quotes to help you forgive yourself
Forgiving yourself isn’t easy, especially if you’ve made mistakes or let yourself down in a big way in the past.
In order to love yourself despite everything you’ve gone through, you need to forgive yourself for past choices and mistakes.
Forgiveness is important because it’s not healthy to walk around with guilt or self-hatred for things that have happened.
It can be daunting to forgive and trust yourself, but it’s a necessary part of self love.
Self forgiveness won’t happen immediately though. The real work and the most meaningful lessons come through the toughest moments and honest self reflection.
Here are some quotes to help you forgive yourself:
“Forgiveness has nothing to do with absolving a criminal of his crime. It has everything to do with relieving oneself of the burden of being a victim – letting go of the pain and transforming oneself from victim to survivor.”
— C.R. Strahan
“Forgiveness is choosing to love. It is the first skill of self-giving love.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
“Forgive yourself for what you think you’ve done or not done. At every moment, you had your reasons for all of your actions and decisions. You’ve always done the best that you could do. Forgive yourself.”
— Doreen Virtue
“When you initially forgive, it is like letting go of a hot iron. There is initial pain and the scars will show, but you can start living again.”
— Stephen Richards
"You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don't mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, 'I forgive. I'm finished with it'."
— Maya Angelou
“Forgive yourself. The supreme act of forgiveness is when you forgive yourself for all the wounds you’ve created in your life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows.”
— Miguel Angel Ruiz Macias
“Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive.”
— Brittany Burgunder
“Embrace and love all of yourself — past, present, and future. Forgive yourself quickly and as often as necessary. Encourage yourself. Tell yourself good things about yourself.”
— Melody Beattie
“Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.”
— Louise Hay
“It’s toughest to forgive ourselves. So it’s probably best to start with other people. It’s almost like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, forgiving others, you really do get to the point where you can forgive yourself.”
— Patty Duke
“Stop beating yourself up because of your past bad decisions. No one's past is spotless. Learn from your past and start over. God's mercies are endless."
— Terraine Francois
“The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good.”
— Catherine Ponder
“You can sit there forever, lamenting about how bad you’ve been, feeling guilty until you die, and not one tiny slice of that guilt will do anything to change a single thing in the past. Forgive yourself, then move on!”
— Wayne Dyer
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love."
— Martin Luther King Jr.
“Forgive yourself first. Let go of past hurts and direct your spirit to goodness and hope by having gratitude.”
— Janet Taylor Spence
“Forgive yourself; you are not perfect. Show yourself grace; you are still learning. Show yourself patience; you are on a journey.”
— Shannon Yvette Tanner
“The most basic method one can use to let go of the past is by looking at it as a learning experience.”
— Stephen Richards
“Forgive yourself first. Release the need to replay a negative situation over and over again in your mind. Don’t become a hostage to your past by always reviewing and reliving your mistakes. Don’t remind yourself of what should have, could have, or would have been. Release it and let it go. Move on.”
— Les Brown
“Forgiveness does not change the past but it does change the future.”
— Paul Lewis Boese
“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive.”
— Maya Angelou
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."
— Lewis B. Smedes
“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.”
— Desmond Tutu
more on self forgiveness:
loving yourself when you’re not proud of past choices
