100 Self-Compassion Quotes to Embrace Kindness for Yourself

Self-compassion is an effective solution to many of life’s difficulties. Below are the top quotes that address the core of self-compassion.

Self-compassion is the act of giving yourself a warm welcome and empathy. It also means showing compassion.

Self-compassion is a skill that requires the practice of doing it, as with everything essential in life. Therefore, in order to provide you with some motivation, we have compiled a list of inspiring self-compassion quotes to inspire you to reconsider the way you treat yourself.

Read more: 100+ Spiritual Healing Quotes for Inspiration and Encouragement Every Day

100+ Self Compassion Quotes

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Christopher Germer

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – LOUISE L. HAY, You Can Heal Your Life

“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

“Chasing a person doesn’t give you value or build values in you. You earn your value by chasing morality and practicing dignity.” – Shannon L. Alder

“Painful feelings are, by their very nature, temporary. They will weaken over time as long as we don’t prolong or amplify them through resistance or avoidance. The only way to eventually free ourselves from debilitating pain, therefore, is to be with it as it is. The only way out is through.” – Kristin Neff

“You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” – Joseph Campbell

“Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, so that we can give from our surplus, our abundance. When we nurture others from a place of fullness, we feel renewed instead of taken advantage of.” – Jennifer Louden

“It is a beautiful experience being with ourselves at a level of complete acceptance. When that begins to happen, when you give up resistance and needing to be perfect, a peace will come over you as you have never known.” – Ruth Fishel

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” – Dalai Lama

“We don’t make lasting, constructive changes in our lives because of shame or self-loathing. We finally decide we were made for something more. This might come to us as a very small sense of knowing, but it’s a change in perspective, and it is the soil for new life.” – Leeana Tankersley

“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou

“Where we think we need more self-discipline, we usually need more self-love.” – Tara Mohr

“Loving yourself is having reverence ultimately for life. …It’s a deep gratitude for the life you have.” – Brendon Burchard

“When we truly care for ourselves, it becomes possible to care far more profoundly about other people. The more alert and sensitive we are to our own needs, the more loving and generous we can be toward others.” – Eda LeShan

“Wherever we’re trying to go, we do not bully ourselves there. We believe ourselves there.” – Leeana Tankersley

“No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.” – Robert Holden

“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

“Talk to yourself as you would someone you love.” – Brene Brown

“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

“To be nobody-but-yourself – in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.” – e.e. cummings

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“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

“The mistake ninety-nine percent of humanity made, as far as Fats could see, was being ashamed of what they were; lying about it, trying to be somebody else.” – J.K. Rowling, The Casual Vacancy

“The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself” – Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

“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.

“There is a magnificent, beautiful, wonderful painting in front of you! It is intricate, detailed, a painstaking labor of devotion and love! The colors are like no other, they swim and leap, they trickle and embellish! And yet you choose to fixate your eyes on the small fly which has landed on it! Why do you do such a thing?” – C. JoyBell C.

“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

“Acceptance is the key to everything.” – Michael J Fox

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.” – Helen Keller

“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

“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

“Self-compassion is nurturing yourself with all the kindness and love you would shower on someone you cherish.” – Debra Reble, PhD

“You’re already stuck with yourself for a lifetime. Why not improve this relationship?” – Vironika Tugaleva

“With mindfulness, loving kindness, and self-compassion, we can begin to let go of our expectations about how life and those we love should be.” – Sharon Salzberg

“Healing takes self-compassion.” – Juansen Dizon

“Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship with myself.” – Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

“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

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” – Henry Thoreau, Walden

“You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” Amy Bloom

“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

“Love yourself first and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” – Lucille Ball

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay

“The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.” – Steve Maraboli

“This is a moment of suffering. Suffering is part of life. May I be kind to myself in this moment. May I give myself the compassion I need.” – Kristin Neff

“There is no amount of self-improvement that can make up for a lack of self-acceptance.” – Robert Holden

“You can’t build joy on a feeling of self-loathing.” – Ram Dass

“Stop beating yourself up for beating yourself up.” – Eleanor Brown

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” – Malcolm S. Forbes

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“Remember that if you really want to motivate yourself, love is more powerful than fear.” – Kristin Neff, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

“As the seventeenth-century French philosopher Montaigne once said, ‘My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of which never happened.” – Kristin Neff

“Unlike self-criticism, which asks if you’re good enough, self-compassion asks, what’s good for you?” – Kristin Neff

“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

“So why is self-compassion a more effective motivator than self-criticism? Because its driving force is love, not fear.” – Kristin Neff

“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

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” – Malcolm Forbes

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” – Unknown

“Instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings.” – Unknown

“Self-compassion isn’t contingent on success or failure, it’s about honoring and accepting ourselves in every moment, no matter what arises.” – Unknown

“Our successes and failures come and go-they neither define us nor do they determine our worthiness.” – Unknown

“Self-compassion allows us to embrace our imperfections and see them as part of the shared human experience, rather than personal defects.” – Unknown

“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, Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy-the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

“Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.” – Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance

“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, When I Loved Myself Enough

“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

“If your compassion does not include yourself it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield

“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

“As soon as you notice you’re suffering you automatically embrace yourself with compassion.” – Kristin Neff

“Self-compassion: not judging yourself or allowing others to judge you, not blaming yourself, getting to know and accepting yourself, forgiving yourself, loving yourself, helping yourself overcome insecurities, respecting yourself and protecting yourself.” – Unknown

“One thing is for sure-you will make mistakes. Learn to learn from them, learn to forgive yourself, learn to laugh when everything falls apart because, sometimes, it will.” – Vironika Tugaleva

“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” – Maya Angelou

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise L. Hay

“You have peace,” the old woman said, “when you make it with yourself.” – Mitch Albom

“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

“Self-compassion is simply giving yourself the same kindness that you would give to a friend.” – Christopher Germer

“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Compassion for ourselves gives rise to the power to transform resentment into forgiveness, hatred into friendliness, and fear into respect for all beings.” – Jack Kornfield

“The more you extend kindness to yourself, the more it will become your automatic response to others.” – Wayne Dyer

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” – Brené Brown

“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

“A person experiences life as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. Our task must be to free ourselves from this self-imposed prison, and through compassion, to find the reality of Oneness.” – Albert Einstein

“There’s no amount of self improvement that can make up for a lack of self acceptance.” – Robert Holden

“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

“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” – Steve Furtick

“When you say ‘Yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘No’ to yourself.” – Paulo Cohelo

“If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.” – Dalai Lama

“Self-acceptance begets acceptance from others, which begets even deeper, more genuine self-acceptance. It can be done. But no one is going to bestow it on you. It is a gift only you can give yourself.” – Camryn Manheim

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” – Mark Twain

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” – Mark Twain

“You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” – Diane Von Furstenberg

“It is not worth the while to let our imperfections disturb us always.” – Henry David Thoreau

“I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.” – Madonna

“Enjoy life – there are no re-runs.” – Shirley Lowery

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James

Conclusion

Let these quotes be your gentle reminder to treat yourself with the same love and compassion you offer to others. Cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness and acceptance, knowing that you are deserving of kindness and forgiveness at every turn.