One of the most popular trends lately has been the concept of taking time to care for yourself. Often this is referred to as “self-care” – whether it is taking some quiet time. Or having a manicure. Or getting a massage. Or just taking a pause from doing things for others.
It is really important that you practice some self care and take time for yourself to recharge your own batteries and motivation, and help maintain your emotional, mental and physical health.
Self care is important to establishing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. You can perform self care activities by watching your diet, exercising, maintaining good hygiene, being aware of the products and medicines that you put into your body, but also not practicing the use of bad products such as alcohol and drugs.
The biggest challenge most people face with self care is that they view it as being a selfish act, but it really isn’t. It is extremely important to care for yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. There is a saying that goes “you can’t care for others if you don’t care for yourself”, this saying is true when considering your own self care.
Whether it is #SelfCareSunday or Self Care Month (September), or really just any day of the week that ends in a “y” where you need some extra TLC (#selfcare), here are some quotes to inspire you!
The Most Inspirational Self-Care Quotes
- “I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
― Brené Brown - “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 to others.” –Parker Palmer
- “If you don’t love yourself, you won’t be happy with yourself. If you can’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else. You can’t give the love you do not have. You can’t make anyone love you without loving yourself first.”
― Kemi Sogunle - “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” –Maya Angelou
- “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” –Anne Lamott
- “It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.” –Diane Von Furstenberg
- “I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.” – Joyce Meyer
- “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
- “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” –Christopher Germer
- “The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself. ” – Steve Maraboli
- “You are beautiful. Know this. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply lying. You are beautiful. ” – Steve Maraboli
- “Self-discipline is self-caring.” –M. Scott Peck
- “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. ” – Thich Nhat Hanh
- “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
- “Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves. ” – Nathaniel Branden
- “It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” – Mandy Hale
- “Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. ” – Lucille Ball
- “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” –Oprah
- “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
- “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” –Stephen Covey
- “There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.” –Brian Andreas
- “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. My judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving.” –Kim McMillen
- “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” –Buddha
- “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” –Christopher Germer
- “Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how you use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept.”–Anna Taylor
- “Self-care is not a waste of time; self-care makes your use of time more sustainable.” –Jackie Viramontez
- “You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” –Louise L. Hay
- “There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad.” –Garson Kanin
- “Self-care is so much more than a beauty regimen or an external thing you do. It has to start within your heart to know what you need to navigate your life. A pedicure doesn’t last, but meditating every day does.”
Carrie-Anne Moss - “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
- “To be a good parent, you need to take care of yourself so that you can have the physical and emotional energy to take care of your family.”–Michelle Obama
- “If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.” –Charles Bukowski
- “The perfect man of old looked after himself first before looking to help others.” –Chuang Tzu
- “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” –Eleanor Brownn
- “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” — Lucille Ball
- “To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” –Denis Waitley
- “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 - ”If you don’t love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self.” –Wayne Dyer
- “Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is your greatest and grandest responsibility. It’s about listening to the needs of your soul and then honoring them.” –Kristi Ling“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“With every act of self-care your authentic self gets stronger, and the critical, fearful mind gets weaker. Every act of self-care is a powerful declaration: I am on my side, I am on my side, each day I am more and more on my own side.” — Susan Weiss Berry
- “There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self”
— Aldous Huxley“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” –Mandy Hale - “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
- “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde
- “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” –Christopher Germer
- “I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.” –Audre Lorde
- “Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” –Katie Reed
- “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
- “With every act of self-care your authentic self gets stronger, and the critical, fearful mind gets weaker. Every act of self-care is a powerful declaration: I am on my side, I am on my side, each day I am more and more on my own side.” –Susan Weiss Berry
- “When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho
- “It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” – Mandy Hale
- “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brené Brown
- “I make it a point to practice self-care. I make an appointment with myself.” – Manisha Singal, MD
- “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 to others.” – Parker Palmer
- “Self-care is how you take your power back.” – Lalah Delia
- “Self-care has become a new priority, the revelation that it’s perfectly permissible to listen to your body and do what it needs.” – Frances Ryan
- “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Maya Angelou
- “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
- “Care for your psyche…know thyself, for once we know ourselves, we may learn how to care for ourselves.” – Socrates
- “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” – Oprah
- “When we self-regulate well, we are better able to control the trajectory of our emotional lives and resulting actions based on our values and sense of purpose.” – Amy Leigh Mercree
- “Find what makes your heart sing and create your own music.” – Mac Anderson
- “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. ” – Oscar Wilde
- “Wildflower; pick up your pretty little head, it will get easier, your dreams are not dead.” – Nikki Rowe
- “The care, therefore, of every man’s soul belongs unto himself.” – John Locke
- “Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” – Sophia Loren
- “Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.” – Nathaniel Branden
- “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
- “It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” – Mandy Hale
- “Solitude is where I place my chaos to rest and awaken my inner peace.” – Nikki Rowe
- “Be kind to yourself, dear to our innocent follies. Forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance. You will come to see that all evolves us.” – Rumi (13th-century poet)
- “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
- “Being extremely honest with oneself is a good exercise.” – Sigmund Freud
- “When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives.” – Kristin Neff
- “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
- “My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they’re rich and important.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
- “I had the epiphany that laughter was light, and light was laughter, and that this was the secret of the universe.” – Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch
- “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brene Brown
- “Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” – Edward Stanley
- “The love and attention you always thought you wanted from someone else, is the love and attention you first need to give to yourself.” – Bryant McGillns
- “Be you, love you. All ways, always.” – Alexandra Elle
- “If you want to help her, you need to help yourself first. No one serves their friends by grinding themselves into dust on the altar of compassion.” -Seanan McGuire, In an Absent Dream
- “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” – Eleanor Brown, author
- “Self-discipline is self-caring.” – M. Scott Peck
- “Everybody is different, and every body is different.” – Beverly Diehl
- “Self-care is taking all the pressures you are facing right now, and deciding to which you will respond, and how.” – Imani Shola
- “Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.” – Akiroq Brost
- “Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax.” – Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive
- “Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation.” – Audre Lorde, feminist and civil rights leader
- “If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.” – Doug Larson
- “It’s good to do uncomfortable things. It’s weight training for life.” – Anne LaMott
- “No more martyring myself.” – Sharon E. Rainey
- “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear. ” – Confucius
- “You always say such lovely things to me, Red. Do you say them to yourself?” – Talia Hibbert, Get a Life, Chloe Brown
- “You can’t really be present for the people in your life if you aren’t taking care of yourself.” – Kerry Washington
- “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” – Stephen Covey
- “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” – Etty Hillesum
- “There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
- “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others. ” – Christopher Germer
- “You cannot breathe life into someone refusing to inhale.” – Colleen Songs, Inhale
- “Some days are going to be more of a struggle than others. That is okay and you need to forgive yourself in order to keep going and growing.” – Sara Ahmed, writer and content creator
- “There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.” – Brian Andreas
- Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott
- “Self-care is your fuel…Whatever the road ahead or the path you’ve taken, self-care is what keeps your motor running and your wheels turning.” – Melissa Steginus
- “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” – Jack Kornfield
- “Just because you take breaks doesn’t mean you’re broken.” – Curtis Tyrone Jones
- “Mind. Body. Soul. These are the three things self-care is all about.” – Kathy Sledge, American singer and songwriter
- “How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em.” – Shel Silverstein
- “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
- “Self-care is a deliberate choice to gift yourself with people, places, things, events, and opportunities that recharge our personal battery and promote the whole health body, mind, and spirit.” – Laurie Buchanan, PhD
- “Be kinder to yourself. And then let your kindness flood the world.” – Pema Chodron
- “The body can endure practically anything pain, fatigue, you name it but its the mind that matters.” – Dave Pelzer, Help Yourself: Finding Hope, Courage, and Happiness
- “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda, American author
- “The challenge is not to be perfect, it is to be whole.” – Jane Fonda
Related: See our Sunday Quotes Collection
Summary
We hope these quotes inspire you to spend more time taking care of yourself. Self care is really important to maintain your mental health. And if you take time for yourself, you will have more time for others actually.
Meditation, exercise, spending time with loved ones, sleeping, laughing, and doing an activity that you enjoy are all other forms of self care. Living a balanced life starts with practicing self care. Although there are many different meanings and ways to be self caring, it all boils down to helping yourself be healthy, strong, and balanced.
Remember some of these quotes to inspire you when you are in need of some self care, or send a quote or two to a friend or family member that you know is going through a rough time and is in need of self care.
Finally, if you always find yourself caring too much these quotes are for you.
I’m Alice Judy and AnQuotes is a fun hobby for me. We know that everyone loves a great quote and our mission here is simple – to be the best and most interesting quote site in the world! If you have quotes you would like us to cover, please contact us.
