yourself, who will? – Naval Ravikant
48. Beauty begins the moment you decided to be yourself. – Coco Chanel
49. To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance. – Oscar Wilde
50. All relationships are a reflection of your relationship with yourself. – Deepak Chopra
51. Unless we love and treat ourselves well, we are ill-equipped to do the same for others. – Angela C. Santomero
52. Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
53. Well-being comes from meeting our needs, not denying them. – Rick Hanson
54. Self-care is giving the world the best you instead of what’s left of you. – Katie Reed
55. Keep taking time for yourself until you’re you again. – Lalah Delia
56. You ain’t gotta like me. I like me. – Kanye West
57. You have to choose yourself, even when others refuse to. – R. H. Sin
58. The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do. – Swati Sharma
59. Tell yourself how wonderful you are, how great you are. Tell yourself how much you love yourself. – Don Miguel Ruiz
60. Self-love is an ocean and your heart is a vessel. Make it full, and any excess will spill over into the lives of the people you hold dear. But you must come first. – Beau Taplin
61. Self confidence is a super power. Once you start to believe in yourself, magic starts happening. – Unknown
62. Doubt me, hate me, you’re the inspiration I need. – Anonymous
63. Your soul will never be fully nourished by anyone’s love but your own. – Dominee
64. Talk to yourself like someone you love. – Brene Brown
65. Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you. – Beyonce

Self-love and kindness quotes for women

As women, we often feel like we need to put our own needs last. We’re conditioned to think that we should always be taking care of others and putting their happiness before our own. But if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t have the energy or resources to take care of anyone else. These self-love and kindness quotes will inspire you to start putting yourself first and treat yourself with the same compassion and understanding you show to others.

1. You don’t find your worth in a man. You find your worth within yourself and then find a man who’s worthy of you. Remember that. – Unknown
2. Start healing your heart and you will look beautiful. – Alexandra Vasiliu
3. I was once afraid of people saying ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am. – Oprah Winfrey
4. I woke up like this. Flawless. – Beyoncé
5. She remembered who she was and the game changed.” – Lalah Deliah
6. You alone are enough, you have nothing to prove to anybody. – Maya Angelou
7. The only person I need to compare myself to is my yesterday self. – Allison Sue
8. Find out who you are and do it on purpose. – Dolly Parton
9. She never needed to be saved. She only wanted to be loved the correct way. She wasn’t looking for a hero. All she wanted was someone she could trust outside of herself. – R.H. Sin
10. I’m going to do what I want to do, I’m going to be who I really am. I’m going to figure out what that is. – Emma Watson
11. Do your thing and don’t care if they like it. – Tina Fey
12. Either they like you or they don’t. Never try to convince somebody of your worth. If a person doesn’t appreciate you, they don’t deserve you. Respect yourself and be with people who truly value ‘you. – Brigitte Nicole
13. I found I was more confident when I stopped trying to be someone else’s definition of beautiful and started being my own. – Remington Miller
14. Do not tame the wolf inside you just because you’ve met someone who doesn’t have the courage to handle you. – Belle Estreller
15. Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. – Lucille Ball
16. The strongest actions for a woman is to love herself, be herself and shine amongst those who never believed she could. – Unknown
17. Flowers grow back even after the harshest winters, you will too. – Jennae Cecilia
18. She will rise. With a spine of steel and a roar like thunder, she will rise.” – Nicole Lyons
19. Treat her like you never want to lose her. – R.H. Sin

Self-acceptance quotes

Learning to love and accept yourself is one of the most important things you can do for your mental health. These self-acceptance quotes will remind you that you are worthy of love and respect, no matter what.

1. Accepting yourself only as long as you look a certain way isn’t self love, it’s self destruction. – Laci Green
2. The beauty you see in others is the true reflection behind the lens of the real person you see in yourself. – Germany Kent
3. With self-acceptance, we have the ability to choose compassion and forgiveness over anger and self-hatred. – Michelle Cruz-Rosado
4. The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. – J.K. Rowling
6. Be so completely yourself that everyone else feels safe to be themselves, too. – Unknown
7. Live your life, sing your song. Not full of expectations. Not for the ovations. But for the joy of it. – Rasheed Ogunlaru
8. Happiness can exist only in acceptance. – George Orwell
9. 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
10. Nobody’s going to win all the time. On the highway of life you can’t always be in the fast lane. – Haruki Murakami
11. When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others. – Peace Pilgrim
12. The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off. – Robert Hand
13. Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin
14. Remind yourself that you cannot fail at being yourself. – Wayne Dyer
15. Life is too short to spend another day at war with yourself. – Rita Ghatourey
16. The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself. – Mark Twain
17. Accept everything about yourself I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end no apologies, no regrets. – Henry A. Kissinger
18. To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting. – E. E. Cummings
19. No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance. – Robert Holden
20. Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. – Malcolm S. Forbes
21. When you stop living your life based on what others think of you real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self acceptance opened. – Shannon L. Alder
22. We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. – Dalai Lama XIV
23. I am who I am. Not who you think I am. Not who you want me to be. I am me. – Brigitte Nicole
24. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. – Lao Tzu
25. In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you. – Andrea Dykstra
26. The more you find yourself doing things you love, the more you’ll love yourself for doing them. – Tiffany Stoffer
27. Not having to pretend simplifies our life. On the other hand, pretending day after day to be someone you are not, requires enormous effort. – Piero Ferrucci
28. One of the most important things you can accomplish is just being yourself. – Dwayne Johnson
29. I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do. – Brene Brown
30. What self-acceptance does is open up more possibilities of succeeding because you aren’t fighting yourself along the way. – Shannon Ables
31. Make peace with your broken pieces. – R.H. Sin
32. You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. – Amy Bloom
33. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you. – Stephanie Perkins
34. People who want the most approval get the least and the people who need approval the least get the most. – Wayne Dyer
35. Choose, everyday, to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, and most of all worthy of love. – Alison Malee
36. You are not your mistakes. They are what you did. Not who you are. – Lisa Lieberman-Wang
37. In stressful times, it’s okay to not be perfect. Cut yourself some slack. Because right now, you might not be your best self, but you are growing and you are trying your best. And that is good enough. – Ashley Hetherington
38. Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself. – Tyra Banks
39. Breathe darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story. – S.C. Laurie
40. I don’t fit into any stereotypes and I like myself that way. – C. Joybell
41. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it. – Michael J. Fox
42. Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down. – Roy T. Bennett
43. Until you get comfortable being alone, you’ll never know if you’re choosing someone out of love or loneliness. – Mandy Hales
44. Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. – Marilyn Monroe
45. To accept oneself completely is to know the truest kind of self-love. – Anonymous

Funny self-compassion quotes

These funny self-compassion quotes will make you laugh and help you to remember that it’s okay to be human.

1. It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to. – W.C. Fields
2. The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not. – Mark Twain
3. You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company. – Diane Von Furstenberg
4. Accept who you are. Unless you’re a serial killer. – Ellen DeGeneres
5. Don’t belittle yourself. Be BIG yourself. – Corita Kent
6. Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on. – Maxwell Maltz
7. The things that make me different are the things that make me me. – A. A. Milne
8. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. – Anne Lamott
9. Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity. – Andre Gide
10. When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye. – Cathy Guisewite
11. There’s no alternative to being yourself. Accept it, honour it, value it – and get on with it. – Rasheed Ogunlaru
12. I am a queen because I know how to govern myself. – Lailah Gifty Akita
13. I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet. – Mahatma Gandhi
14. I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly. – Oscar Wilde
15. I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. – Lucille Ball
16. Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner. – Lao Tzu
17. I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it. – Johnny Depp
18. You have to be odd to be number one. – Dr. Seuss
19. You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens. – Louise L. Hay
20. I don’t wear the opinions of others anymore, I learnt to dress myself. – Nikki Rowe
21. Self-love seems so often unrequited. – Anthony Powell

FAQs

What is self-love and self-compassion?

Self-love is the act of valuing and honoring yourself. It is about knowing your own worth and being kind to yourself, even when you make mistakes. Self-compassion is similar, but it also includes an element of self-kindness and understanding towards ourselves.

Both self-love and self-compassion involve acceptance – of who we are, what we have done, and where we are in life. They also involve a sense of caring for ourselves, which can lead to us being more forgiving towards ourselves and more likely to take care of our own needs.

Why is self-love and kindness important?

We need self-love and self-kindness because they help us to feel good about ourselves. This allows us to cope with the stresses and challenges of life in a healthy way. When we feel good about ourselves, we are more likely to be happy and have fulfilling relationships.

Self-love and self-kindness can also help us to become more resilient. This means that we are able to cope with setbacks and difficult situations better, because we know that we can cope with whatever life throws at us.

Research has shown that self-love and self-compassion is linked with greater psychological well-being, including less anxiety and depression, and higher levels of happiness and self-esteem. 

What are some benefits of self-love and kindness?

• Feeling happier and more fulfilled in life.
• Developing a more positive outlook on life.
• Coping better with stress and difficult situations.
• Having healthier and more fulfilling relationships.
• Becoming more resilient to setbacks and difficult situations.

How can I practice self-love and self-compassion?

There are many ways that you can practice self-love and self-compassion. Here are a few ideas:

1. Make time each day for yourself, to do something that you enjoy.
2. Give yourself compliments when you do something well.
3. When you feel down or upset, practice self-compassion by comforting yourself with kind words.
4. Spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself.
5. Be gentle and understanding with yourself when you make mistakes.
6. Talk kindly to yourself in your head, as you would to a friend or loved one.
7. Give yourself time and space to heal after a setback or difficult experience.
8. Write down your thoughts and feelings about self-love and self-compassion.
9. Take care of your own needs, both physically and emotionally.
10. Set clear boundaries and limits with others.

Final thoughts

Always remember that showing yourself self-love and kindness is a choice. You can choose to be your own best friend, no matter what life throws at you. It’s about accepting yourself for who you are, and being compassionate towards yourself, even when you make mistakes.

If you find it difficult to be kind to yourself, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Just keep practicing, and eventually it will become second nature. The more you practice self-love and self-compassion, the happier and more fulfilled you will be in life.