111 Self care quotes to make space for every kind of break.
Choose from the best self care quotes by more than 100 of history’s greats.
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Starting with self love, self care quotes really resonate.
Despite our social feeds filled with ads for beach trips and spa treatments, there’s no one activity that defines self care. When we practice self care, we’re hitting a hard “restart” on our moods, energy, and attitudes. Self care isn’t defined by the “what.” It’s “how” we make space and take time to do something we enjoy.
Meaningful, deliberate, and personalized self care recharges our batteries before we hit “empty.” When we feel better, we become our best selves for everyone around us, too, so it’s not selfish to practice self care.
The best self care quotes dig into the reasons why we practice self care, its benefits, and what self care really means. Choose your favorites and imagine what these quotes will do in photo collages, cards, and inspiration for yourself and others. You’ll find more than bubble baths here, so brace yourself for a wave of great ideas.
Mental health self care quotes to start where it counts.
For many, “self care” calls to mind facials, massages, and bubble baths. The term was first recorded in the 1860s, and by post-WWII it was defined by spa-focused imagery associated with housewives granted the occasional afternoon off from childcare and cleaning.
It wasn’t the spa treatments that made self care such a growing social phenomenon, though. It was the practice of making time for personal space.
Self care today can still include bath salts, but we don’t practice self care just to get soft skin. Instead, we recognize our mental health needs by giving ourselves time off from the grind. These mental health self care quotes capture what self care is really all about.
When you take care of yourself, you’re a better person for others. When you feel good about yourself, you treat others better.”
Solange Knowles
Self care quotes often start from a place of self love.
I have come to believe that caring for myself is not self-indulgent. Caring for myself is an act of survival.”
Audre Lorde
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
Maya Angelou
This two-sided metaphor can make a statement on a poster or on a greeting card for someone who needs the reminder.
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
My brain and my heart are really important to me, I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?”
Kerry Washington
If you were looking for a soundbite to rationalize self care, this is it.
Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.”
Nathaniel Branden
Who needs this reminder top of mind every day? Maybe a poster or photo collage with this quote could turn it into a mantra.
It’s okay to take time for yourself. We give so much of ourselves to others, and we need to be fueled both physically and mentally. If we are in balance, it helps us in all our interactions.”
Faith Hill
We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion for it at the same time.”
Brené Brown , The Gifts of Imperfection
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
When you listen to your body, that includes watching for mental fatigue. If you feel exhausted or overwhelmed, one of these mental health self care quotes could be helpful on a poster or banner where you can always see it.
Lighten up on yourself. No one is perfect. Gently accept your humanness.”
Deborah Day
Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it, another day. And you can make it one more. You’re doing just fine.”
Charlotte Eriksson
Could one of these simple acts of self care work for you?
Choose, every day, to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, and most of all worthy of love.”
Alison Malee
Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break.”
Solitude is where I place my chaos to rest and awaken my inner peace.”
Nikki Rowe
Keep taking time for yourself until you are you again.”
Lalah Delia
There’s no prescriptive amount of self care that’s the “right” amount. You feel your way through and know when it’s enough.
If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.”
Ivan Nuru
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Self care motivational quotes to inspire the mindset that makes it all worthwhile.
Self care inspirational quotes remind you why you’re due for some self care and what relief on the other side feels like. They also inspire you when your brand of self care requires a little work. If regular workouts are what you need for self care, for example, these quotes have the perfect dose of inspiration.
Choose your favorite self care motivational quotes to keep front and center on posters, cards, and more.
You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”
Brené Brown
When you listen to your body, that includes watching for mental fatigue. If you feel exhausted or overwhelmed, one of these mental health self care quotes could be helpful on a poster or banner where you can always see it.
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
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 helps heal from pressures and stress. It also shapes every action we take afterward for the better.
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
I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.”
Joyce Meyer
Parents often feel guilty when making time for self care, but isn’t that the best way to give the best of themselves for their families?
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
As important as it is to have a plan for doing work, it is perhaps more important to have a plan for rest, relaxation, self-care, and sleep.”
Akiroq Brost
Teachers, physicians, and other professionals whose lives revolve around caring for others need this quote. Could you use it on a social post, banner, poster, or other decoration for Nurse’s Day, Teacher’s Appreciation Week, or a similar event?
Growth is necessary but don't convince yourself that those past versions of you were worthless. You wouldn't be here without them.”
Megan Jayne Crabbe
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
Carry this metaphor and imagine self care as the oil to a machine. With it, the engine runs smoother and the wheels turn without strain.
If you want to feel loving, I coached myself, do something loving. This is basic soul care.”
Anne Lamott
What loving thing could you do for yourself today that would count as self care?
How you treat yourself is how you're inviting the world to treat you.”
Jane Travis
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
It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.”
Mandy Hale
If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
Roy T. Bennett
The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
Socrates
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
This quote has such linear logic that could be fun to depict on a card or banner.
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Women self care quotes that dig into what self care is really about.
After self care became a marketing motif in the 1950s, it was depicted as every imaginable spa service and luxury vacation. These services have also been marketed primarily to women, and so a feedback loop began where “self care” was for women only and focused on cosmetic services and physical relaxation.
Today, women look at spa comforts as one small piece of a larger self care puzzle. Women self care quotes offer more perspectives on the forms that self care can take. They also unpack the sometimes baneful notion that self care is a “luxury” (or even “selfish”) instead of a fundamental necessity.
Self-care is a deliberate choice to gift yourself with people, places, things, events, and opportunities that recharge our personal battery and promote whole health — body, mind, and spirit.”
Laurie Buchanan, Ph.D.
No woman can control her destiny if she doesn’t give to herself as much as she gives of herself.”
Suze Orman
Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.”
Princess Diana
Honoring your own boundaries is the clearest message to others to honor them, too.”
Gina Greenlee
Defining boundaries and drawing them in the sand is the first act of self care that gives you necessary space.
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
What kinds of self care last the longest for you?
Doing nothing has become one of the lost luxuries in these hectic times. But doing nothing, even for five minutes, can be rejuvenating.”
Joan Marques
Love yourself first and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.”
Lucille Ball
Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.”
Tyra Banks
In the same way, self care has very little to do with the outer self. It preserves time and space for all of yourself.
Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Morrow Lindberg was an American aviator and writer when gender roles were strictly defined. A woman seeking solitude was dismissed as “melancholy,” and Lindbergh’s beliefs helped give rise to the need for self care.
Taking care of yourself doesn't mean me first; it means me too.”
L.R. Knost
A noxious word tied to self care is selfishness, especially when women seek self care. Some parts of society believe women should be busy caring for others, but taking care of oneself is part of caring for others, too.
Keep good company, read good books, love good things, and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.”
Louisa May Alcott
Self-care is non-negotiable. That’s the thing that you have to do. And beauty is the thing that can be the benefit of self-care. Beauty is not the point. Beauty is just a cute side-effect from self-care.”
Jonathan Van Ness
Self-care is not a waste of time. Self-care makes your use of time more sustainable.”
Jackie Viramontez
One vital mindset to practice self care is to see time spent as a necessity, not a setback.
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
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
Define self care by what you like to do to recharge your batteries.
Selfishness at the expense of others is bad. Self-care for the betterment of others is good.”
Richie Norton
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Men self care quotes to redefine and embrace the practice.
Part of redefining self care in our hyper-stimulating, social-media-scrolling, 24-hour-news world is defining it for men, too.
Since the 2000s, self care has been increasingly marketed toward men as though to say, “spa days and massages are OK for you, too.” Still, this self care message falls short. Positive self care quotes hash out why self care is vital and how many forms it can take.
Just because you take breaks doesn’t mean you’re broken.”
Curtis Tyrone Jones
Take a mental break — or a physical or an emotional one. They all make you stronger, not broken.
Self-care is one of the active ways that I love myself. When you can and as you can, in ways that feel loving, make time and space for yourself.”
Tracee Ellis Ross
You are in a much better position to serve others when your basis needs are met and your “tank is full.”
Michael Hyatt
To me, self-care isn’t really shallow. Showing up for yourself, putting on a little moisturizer, can inspire so many different parts of your life.”
Jonathan Van Ness
Even skin-level self care can be beneficial for men. The practice of taking time for something you like is where self care begins.
The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.”
Maya Angelou
Overcome any thoughts about yourself that say “unworthy,” and you’ll come by self care more naturally.
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
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
Honestly, self-care is not fluffy. It’s something we should take seriously.”
Kris Carr
Use this quote as a reminder on a poster or collage to practice self care on a regular basis.
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
Do something every day that is loving toward your body and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the sensations of your body.”
Golda Poretsky
Wherever you are, at any moment, try and find something beautiful. A face, a line out of a poem, the clouds out of a window, some graffiti, a wind farm. Beauty cleans the mind.”
Matt Haig , Reasons to Stay Alive
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
Oprah Winfrey
With social pressures to measure yourself by what you’ve done, living in the moment is an act of self care.
Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.”
Etty Hillesum
No matter how much pressure there is from work, relationships, parenthood, and the rest, it’s the moment you rest that keeps the fire going.
Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.”
Katrina Mayer
With a little rhyme, this short quote is perfect for a banner.
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
One person’s self-care isn’t necessarily another’s — there is going to be a lot of individuality.”
Gail Saltz, M.D.
How do you define self care? Try to depict self care in a photo collage and keep it up as a reminder of everything you can do.
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
Rumi
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Inner strength self care quotes to unleash more inspiration.
Inner strength self care quotes to unleash more inspiration.
Self care is about building your sense of agency (your internal sense of power and energy). Inner strength self care quotes remind you what you can do when you give yourself mental, emotional, and physical space to practice self care.
From self care exercise quotes that reignite your motivation to self care quotes that remind you to keep going after a falter, this collection has the kindling to keep inner strength burning hot.
Pick your favorite self care quotes and imagine what they could do for you and others in posters, cards, letters, and more. It’s all easy to in Adobe Express — no experience required.
If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.”
Banksy
Motivation swings on a pendulum. When we swing hard in one direction, we swing just as hard in the other. This is a tendency we can train ourselves out of if we learn that resting is not quitting.
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
We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
Carlos Castaneda
Avoiding our problems, or dwelling on them, or otherwise feeling miserable takes as much energy as introspecting and moving forward.
It is not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.”
Lena Horne
Self-care is how you take your power back.”
Lalah Delia
The power sources we have inside us are all kindled by self-care.
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
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”
Henry David Thoreau
If you love to practice self care in nature, check out these nature quotes, too.
To meditate means to go home to yourself. Then you know how to take care of the things that are happening inside you, and you know how to take care of the things that happen around you.”
Thich Nhat Han
And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we still hope.”
Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Grey’s Anatomy
When things seem hopeless, practicing self care gives our inner optimism a chance to breathe again.
By taking up space, standing up for ourselves, and reassessing a future with crystal-clear perspectives, we gain clarity and make room for self-care, well-being, and joy.”
Erik Pevernagie,
The Infinite Wisdom of Meditation
Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.”
Billy Graham
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
Maya Angelou
If you fall into the thought trap that you need to “earn” self care, think of how far you’ve traveled to get where you are today.
The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”
Caroline Myss
Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
Hermann Hesse
The most available source of self care is solitude.
Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions…Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.”
Tina Fey
I really built myself up, darn it, to be very strong.”
Barbara Bush
Self care is a compounding practice. The more you do it, the greater your inner strength becomes.
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Self care quotes, short and catchy.
The best self care quotes for Instagram and cute self care quotes you can memorize are always short. In 79 characters or less, these self care quotes — short enough for any graphic — quickly leave you thinking.
See what some of history’s greats have said about self care, self love, and how to make each a regular practice.
Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”
Brené Brown
When you compare how you talk to yourself with how to talk to others, it can reveal two different sets of standards.
Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.”
Katie Reed
You can’t give anything if you’re running on empty.
Be you, love you. All ways, always.”
Alexandra Elle
Having the ability to become friends with yourself is a powerful thing.”
Maybell Eequay
The greatest gift you can give yourself is a little bit of your own attention.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo
Love yourself first and everything else falls into place.”
Jane Travis
If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
Jack Kornfield
Imagine a puzzle with a missing piece. The missing piece could represent the compassion you owe yourself.
Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire.”
Amy Ippoliti
Self care looks different for everyone, but it always requires taking time for ourselves.
You have to create little pockets of joy in your life to take care of yourself.”
Jonathan Van Ness
Self-care isn't selfish; it's essential.”
Dr. Jamie Aten
If we don’t practice self care, there will be nothing left of us to give to others.
Self-care means giving yourself permission to pause.”
Cecilia Tran
The busiest moments are sometimes when it’s most crucial to pause.
If you wouldn't say it to a friend, don't say it to yourself.”
Jane Travis
Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
Jim Rohn
This message could go on a banner, poster, or flyer for any locale where physical health is a focus (like a gym, physical therapy studio, or doctor’s office).
You can’t build joy on a feeling of self-loathing.”
Ram Dass
I want to feel my life while I’m in it.”
When you say “yes” to others make sure you are not saying “no” to yourself.”
Paulo Coelho
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Self care quotes: funny or not, here they come.
Sometimes, the stress of a workday or the responsibilities of academic rigor leave us feeling like self care is off the table. If self care starts with making time, you think, how can you make more of something you don’t have? Self care slides into an impossibility that’s almost laughable.
Work self care quotes and self care quotes for students often have a dash of humor, because if you don’t practice self care, the joke’s on you. These funny self care quotes are great for other audiences, too. Whenever you want to send a message about self care and end with a laugh, these quotes drive the point home with wit.
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Oscar Wilde
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
Anne Lamott
Think of self care as a hard reset, and its purpose comes into focus.
The world won’t get more or less terrible if we’re indoors somewhere with a mug of hot chocolate.”
Kamila Shamsie
Put a self care “pause” on just about anything, and it will be right as you left it when you come back.
You are magnificent beyond measure, perfect in your imperfections, and wonderfully made.”
Abiola Abrams
You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
Louise Hay
Oh, what a novel idea.
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”
Sydney J. Harris
And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
John Steinbeck
When was the last time you examined your standards for yourself? Practice some self care right now to think about it.
It's good to do uncomfortable things. It's weight training for life.”
Anne Lamott
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
Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
Self-care doesn’t necessarily mean jogging.”
Sandra Oh
Never forget that self care looks different for everyone.
Grab a coffee. Journal your intentions. Get to work. Create miracles.”
Elyse Santilli
My mother always says people should be able to take care of themselves, even if they’re rich and important.”
Frances Hodgson Burnett
If Mother says so, it must be true.
Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”
Edward Stanley
Self-care should include the cold shower as well as the scented tub.”
Mary Catherine Bateson
I think I deserve something beautiful.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
Remix this to your own liking: “I think I deserve something...”
Tips to spread self care quotes.
When you think about where you can use self care quotes, new ideas come into focus. To spread memorable messages, try using self care quotes in:
When choosing the perfect self care quote, it will land differently based on what others think of self care. Everyone’s preconceived notions will influence how these self care quotes resonate.
Ask some of the people you plan to share self care quotes with how they describe self care. What words do they associate with it? Are they open-minded to it, but they have a narrow definition? Do they currently think it’s a “luxury,” or unimportant?
Once you know how others see self care, you can choose self care quotes to deliver the motivation, humor, or perspective that people need.
Adobe Express can help.
Adobe Express has templates and customization tools to put your favorite self care quotes to work. If you want to use self care quotes in cards, letters, posters, banners, photo collages, flyers, or other creative projects, Adobe Express makes it as simple as picking a template and personalizing it, or making your own idea with easy-to-use tools. Whatever message you want to transmit, Adobe Express brings it to life, no experience required.
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