A selection of top 120 inspirational thoughts to boost self-compassion and self-acceptance; to reduce the habit of self-loathing and to increase the habit of self-care. I have personally chosen the best amongst 1500 quotes. These quotes do not assume any belief on your part.
=> At the bottom of this page, you can download the free PDF for easy reference.
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. ― Gautama Buddha
It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes. ― Sally Field
I only accept your mistakes and flaws to the degree that I accept my own. ― Vironika Tugaleva
Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. ― Marilyn Monroe
What self-acceptance does is open up more possibilities of succeeding because you aren’t fighting yourself along the way. ― Shannon Ables
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
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
It’s not your job to like me… It’s mine! ― Byron Katie
Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world. ― Eleanor Roosevelt
You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company. ― Diane Von Furstenberg
The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. ― C.G. Jung
The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable. — Paul Tillich
The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself. ― Mark Twain
I don’t need anyone else to distract me from myself anymore, like I always thought I would. ― Charlotte Eriksson
If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation. ― Jiddu Krishnamurti
Self-improvement without self-love is like building a house upon sand. You can build and build, but it will always sink. ― Vironika Tugaleva
No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance. ― Robert Holden
Self-acceptance means living the life you choose to live without worrying what others think about you. It doesn’t matter what someone else thinks about you. What matters is what you think about yourself. ― Sadiqua Hamdan
One woman filled with self-love and self-acceptance is a model more super than any cover girl. ― Amy Leigh Mercree
When your own approval means more than the approval of others, that is self-love. ― Vironika Tugaleva
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Our task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ― Rumi
Loving yourself does not mean being self-absorbed or narcissistic, or disregarding others. Rather it means welcoming yourself as the most honored guest in your own heart, a guest worthy of respect, a lovable companion. ― Margo Anand
Your problem is you’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness. ― Ram Dass
You can’t build joy on a feeling of self-loathing. ― Ram Dass
It’s OK if you mess up. You should give yourself a break. ― Billy Joel
You are beautiful, no matter what they say. ― Christina Aguilera
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
Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself. ― Montaigne
I used to be self-conscious about my height, but then I thought ‘F*** that, I’m Harry Potter’. ― Daniel Radcliffe
Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself. ― Tyra Banks
I had to grow to love my body. I did not have a good self-image at first. Finally, it occurred to me, I’m either going to love me or hate me. And I chose to love myself. Then everything kind of sprung from there. Things that I thought weren’t attractive became sexy. Confidence makes you sexy. ― Queen Latifah
Sex appeal is fifty percent what you’ve got and fifty percent what people think you’ve got. ― Sophia Loren
Let yourself remember to love again, starting with you loving you. ― Miya Yamanouchi
I have known friendship love, parental love, romantic love, family love and unrequited love in my lifetime, but the only love that made a difference was self-love. You don’t need confirmation from the world or another person that you matter. You simply do matter. When you finally believe that truth and live it then you can do amazing things with your life! ― Shannon L. Alder
Accept yourself: flaws, quirks, talents, secret thoughts, all of it, and experience true liberation. ― Amy Leigh Mercree
Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me. ― Audre Lorde
With self-acceptance, we have the ability to choose compassion and forgiveness over anger and self-hatred. ― Michelle Cruz-Rosado
I feel keeping a promise to yourself is a direct reflection of the love you have for yourself. I used to make promises to myself and find them easy to break. Today, I love myself enough to not only make a promise to myself, but I love myself enough to keep that promise. ― Steve Maraboli
Did your mom ever tell you, ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything’? She was right–and talking nicely also applies when you’re talking to yourself, even inside your head. ― Victoria Moran,
Your time is way too valuable to be wasting on people that can’t accept who you are. ― Turcois Ominek
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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 McMillen,
Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort. ― Deborah Day
If you do not respect your own wishes, no one else will. You will simply attract people who disrespect you as much as you do. ― Vironika Tugaleva
The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others, but with yourself. ― Shannon L. Alder
When you are truly stunning, gorgeous and beautiful, you won’t have to prove that to anyone visually. ― Alexandra Elle
Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself – what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat. ― Warsan Shire
Love thy neighbor yes, but love thyself first. ― Solange Nicole
We all make mistakes. We must keep finding the right paths. ― Lailah Gifty Akita,
When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers. ― Sanober Khan
The absence of self-love can never be replaced with the presence of people’s love for you. ― Edmond Mbiaka
No other love no matter how genuine it is, can fulfill one’s heart better than unconditional self-love. ― Edmond Mbiaka
The absence of unconditional self-love has led many people to sell themselves cheap. ― Edmond Mbiaka
The hunger for attention is an enemy of self-love. ― Edmond Mbiaka
We are so desperate to be in love with someone else that we forget to love ourself. What a tragedy! ― Jasz Gill
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. ― Mark Twain
The only love you should desperately search for, is the one that comes from you to you. ― Edmond Mbiaka
When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life. ― Jean Shinoda Bolen
Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own? ― Brigham Young
People may flatter themselves just as much by thinking that their faults are always present to other people’s minds, as if they believe that the world is always contemplating their individual charms and virtues. ― Elizabeth Gaskell
Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. ― Malcolm S. Forbes
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Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are completely; the good and the bad and make changes as you see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different. ― Stacey Charter
I found in my research that the biggest reason people aren’t more self-compassionate is that they are afraid they’ll become self-indulgent. They believe self-criticism is what keeps them in line. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be. ― Kristen Neff
If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself. ― Barbara De Angelis
You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens. ― Louise L. Hay
Be faithful to that which exists within yourself. ― André Gide
The moment that you accept life and your life as it is, is the moment that you will start to change your life and this magical life itself. ― Rasheed Ogunlaru
Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world making the most of one’s best. ― Harry Emerson Fosdick
Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face. – Helen Keller
Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give and nobody will care for you. ― Karl Lagerfeld
When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. ― Benjamin Franklin
Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others. ― Christopher Germer
The question isn’t whether the world is perfect. The real question to consider is: If it were, would you still be in it? ― Eric Michael Leventhal
We all have the tendency to believe self-doubt and self-criticism, but listening to this voice never gets us closer to our goals. Instead, try on the point of view of a mentor or good friend who believes in you, wants the best for your, and will encourage you when you feel discouraged. ― Kelly McGonigal
I’ve got a bad case of the 3:00 am guilts – you know, when you lie in bed awake and replay all those things you didn’t do right? Because, as we all know, nothing solves insomnia like a nice warm glass of regret, depression and self-loathing. ― D. D. Barant
To one’s enemies: ‘I hate myself more than you ever could.’ ― Alain de Botton
If you had a person in your life treating you the way you treat yourself, you would have gotten rid of them a long time ago. ― Cheri Huber
He wished he could be anywhere else and anyone else but Here and Him. ― James R. Silvestri
Your skin is your skin. Your legs are your legs. Your hair is your hair. Your smile is your smile. Your past is your past. You can waste your life hating these things, but you may as well learn to accept them. Both routes are difficult and full of pain, but with acceptance, you will be happy one day, while with hatred, you never will. ― Vironika Tugaleva
Blind in many ways are all human beings, even those with functioning eyes. They are blind to their folly, to their ignorance, to their history, to the future that they will make for themselves. A future born of self-loathing. ― Dean Koontz
The way you think about yourself determines your reality. You are not being hurt by the way people think about you. Many of those people are a reflection of how you think about yourself. ― Shannon L. Alder
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Beware of that monster called ‘self-loathing’. ― John Green
To keep my mind occupied when I can’t sleep. Some people count sheep. I self-loathe. ― Rainbow Rowell
If we internalize every disappointing setback with contempt and self-loathing, a life of solitary confinement and discontentment awaits us. It’s a verdict indicated by a prosecution, deliberated by a jury and condemned by a judge…all three being you. We imprison ourselves when we allow outside negative circumstances and people dictate who we are. You can dwell in that cell…but only you can exonerate you. ― Jason Versey
Perhaps the most liberating moment in my life was when I realized that my self-loathing was not a product of my inadequacy but, rather, a product of my thoughts. ― Vironika Tugaleva
Sometimes being happy takes effort. Invest time and energy in yourself and your happiness. ― Amy Leigh Mercree
A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life. ― Christopher K. Germer
You cannot serve from an empty vessel. ― Eleanor Brownn
Taking good care of yourself means the people in your life receive the best of you rather than what is left of you. ― Lucille Zimmerman
Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. ― Audre Lorde
It’s common to reject or punish yourself when you’ve been rejected by others. When you experience disappointment from the way your family or others treat you, that’s the time to take special care of yourself. What are you doing to nurture yourself? What are you doing to protect yourself? Find a healthy way to express your pain. ― Christina Enevoldsen
Affirmations are our mental vitamins, providing the supplementary positive thoughts we need to balance the barrage of negative events and thoughts we experience daily. ― Tia Walker
Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we can be alone, we can be with others without using them as a means of escape. ― Bell Hooks
Rest and self-care are so important. When you take the time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel. ― Eleanor Brownn
We need to start treating ourselves how we deserve to be treated, even if you feel that no one else does. Prove to the world you are worth something by treating yourself with the utmost respect and hope that other people will follow your example. And even if they don’t, at least one person in the world is treating you well: You. ― Carrie Hope Fletcher
The greatest tool of self-love is self-awareness. Once you truly know yourself, love is the only option. ― Vironika Tugaleva
For those of you who struggle with guilt regarding self-care, answer this question: What greater gift can you give to those you love than your own wholeness? ― Shannon Tanner
Exactly what are you wanting to teach your children? -How to love and care for themselves, or how to neglect and abandon themselves? Self-sacrifice is NOT setting a good example. ― Miya Yamanouchi
To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors. ― Tia Walker
If we all started using the self-care system, there would hardly be the need for the medical system. ― Nina Leavins
The best health care plan is the self-care plan. ― Nina Leavins
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Taking care of yourself is the most powerful way to begin to take care of others. ― Bryant McGill
Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch. ― Parker J. Palmer
Don’t abuse yourself or withhold self-love or self-care. ― Bryant McGill
Setting boundaries is a way of caring for myself. It doesn’t make me mean, selfish, or uncaring because I don’t do things your way. I care about me too. ― Chrsitine Morgan
Many of us follow the commandment ‘Love One Another.’ When it relates to caregiving, we must love one another with boundaries. We must acknowledge that we are included in the ‘Love One Another. ― Peggi Speers
By loving you more, you love the person you are caring for more. ― Peggi Speers
In most families, caregiving becomes the woman’s responsibility. While care-giving can enrich you, it can also deplete you if you don’t have support or make time for self-care. ― Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett
Self-care is possessing enough self-awareness to invoke repeated patterns of being, that harmoniously correct the behaviors of over-functioning for others while under-functioning for yourself. ― LaShaun Middlebrooks Collier
Much of your strength as a woman can come from the resolve to replenish and fill your own well and essence first, before taking care of others. ― Miranda J. Barrett
As you become your own advocate and your own steward, your life will beautifully transform. ― Miranda J. Barrett
As you consciously choose to give yourself the gifts of self-care, they become an integral part of your rhythm and the vital tools that you will tap into for the rest of your life. ―Miranda J. Barrett
Every time you make a commitment to your own self-care, self-love and self-respect and then follow through, you build trust in yourself. ― Miranda J. Barrett
By honoring and responding to your natural and essential requirements for sleep, food, water and movement, you will rise out of the realm of survival into the world of fulfilment. ― Miranda J. Barrett
This revolutionary act of treating ourselves tenderly can begin to undo the aversive messages of a lifetime. ― Tara Brach
It is possible to stop the mental chatter, regain your emotional balance and live free of stress and anxiety when you create a new habit of daily energetic self-care using the four powerful tools in nurturing wellness through radical self-care. ― Janet Gallagher Nestor
Doing something nice for myself is not selfish. ― Chrsitine Morgan
Each positive thought, every vibrant attitude, all purposeful activities water the seeds for success along your path. You will encounter many seeds for success today. Pay attention to these and feed them appropriately. Then maintain their beautiful growth through conscious self-care. ― Rebecca Gordon
It’s not worth our while to let our imperfections disturb us always. ― Henry David Thoreau
Accept yourself: flaws, quirks, talents, secret thoughts, all of it, and experience true liberation. ― Amy Leigh Mercree
People often ask ‘how is life treating you?’ Perhaps the more accurate question is ‘how are you treating yourself?’ ― Sepi Tajima
Final Words
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