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85 Self Compassion Quotes To Inspire Self-Love & Kindness
We are often our own harshest critics and especially during hard times we often forget that the human experience means nobody is perfect.
We all make mistakes and mess up at times…
Self Compassion is accepting that nobody can ever be perfect and learning to love and forgive yourself is necessary and a vital part of self-care.
Sadly many people find it hard to be their own best friend when that critical inner voice seems to be running the show…..
Self-compassion is a skill very people use or if they do they think they are being selfish.
But with practice each small act of kindness you show yourself will have great benefits – not only for you – but for others too.
Learning to love, forgive and show kindness to yourself is one of the greatest gifts you can give the world.
After all, if you can’t have compassion for yourself then it will be extremely difficult to have compassion and empathy for others.
These self-compassion quotes will inspire you to question those thoughts and feelings you have about yourself that are not serving you and instead give yourself permission to love your divine self just the way you are.
1. “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.” – E.E. Cummings
2. “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” – Maya Angelou
3. “Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at.” – Pema Chodron
4. Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.” – Dalai Lama
5. “Self-compassion is like a muscle. The more we practice flexing it, especially when life doesn’t go exactly according to plan (a frequent scenario for most of us), the stronger and more resilient our compassion muscle becomes.” – Sharon Salzberg
6. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love & affection.” – Buddha
7. “Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering.” – Dalai Lama
8. “Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” – Dalai Lama
9. “Love and compassion are the true religions to me. But to develop this, we do not need to believe in any religion.” – Dalai Lama
10. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” – Maya Angelou
11. “A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” – Christopher Germer
12. Compassion is to look beyond your own pain,to see the pain of others. – Yasmin Mogahed
13. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama
14. “Being human is not about being any one particular way; it is about being as life creates you—with your own particular strengths and weaknesses, gifts and challenges, quirks and oddities.” – Kristin Neff
15. “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield
16. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” – Plato
17. “Taking time to relax every day, spending quality time with friends, and practicing mindfulness are some of the tried and tested ways of developing self-compassion” – Dr. Prem Jgasi
18. “Compassion is at the heart of every little thing we do. It is the dearest quality we possess. Yet all too often it can be cast aside with consequences too tragic to speak of. To lose our compassion, we lose what it is to be human.” – Anonymous
19. “Compassion isn’t some kind of self-improvement project or ideal that we’re trying to live up to. Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves, all those imperfections that we don’t even want to look at.” – Pema Chodron
20. “Empathy is a connection; it’s a ladder out of the shame hole.” – Brené Brown
21. Self-Compassion is key because when we’re able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we’re more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy.” – Brené Brown
22. “The highest form of knowledge is empathy.” – Bill Bullard
23. “Talk to yourself as you would someone you love.” – Brene Brown
24. “Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise L. Hay
25. “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” – Steve Maraboli
26. “Having compassion for yourself means that you honor and accept your humanness.” – Kristen Neff
27. “Self-approval and self-acceptance in the now are the main keys to positive changes in every area of our lives.”- Louise Hay
28. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
29. “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer
30.“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” – Carl Jung
31. “Drop the people who do not value you, respect you. Life has infinite horizons. Accept yourself, love yourself, and move forward.” – Amit Ray
32. “You have peace,” the old woman said, “when you make it with yourself.” – Mitch Albom
33. “You can’t build joy on a feeling of self-loathing.” – Ram Dass
34. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” – Joseph Campbell
35. “Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” – Lao Tzu
36. “Unlike self-criticism, which asks if you’re good enough, self-compassion asks, what’s good for you?” – Kristin Neff
37. “To be self-compassionate is not to be self-indulgent or self-centered. A major component of self-compassion is to be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with love, care, dignity and make your well-being a priority. With self-compassion, we still hold ourselves accountable professionally and personally, but there are no toxic emotions inflicted upon and towards ourselves.” – Christopher Dines
38. “It’s like a mother, when the baby is crying, she picks up the baby and she holds the baby tenderly in her arms. Your pain, your anxiety is your baby. You have to take care of it. You have to go back to yourself, to recognize the suffering in you, embrace the suffering, and you get a relief.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
39. “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” Mark Twain
40. “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” – Bob Kerrey
41. “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana
42. “Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan
43. “And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had more of a tendency to look for people who live by kindness, tolerance, compassion, a gentler way of looking at things.” – Martin Scorsese
44. “The nature of humanity, its essence, is to feel another’s pain as one’s own, and to act to take that pain away. There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.” – John Connolly
45. “Most unhappy people need to learn just one lesson: how to see themselves through the lens of genuine compassion and treat themselves accordingly.” – Martha Beck
46. “Practice self-compassion. Talk to and BE your own best, kind, compassionate, caring friend.” – Kristin Neff
47. “When I loved myself enough, I began leaving whatever wasn’t healthy. This meant people, jobs, my own beliefs, and habits – anything that kept me small. Now I see it as self-loving.” – Kim McMille
48. “When you say, ‘Yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘No’ to yourself.” – Paulo Coelho
49. “An important aspect of self-compassion is to be able to empathically hold both parts of ourselves, the self that regrets a past action and the self that took the action in the first place.” – Marshall Rosenberg
50. “Self-compassion is a way of emotionally recharging our batteries. Rather than becoming drained by helping others, self-compassion allows us to fill up our internal reserves, so that we have more to give to those who need us.” – Kristin Neff
51. “As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.” – Tracee Ellis Ross
52. “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
53. “In compassion, when we feel with the other, we dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and we put another person there.” – Karen Armstrong
54. “Stop beating yourself up for beating yourself up.” – Eleanor Brown
55.” Self-compassion–being supportive and kind to yourself, especially in the face of stress and failure–is associated with more motivation and better self-control.” – Kelly McGonigal
56. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”- Lucille Ball
57. “Here’s the gift of gratitude: In order to feel it, your ego has to take a backseat. What shows up in its place is greater compassion and understanding. Instead of being frustrated, you choose appreciation. And the more grateful you become, the more you have to be grateful for.”- Oprah Winfrey
58. “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein
59. “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
60. “Self-compassion is approaching ourselves, our inner experience with spaciousness, with the quality of allowing which has a quality of gentleness. Instead of our usual tendency to want to get over something, to fix it, to make it go away, the path of compassion is totally different. Compassion allows.” – Robert Gonzales
61. “When we practice self-compassion in our lives, we are compelled to be more understanding and accepting toward ourselves.” – Jose Incer
62. “When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do.” – John O’Donohue
63. “True compassion comes from free will by drawing empathy from within.” – Shane Barbi
64. “Sometimes the ultimate act of self-compassion is turning off your phone and looking someone in the eye.” – Amy Leigh Mercree
65. “When you manage your emotions and act with compassion, you are behaving as the real you.” – Zeeshan Raza
66. “The depth of our compassion is proportional to the depth of our living.” – Jean-Yves Leloup
67. “Awakening self-compassion is often the greatest challenge people face on the spiritual path.” – Tara Brach
68. “When compassion wakes up in us, we find ourselves more willing to become vulnerable, to take the risk of entering the pain of others.” – Sue Monk Kidd
69. Be nice to yourself… It’s hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time. – Christine Arylo
70. “Compassion is essential, but it’s not a substitute for self-expression, or self-respect, or self-compassion. Emotional self-care is also essential, but gently soothing our wounds does not replace communicating about them.” – Vironika Tugaleva
71. “Let our hearts be stretched out in compassion toward others, for everyone is walking his or her own difficult path.”– Dieter F. Uchtdorf
72. “Feel compassion for your own heart that was broken open by grief or confusion.” – Laurie Perez
73. “The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” – C. Joybell C.
74. “Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” – Albert Schweitzer
75. “Hurt people hurt people. We are not being judgmental by separating ourselves from such people. But we should do so with compassion. Compassion is defined as a “keen awareness of the suffering of another coupled with a desire to see it relieved.” People hurt others as a result of their own inner strife and pain. Avoid the reactive response of believing they are bad; they already think so and are acting that way. They aren’t bad; they are damaged and they deserve compassion. Note that compassion is an internal process, an understanding of the painful and troubled road trod by another. It is not trying to change or fix that person.” – Will Bowen
76. “People who are high in self-compassion treat themselves with kindness and concern when they experience negative events.” – Ashley Batts Allen & Mark R. Leary
77. “Our sorrows and wounds are only healed when we touch them with compassion. “– Buddha
78.” The biggest sign of self-growth is self-compassion.” – Nidhi Kush Shah
79. “If one is cruel to himself, how can we expect him to be compassionate with others?” – Hasdai ibn Shaprut
80. “If we cultivate compassion for those who have hurt us, we have the possibility of overcoming our anger, pain, and fear. Compassion is a great medicine.” – Goldie Hawn
81. “We can’t fight darkness with darkness. We have to find compassion and embrace the darkness inside of us in order to understand it and, ultimately, to transcend it.” – Debbie Ford
82.” Cultivating compassion for ourselves and others can bring balance and harmony to our lives in a way we never dreamed of.” – Thubten Chodron
83. “Speak to yourself with compassion on the inside and you will radiate peace on the outside.” – Amy Leigh Mercree
84. “Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It’s the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else’s pain is as meaningful as your own.” – Barbara Kingsolver
85. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”– John Holmes
Last Thoughts on Self-Compassion Quotes
I hope this selection of quotes helps you to recognize the true value of being kind to yourself no matter what your circumstances are. Please feel free to share this with others who could use some self-love today.
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