84 Self-Care Quotes About Putting You First (2024)

You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of any one else.

You know that nagging drive to not seem selfish? The one that sometimes makes it difficult to put yourself first? Well, experts say it's time to quiet the thought and start thinking seriously about how we treat ourselves. The concept of "self-care" has evolved tremendously over the past couple of years, with multiple industries embracing the trend and mental health advocates pushing for more information about the impact it has. If you still struggle with allowing yourself to indulge and rest, then keep reading. We've collected a treasure trove of self-care quotes that might help you come around on the subject.

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Self-Care Quotes on Self-Love

1. "The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I'm not going to let myself pull me down anymore." — C. JoyBell
2. "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
3. "Love yourself first and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." — Lucille Ball
4. "Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves." — Nathaniel Branden
5. "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
6. "Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love." — BrenéBrown
7. "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
8. "You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." — Louise Hay
9. "Keep good company, read good books, love good things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can." — Louisa May Alcott
10. "I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival." — Audre Lorde

Short Quotes About Self-Care

11. "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." — Oscar Wilde
12. "You can't build joy on a feeling of self-loathing." — Ram Dass
13. "Self-care is how you take your power back." — Lalah Delia
14. "Loving yourself isn't vanity. It's sanity." — Katrina Mayer
15. "Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause." — Cecilia Tran
16. "Nothing external to you has any power over you." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
17. "Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy." — Jacques Maritain
18. "If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." — Jack Kornfield
19. "Taking care of yourself doesn't mean me first; it means me too." — L.R. Knost
20. "It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life." — Anne Lamott

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Self-Care Captions for Instagram

21. You are the author of your own story.
22. Love yourself fiercely.
23. Happiness comes from within.
24. You're worth it.
25. Taking care of me.
26. Taking a moment to reset and recharge.
27. Self-care is my love language.
28. Me time, always.
29. Inhale relaxation, exhale stress.
30. Reset and recharge.
31. Self-care: Because adulting is hard.
32. Smiling from the inside out.
33. Today's agenda: Me, Myself, and I.
34. Taking time for myself, because I deserve it.
35. Embrace the art of taking care of me.

Self-Care Quotes About Time

36. "Self-care is not a waste of time. Self-care makes your use of time more sustainable." — Jackie Viramontez
37. "Forget yesterday, it has already forgotten you. Don't sweat tomorrow, you haven't even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift today." — Steve Maraboli
38. "Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." — Oprah Winfrey
39. "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
40. "Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer." — William S Burroughs
41. "Take the time today to love yourself. You deserve it." — Avina Celeste
42. "It's not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It's necessary." — Mandy Hale
43. "Life should be touched, not strangled. You've got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it." — Ray Bradbury

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On Self-Care and Helping Others

44. "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
45. "I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you." — Joyce Meyer
46. "For those of you who struggle with guilt regarding self-care, answer this question: What greater gift can you give to those you love than your own wholeness?" — Shannon Tanner
47. "Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves." — Princess Diana
48. "You don't have to love yourself in muttered whispers, while loving everyone else with a megaphone." — Jasmine Farrell
49. "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
50. "Self-care is the number one solution to helping somebody else. If you are being good to yourself and your body and your psyche, that serves other people better, because you will grow strong enough to lift someone else up." — Mary Lambert
51. "As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others." — Maya Angelou

Inspirational Self-Care Quotes for Women

52. "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
53. "No woman can control her destiny if she doesn't give to herself as much as she gives of herself." — Suze Orman
54. "In most families, caregiving becomes the woman's responsibility. While caregiving can enrich you, it can also deplete you if you don't have support or make time for self-care." — Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
55. "Nobody can save you but yourself, and you're worth saving." — Charles Bukowski
56. "The greatest gift you can give yourself is a little bit of your own attention." — Anthony J. D'Angelo
57. "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 judgment called it disloyal. Now I see it as self-loving." — Kim McMillen
58. "And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." — John Steinbeck
59. "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

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Self-Care Quotes About Health

60. "Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths." — Etty Hillesum
61. "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." — Edward Stanley
62. "Do something every day that is loving toward your body and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the sensations of your body." — Golda Poretsky
63. "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
64. "Don't take your health for granted. Don't take your body for granted. Do something today that communicates to your body that you desire to care for it. Tomorrow is not promised." — Jada Pinkett Smith
65. "You are worth the quiet moment. You are worth the deeper breaths and you are worth the time it takes to slow down, be still, and rest." — Morgan Harper Nichols
66. "In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel 'burnout' setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective." —Dalai Lama
67. "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

Quotes About Self-Care and Beauty

69. "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." — Maya Angelou
70. "I like my skin best when it's clean and glowy, and that comes from sleep, hydration, and happiness." — Tracee Ellis Ross
71. "Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It's about accepting all of yourself." — Tyra Banks
72. "Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical." — Sophia Loren
73. "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." — Marilyn Monroe
74. "Beauty is only temporary, but your mind lasts you a lifetime." — Alicia Machado
75. "Beauty is just a cute side effect from self-care." — Jonathan Van Ness
76. "Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself." — Coco Chanel

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Self-Care Quotes About Compassion

77. "When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives." — Kristin Neff
78. "Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness." — Deborah Day
79. "Acknowledge, accept, and honor that you deserve your own deepest compassion and love." — Nanette Mathews
80. "Mindfulness not only makes it possible to survey our internal landscape with compassion and curiosity but can also actively steer us in the right direction for self-care." — Bessel van der Kolk
81. "People who love themselves come across as very loving, generous, and kind; they express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness, and inclusiveness." — Sanaya Roman
82. "Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others."
    — Christopher Germer
83. "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
84. "When you are compassionate with yourself, you trust in your soul, which you let guide your life. Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do." — John O'Donohue

Wrapping Up

That's it for our list of self-care quotes, but be sure to check back with us soon for more wise words. You can also sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss out on what's coming next!

Carrie Weisman

Carrie Weisman oversees all SEO efforts at Best Life. She specializes in content optimization and editorial marketing. Readmore

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