If you have issues feeling confident, negatively compare yourself to others, or are stuck in a cycle of negative self-talk, it’s possible that you suffer from a lack of self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance is all about learning to love every part of ourselves, even the qualities we don’t like.
Learning to love all of the qualities that make us, us is definitely easier than spending our entire lives trying to change them.
Inspire more self-love in your life with the following 132 best and most famous quotes about self-acceptance.
Sections
- Short self-acceptance quotes
- Self-love acceptance quotes
- Body acceptance quotes
- Radical acceptance quotes
- Deep self-acceptance quotes
- Spiritual self-acceptance quotes
- Acceptance self-realization quotes
- Relationship acceptance quotes
Short self-acceptance quotes
Sayings don’t need to be long in order to be inspirational and to empower you to love and embrace who you are. Whether you are looking for a new saying to help you with self-awareness or want to inspire a friend, the following 16 quotes are for you.
1. “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” —Tina Fey
 
2. “The moment you accept yourself, you become beautiful.” —Osho
 
3. “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.” —Maya Angelou
4. “The greatest success is successful self-acceptance.” —Ben Sweet
 
5. “…self-acceptance is a truly heroic act.” —Nathaniel Brandon
 
6. “If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.” ―Charles Bukowski
7. “Every step of our life we need to accept ourselves all over again.” —Jeff Moore
 
8. “Just be, and enjoy being.” —Eckhart Tolle
 
9. “Happiness can only exist in acceptance.” —George Orwell
10. “You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” ―Diane Von Furstenberg
 
11. “The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” —Maya Angelou
 
12. “Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.” ―Audre Lorde
13. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” ―Brené Brown
 
14. “Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.” ―Roy Bennett
 
15. “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” ―Siddhārtha Gautama
16. “You were born with a right to be happy.” —Unknown
 
17. “It’s only when we stop judging ourselves that we can secure a more positive sense of who we are.” —Leon F. Seltzer, Evolution of the Self
 
18. “No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.” —Robert Holden, Happiness Now!, 2007
19. “Within yourself, you must come to a total sense of acceptance of everything.” —Sadhguru, Why Acceptance is Freedom, 2018
 
20. “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are.” —Marilyn Monroe
Self-love and acceptance quotes
Embracing more self-love is a great way to help you find happiness in your life. You don’t need to be perfect, and learning to love and accept your “imperfections” is a great way to cultivate more inner peace.
1. “You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.” —Sophia Bush
 
2. “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” —Coco Chanel
 
3. “Love and acceptance is the greatest gift you can give yourself.” —Winsome Campbell-Green
4. “You were born to be real, not to be perfect.” —Unknown
 
5. “The secret is—not changing yourself in order to fit in, but instead loving, accepting and embracing all parts of yourself.” —Nara Lee
 
6. “Respect yourself, love yourself, because there has never been a person like you and there never will be again.” —Osho
7. “Self-love is complete forgiveness, acceptance, and respect for who you are deep down—all your beautiful and hideous parts included.” —Aletheia Luna
 
8. “Sometimes your soulmate is yourself. You have to be the love of your life until you discover that type of love in someone else.” —R.H. Sin
 
9. “In order to love who you are, you can’t hate the experiences that shaped you.” —Andrea Dykstra
10. “True self-acceptance shows up in that moment when that peace cannot co-exist with war. The moment you choose to stop being your own enemy and to love yourself instead.” —Rebecca Ray
 
11. “Stop comparing yourself to others. You are you, nobody else could be you even if they tried to be. You are unique and beautiful. Nobody else is you.” —Unknown
 
12. “To love yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” —Oscar Wilde
13. “Loving yourself isn’t vanity—it’s sanity.” —Katrina Mayer
 
14. “You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” —Buddha
 
15. “To find the good life, you must accept yourself.” —Dr. Bill Jackson
16. “If you want to make the most of your abilities and become the most self-actualized version of yourself you can, then you actually have to love yourself first.” —Brene Brown, Inc., 2020
 
You might be interested to also read this list of self-love quotes.
Body acceptance quotes
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with images of “perfect” bodies on social media. The truth is that everyone, even famous people, struggle with self-worth. It’s better not to spend our time comparing ourselves to these unrealistic beauty standards. Love yourself more deeply by being kind with yourself and taking the following 18 quotes to heart.
1. “Be confident at any size.” —Unknown
 
2. “Just because we have acne, tummy rolls, and chafing thighs doesn’t mean we need to be fixed. Period.” —Mik Zazon
 
3. “Dear body, you were never a problem. There is nothing wrong with your size, you’re good enough already. Love, me.” —Unknown
4. “Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.” ―Tyra Banks
 
5. “To me, beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin. It’s about knowing and accepting who you are.” —Ellen Degenres
 
6. “Shoutout to all the girls working on loving themselves, because that shit’s hard, and I’m proud of you.” —Unknown
7. “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” —Emma Stone
 
8. “Work on the flaws that can be changed and learn to accept what you cannot change.” —Hanif Raah
 
9. “I’m pretty comfortable with my body. I’m imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view that you only live once.” —Kate Hudson
10. “If we make self-love or body acceptance conditional, the truth is, we will never be happy with ourselves. The reality is that our bodies are constantly changing, and they will never remain exactly the same. If we base our self-worth on something as ever-changing as our bodies, we will forever be on the emotional rollercoaster of body obsession and shame.” —Chrissy King
 
11. “You don’t exist solely to lose weight and be pretty.” —Unknown
 
12. “I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everybody does—even the people I consider flawless—then you can start to live with the way you are.” —Taylor Swift
13. “You define beauty yourself. Society doesn’t define your beauty.” —Lady Gaga
 
14. “Say goodbye to your inner critic, and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others.” —Oprah Winfrey
 
15. “Instead of trying to mend me, I decided to enjoy me. Instead of trying to solve me, I decided to discover me. It was one of the best decisions of my life.” —S.C. Laurie
16. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” —Thich Nhat Hahn
 
17. “You’ve been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” —Louise L. Hay
 
18. “Once you accept the fact that you’re not perfect, then you develop some confidence.” —Rosalynn Carter
Radical acceptance quotes
Everyone, and I really mean everyone, struggles with accepting themselves. We all go through hard times in our lives, and we all have parts of ourselves that we spend time wishing were different. But life gets better when you learn to be yourself and embrace the beautiful mess that you are.
1. “You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” —Amy Bloom
 
2. “The happiest people in life are able to be themselves. But you cannot be yourself until you accept yourself.” —Jeff Moore
 
3. “Loving yourself is the greatest revolution.” —Unknown
4. “Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are.” —Unknown
 
5. “Embrace the glorious mess that you are.” —Elizabeth Gilbert
 
6. “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” —Carl Jung
7. “Celebrate who you are in your deepest heart. Love yourself, and the world will love you.”―Amy Leigh Mercree
 
8. “We are at our most powerful the moment we no longer need to be powerful.” ―Eric Micha’el Leventhal
 
9. “For once, you believed in yourself. You believed you were beautiful, and so did the rest of the world.” ―Sarah Dessen
10. “At 30, a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities, know how far he can go, foretell his failures—be what he is. And, above all, accept these things.” ―Albert Camus
 
11. “Don’t worry if people think you’re crazy. You are crazy. You have that kind of intoxicating insanity that lets other people dream outside of the lines and become who they’re destined to be.” ―Jennifer Elisabeth
 
12. “Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?” —Ian Wallace
13. “Laugh at yourself, not with ridicule but with objectivity and acceptance of self.” —C. W. Metcalf
 
14. “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. Acceptance.” —Rupi Kaur
 
15. “I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed.” —Anne Lamott
16. “Release the shame and the guilt from your past and accept how things have transpired. Your past shortcomings taught you invaluable lessons that can help you become a better person. Use your pain to create your greatest victory.” —Ash Alves
 
17. “We cannot change anything unless we accept it.” —Carl Jung
 
18. “When we’re self-accepting, we’re able to embrace all facets of ourselves—not just the positive, more “esteem-able” parts.” —Leon F. Seltzer, Evolution of the Self
19. “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
Deep self-acceptance quotes
The journey of self-acceptance is not a simple one. Getting to know yourself and creating more self-compassion in your life doesn’t always feel easy, but it is definitely worth it. Get inspired about your self-acceptance journey with the following 15 quotes.
1. “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
 
2. “Our cries for acceptance become the rivers in which we drown our identities.” —Pierre Jeanty
 
3. “It’s hard to remember who you were when you’re constantly pretending to be someone you’re not.” ―Amy Ewing
4. “Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” —George R.R. Martin
 
5. “The ocean does not apologize for its depth, and the mountains do not seek forgiveness for the space they take and so, neither shall I.” —Becca Lee
 
6. “Let go of who you are supposed to be and who you are.” —Brene Brown
7. “You have peace,” the old woman said, “when you make it with yourself.” ―Mitch Albom
 
8. “When you learn to accept instead of expect, you’ll have fewer disappointments.” —Unknown
 
9. “Your problem is you’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness.” ―Ram Dass
10. “Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit.” ―Shannon L. Alder
 
11. “The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.” ― Paul Tillich
 
12. “Happiness occurs when you forget who you’re expected to be and what you’re expected to do. Happiness is an accident of self-acceptance. It’s the warm breeze you feel when you open the door to who you are.” —Unknown
13. “One who knows himself is never disturbed by what you think about him.” —Osho
 
14. “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” —Mark Twain
 
15. “Acceptance isn’t about giving up or settling, throwing in the towel. No. Accepting yourself is about having your own back and never abandoning yourself.” —Kris Carr
16. “Happiness and self-acceptance go hand in hand. In fact, your level of self-acceptance determines your level of happiness. The more self-acceptance you have, the more happiness you’ll allow yourself to accept, receive and enjoy.” —Robert Holden, Happiness Now!, 2007
 
17. “Self-acceptance is having an awareness of your perceived imperfections and shortcomings, whilst simultaneously knowing you are worthy, and deserving of compassion and kindness exactly as you are.” —Unknown
 
18. “Celebrate who you are in your deepest heart. Love yourself, and the world will love you.” ―Amy Leigh Mercree
You might also be inspired by these heart-warming self-compassion quotes.
Spiritual self-acceptance quotes
A lot of spiritual practices involve self-reflection and beginning to take a deeper look at the aspects of yourself that make you, you. Looking at yourself and being honest about your flaws might not be the easiest, but it is definitely rewarding.
1. “Accept yourself: flaws, quirks, talents, secret thoughts, all of it, and experience true liberation.” ―Amy Leigh Mercree
 
2. “Yoga is not about self-improvement, it’s about self-acceptance.” —Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa
 
3. “Time does not heal everything, but acceptance will heal everything.” —Unknown
4. “Acceptance! Accept both compliment and criticism. It takes both sun and rain for a flower to grow.” —Deep De
 
5. “The first step in this process of mindfulness is radical self-acceptance.” ―Stephen Batchelor
 
6. “Staying present teaches us the power of acceptance.” —Yoland V. Acree
7. “Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.”―Deepak Chopra
 
8. “I am not looking to escape my darkness; I am learning to love myself there.” —Rune Lazuli
 
9. “Allow yourself to feel what you feel. Feel it all and let go.” —Unknown
10. “In deep self-acceptance grows a passionate understanding. As one zen master said when I asked if he got angry, ‘Of course I get angry but then a few minutes later I say to myself “What’s the use of this?” and I let it go.” —Jack Kornfield
 
11. “What would happen if you stopped fighting and gave yourself permission to feel? Not just the good things, but everything?” ―R.J. Anderson
 
12. “Cultivating self-acceptance requires that we develop more self-compassion. Only when we can better understand and pardon ourselves for things that earlier we assumed must be all our fault can we secure the relationship to self that till now has eluded us.” —Leon F. Seltzer, Evolution of the Self
13. “If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.” ―Jiddu Krishnamurti
 
14. “Accept—then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” —Eckhart Tolle
 
15. “You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you are.” —Yogi Bhajan
16. “This tendency toward self-criticism is at the heart of most of the problems that, as adults, we unwittingly create for ourselves.” —Leon F. Seltzer, Evolution of the Self
 
17. “Acceptance is all about the art of coexisting with reality, instead of mentally resisting it.” —Dylan Woon, The Power of Acceptance, 2018, Tedx Kangar
 
18. “Authenticity is not needing external approval to feel good about your actions.” ―Unknown
19. “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
Acceptance self-realization quotes
We can make incredible changes in our lives by choosing to be positive in how we view ourselves. By choosing to accept all parts of our personalities and move through life with self-acceptance and confidence, we open ourselves up to a freer and more enjoyable experience of life.
1. “Change is possible, but it must start with self-acceptance.” —Alexander Lowen
 
2. “Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” ―Ramana Maharshi
 
3. “The road to worth is self-realization.” ―HKB
4. “Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” ―Heath L. Buckmaster
 
5. “I think once I kind of got to a place of self-acceptance, looking past all the insecurities that I have, I’ve really grown so much as a person.” ―Shannon Purser
 
6. “You have what it takes. You are strong enough. You are brave enough. You are capable enough. You are worthy enough. It’s time to stop thinking otherwise and start believing in yourself because no one else has the dreams that you have. No one else sees the world exactly like you do, and no one else holds the same magic inside. It’s time to start believing in the power of your dreams, my beautiful friend. Not next year, not next month, not tomorrow, but now. You are ready. You are enough.” —Nikki Banas, Walk the Earth
Relationship acceptance quotes
Embracing yourself is the first step in being able to have a healthy and happy relationship with others. Once you learn to love all of the less loveable parts of yourself, you can expect others to do the same. And relationships that are full of loving acceptance are much more likely to last. Enjoy these 16 inspiring quotes about relationship acceptance.
1. “If you truly love someone, accept their past and leave it there.” —Unknown
 
2. “Thank you. You accepted me for who I am; not who you wanted me to be.” —Unknown
 
3. “The one who is meant for you encourages you to be your best, but still loves and accepts you at your worst.” —Unknown
4. “Relationships. It’s more than just the dates, holding hands, and kissing. It’s about accepting each other’s weirdness and flaws. It’s about being yourself and finding happiness together. It’s about seeing an imperfect person perfectly.” —Unknown
 
5. “If someone accepts your past, supports your presents, and encourages your future, that’s a keeper.” —Unknown
 
6. “A good relationship is with someone who knows all your insecurities and imperfections but still loves you for who you are.” —Anurag Prakash Ray
7. “When we enter into a relationship with someone, we choose to accept not only the good that comes with them but the bad as well.” —Anurag Prakash Ray
 
8. “If they can’t accept you for who you are, they’re not worth it.” —Unknown
 
9. “You don’t need someone to complete you. You only need someone to accept you completely.” —Unknown
10. “You know me so well, inside out. Your deep acceptance of me is what I love most about you.” —Unknown
 
11. “Every relationship needs communication, respect, and acceptance.” —Unknown
 
12. “A good relationship is when two people accept each other’s past, support each other’s present, and love each other enough to encourage each other’s future. So don’t rush love. Find a partner who encourages you to grow, who won’t cling to you, who will let you go out into the world, and trust that you will come back. This is what true love is all about.” —Unknown
13. “The most basic need a soul has is to experience unconditional love and acceptance.” —Unknown
 
14. “Unconditional acceptance of others is the key to happy relationships.” —Brian Tracy
 
15. “Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation.” —Mahatma Gandhi
16. “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” —Rupi Kaur
