100 Quotes About Self-Care, Because Being Good to Yourself Has Never Been More Important

We all want to be fabulously healthy and enjoy a long, happy life. But we may not realize that each of us, in large part, holds the answer to achieving these things right within ourselves. It’s called self-care, and it's never been more important, as the below self-care quotes illustrate.

But what is self-care, exactly? It’s the thoughtful practice of protecting and improving our own physical health and mental health within a balanced lifestyle. In these stressful times, it’s never been more critical. Self-care includes the intentional acts of eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, maintaining a strong social network, tending to our spiritual needs, looking after our financial security, and so much more. Think of it as the gentle art of loving yourself.

While we can all agree it’s important to take care of ourselves, it’s also incredibly hard to do so on a daily basis when so many others around us need our care and attention. But making time for ourselves isn’t just nice—it’s necessary for our well-being.

Looking for extra motivation? Here are 100 quotes about self-care to inspire, motivate, enlighten, and remind you of the lasting importance of being kind to ourselves in a challenging world.

100 Self-Care Quotes

1. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott

2. “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” — M. Scott Peck

3. “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

4. “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” — Buddha

5. “Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” — Princess Diana

6. “The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” — Anna Quindlen

7. “Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.” ― Anne Morrow Lindbergh

8. “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

9. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain

10. “Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” — Hermann Hesse

11. “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” — Sir Edmund Hillary

12. “It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.” — Eartha Kitt

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13. “Grab a coffee. Journal your intentions. Get to work. Create miracles.” — Elyse Santilli

14. “To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections.” — Sandra Bierig

15. “Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.” — Katrina Mayer

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

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

18. “The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep, loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” — Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

19. “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” — Coco Chanel

20. “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

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21. “Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions … Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.” — Tina Fey

22. “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does—that makes you a winner right there.” — Venus Williams

23. “You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level.” — Eckhart Tolle

24. “Part of courage is simple consistency.” — Peggy Noonan

25. “Nothing external to you has any power over you.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

26. “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” — Oprah Winfrey

27. “Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners.” — William Shakespeare

28. “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” — Dolly Parton

29. “Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” — Dr. Seuss

30. “You are magnificent beyond measure, perfect in your imperfections, and wonderfully made.” — Abiola Abrams

31. “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” — Maya Angelou

32. “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

33. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” — Oscar Wilde

34. “Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause.” — Cecilia Tran

35. “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

36. “Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” — Stephen Covey

37. “Keep good company, read good books, love good things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.” — Louisa May Alcott

38. “Self-care doesn’t necessarily mean jogging!” — Sandra Oh

39. “The most important investment you can make is in yourself. Very few people get anything like their potential horsepower translated into the actual horsepower of their output in life. Potential exceeds realization for many people ... The best asset is your own self. You can become to an enormous degree the person you want to be.” — Warren Buffett

40. “There is a part of Wonder Woman inside me and inside every woman, kind of that secret self that women share. We are all caretakers, giving birth, caring for our children and companions and loved ones.” — Lynda Carter

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41. “You wash your hands when you shake a bunch of hands. You have to wash your energy when you’re around people. It’s hard for me to say self-care is washing, although I think it is. So I made music for self-care. That’s what it’s for.” — India Arie

42. “Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.” — Billy Graham

43. “I really built myself up, darn it, to be very strong.” — Barbara Bush

44. “Honestly, self-care is not fluffy. It’s something we should take seriously.” — Kris Carr

45. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

46. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” — Nora Ephron

47. “Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.” — Tyra Banks

48. “Forgiveness isn’t just the absence of anger. I think it’s also the presence of self-love, when you actually begin to value yourself.” — Tara Westover

49. “Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live your life.” — Joel Osteen

50. “Self-care is the non-negotiable. That’s the thing that you have to do. And beauty is the thing that can be the benefit of the self-care. Beauty is not the point. Beauty is just a cute side-effect from self-care.” — Jonathan Van Ness

51. “People who love themselves come across as very loving, generous and kind; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness.” — Sanaya Roman

52. “Self-care equals success. You’re going to be more successful if you take care of yourself and you’re healthy.” — Beth Behrs

53. “I just moved into a new house, so I love spending time at home. Everything for me is all about self-care ... I really feel that if I’m at my best, then I’m able to come to my job and really be feeling the best. So if I’m not working out or going on a hike, then I’m at home recharging and cooking dinner and hanging out with my cat.” — Lea Michele

54. “Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.” — Alice Walker

55. “Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.” — Og Mandino

56. “Self-love is the source of all our other loves.” — Pierre Corneille

57. “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi

58. “A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.” — Grantland Rice

59. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy

60. “I want to feel my life while I’m in it.” — Meryl Streep

61. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” — Charles Dickens

62. “One person’s self-care isn’t necessarily another’s—there is going to be a lot of individuality.” — Gail Saltz, M.D.

63. “The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself.” — Deepak Chopra

64. “If you’re facing a problem, don’t tell yourself that you can’t do it. Convince yourself that you have the strength to deal with almost anything because of the way you were raised. And you do! Recognizing your core strengths is an important step toward having joie de vivre. You can count on better days to come because of the good days that came before. And you can find joy in the moment because you have the resiliency to overcome the problems that may be hanging over you.” — Ruth K. Westheimer

65. “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde

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66. “My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they’re rich and important.” — Frances Hodgson Burnett

67. “If you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won’t like you. It may not be easy, but it’s essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.” — Cheryl Richardson

68. “Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.” ―Akiroq Brost

69. “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” — John F. Kennedy

70. “We turn not older with years but newer every day.” — Emily Dickinson

71. “We can climb mountains with self-love.” — Samira Wiley

72. “Self-care means considering yourself a worthwhile person and presenting yourself as valuable, capable, and deserving. In other words, self-care seeks to redress an imbalance that develops when you don’t take proper care of yourself, whether by inattention or by choice.” ― Arin Murphy-Hiscock

73. “Always make decisions that prioritize your inner peace.” — Izey Victoria Odiase

74. “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

75. “When I am constantly running there is no time for being. When there is no time for being there is no time for listening.” — Madeleine L'Engle

76. “Self-care should include the cold shower as well as the scented tub.” — Mary Catherine Bateson

77. “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” — Carol Burnett

78. “Our lives are so busy, and for many of us the demands are overwhelming. Some of us focus so much on the needs of others, we lose sight of ourselves. Stop, for one moment. Take a deep breath. Be still. Refocus. Concentrate on improving your life. One situation at a time. You can’t be much good to others if you’re no good to yourself. If they love you, they’ll understand.” — Carlos Wallace

79. “Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire.” — Amy Ippoliti

80. “Sometimes you just need to be selfish to be self-sufficient.” — Lois P. Frankel

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81. “Self-care is how you take your power back.” — Lalah Delia

82. “Dedicating some time to meditation is a meaningful expression of caring for yourself that can help you move through the mire of feeling unworthy of recovery. As your mind grows quieter and more spacious, you can begin to see self-defeating thought patterns for what they are, and open up to other, more positive options.” — Sharon Salzberg

83. “This revolutionary act of treating ourselves tenderly can begin to undo the aversive messages of a lifetime.” — Tara Brach

84. “Selfishness at the expense of others is bad. Self-care for the betterment of others is good.” — Richie Norton

85. “I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.” — Billie Jean King

86. “The secret to a happy life is to accept change gracefully.” — Jimmy Stewart

87. “You take your problems to a god, but what you really need is for the god to take you to the inside of you.” — Tina Turner

88. “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

89. "Self-care isn't selfish. It's self-esteem." — Ashley Judd

90. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” — Michael Jordan

91. “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” — C.S. Lewis

92. “By making time for self-care, you prepare yourself to be your best so you can share your gifts with the world. Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. Self-care isn’t selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” — Eleanor Brownn

93. “Every morning, look in the mirror and affirm positive words into your life.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

94. “Happiness doesn’t depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.” — Dale Carnegie

95. “The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself.” — Rita Mae Brown

96. “I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” — Tony Robbins

97. “I love a warm bath at the end of a day.” — Cynthia Nixon

98. “A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.” — Phyllis Diller

99. “When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho

100. “I think I deserve something beautiful.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

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