By Lisa Davis
Self acceptance is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. It’s not always easy to love and accept oneself completely, but it’s worth the effort. When we accept ourselves, we’re able to let go of self-judgment and negativity, embrace our weaknesses, and discover our strengths. This leads to a more fulfilling life, both personally and professionally. Here are the best self-acceptance quotes that will help you understand the significance of self-compassion and nurture self-love.
What Are the Signs of Low Self Esteem
It can be easy to chalk up low self-esteem to simply being modest or shy. However, there is a big difference between having low self-acceptance and being humble. Humble people may not view themselves as better than others, but they still have a healthy sense of self-worth. People with low self-esteem, on the other hand, see themselves as inferior to others and are constantly close to self-loathing. If you suspect that you lack self-acceptance, here are some signs to look for:
- You are extremely critical of yourself and seem unable to take compliments, you don’t believe you deserve praise;
- You are easily hurt by criticism or disapproval and seek other people’s approval and reassurance of your worth;
- You are easily defeated by obstacles and don’t believe in your ability to overcome challenges;
- You tend to avoid taking risks or trying new things for fear of failing or being rejected;
- You are hard on yourself and put yourself down in self-talk or in a company;
- You can’t let go of a bad job or unhealthy relationships because you don’t belave you’be able to survive the change or find anything better.
If any of these situations sound familiar, the following self-acceptance quotes will help you take a look at yourself from a new angle and take the first step towards self-love. Thus, select the quotes and affirmations that resonate with you most and make sure you can reread them frequently: save them to a dedicated Pinterest board or use them to create meaningful bedroom wall art, calendars, or fridge magnets. Soon enough, you will see how much change unconditional self-acceptance can make in your life.
Inspiring Quotes About Self Acceptance
1. Robert Holden. “No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.”
2. Ellen Sue Stern. “Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.”
3. Louise L. Hay. “You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
4. Eleanor Roosevelt. “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
5. Sharon Salzberg. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
6. Mark Twain. “The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.”
7. Dalai Lama. “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.”
8. Rupi Kaur. “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.”
9. Kristin Neff. “Continually feeding our need for positive self-evaluation is a bit like stuffing ourselves with candy. We get a brief sugar high, then a crash.”
10. Shannon Ables. “What self-acceptance does is open up more possibilities of succeeding because you aren’t fighting yourself along the way.”
11. Amy Leigh Mercree. “Accept yourself: flaws, quirks, talents, secret thoughts, all of it, and experience true liberation.”
12. Nathaniel Branden. “Self-acceptance is truly a heroic act.”
13. Andrea Dykstra. “In order to love who you are, you cannot hate the experiences that shaped you.”
14. Oprah Winfrey. “As you become clearer about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you – the first time around.”
15. Windy Dryden. “When I accept myself as a fallible human being capable of being liked and disliked, I will be concerned but not anxious if there is a possibility that new people may dislike me.”
16. Colin Tipping. “Self-forgiveness is a process that enables us to release guilt, while self-acceptance is a process that enables us to process our shame.”
17. Buddha. “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
18. Nathaniel Branden. “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
19. Michelle Cruz-Rosado. “With self-acceptance, we have the ability to choose compassion and forgiveness over anger and self-hatred.”
20. Shannon L. Alder. “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.”
21. Pema Chödrön. “The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.”
22. Yogi Bhajan. “You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are.”
23. Brené Brown. “I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
24. James Pike. “If a person lacks self-acceptance, he can’t live with himself; if he lacks self-criticism, others can’t live with him.”
25. Kris Carr. “Accepting yourself is about respecting yourself. It’s about honoring yourself right now, here today, in this moment. Not just who you could become somewhere down the line.”
26. C. JoyBell C. “Every moment that you use to criticize yourself is a second of your life wasted.”
27. Steve Maraboli. “When I accept myself, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me.”
28. Brené Brown. “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.”
29. Tara Brach. “Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our life as it is. A moment of Radical Acceptance is a moment of genuine freedom.”
30. Jean Vanier. “Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness.”
31. Christopher Germer. “Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.”
32. Vironika Tugaleva. “You’re already stuck with yourself for a lifetime. Why not improve this relationship?”
33. Tyra Banks. “Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.”
34. Abraham Lincoln. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
35. Brené Brown. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”
36. Becca Lee. “The surest way to lose your self-worth is by trying to find it through the eyes of others.”
37. Rupi Kaur. “It’s easy to love the nice things about ourselves, but true self-love is embracing the difficult parts that live in all of us.”
38. Anne Lamott. “I decided that most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed.”
39. Shannon L. Alder. “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.”
40. Charlie Chaplin. “As I began to love myself, I found that anguish and emotional suffering were only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.”
41. Scott Stabile. “Option A: Spend your life trying to get others to accept you. Option B: Accept yourself and spend your life with others who recognize what a beauty you are.”
42. Amy Bloom. “You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.”
43. George R.R. Martin. “Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.”
44. Lucille Ball. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
45. Ruth Fishel. “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.”
46. Ellie Holcomb. “When you make a mistake, respond to yourself in a loving way rather than a self-shaming way.”
47. M. Scott Peck. “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”
48. Thich Nhat Hanh. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
49. Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne. “The things that make me different are the things that make me.”
50. Henri Frederic Amiel. “Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.”
10 Daily Affirmations to Accept Oneself Completely
Daily affirmations are powerful statements of positive self-talk that can help to reduce stress and boost confidence. When you make a conscious choice to use affirmations on a regular basis, you are taking an effective step toward improving your well-being.
1. Everyone makes mistakes. I accept and forgive myself for mine.
2. No one is perfect. I gently accept my humanness.
3. My dear inner critic, I will listen to you tomorrow.
4. I’m doing my best and that is enough.
5. My opinion of myself is the only one that matters.
6. I’m kind to myself and to the world around me.
7. I have come this far, and I can keep going.
8. I love and accept myself, even when I’m angry or anxious.
9. I accept myself. I love myself. I trust myself.
10. I give myself permission to be happy.
All in all, self-acceptance is key to a happy and fulfilling life. No one is perfect, and that’s okay. It’s important to love yourself for who you are. The next time you’re feeling down about yourself, remember these quotes and try to incorporate them into your day-to-day thinking. Hopefully, they’ll help you see how special and lovable you truly are.
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