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90 Best Forgive Yourself Quotes

Forgiveness is a powerful force that can change situations, inspire thoughts and feelings and bring peace of mind. When you can forgive yourself, it opens up the ability to forgive others. To help you in your journey to forgiving yourself, we’ve gathered the best forgive yourself quotes for your next post.

We hope this list will inspire you in your journey toward self-love and forgiveness.

Forgive Yourself Quotes

Here are some of the best forgive yourself quotes.

“Be courageous enough to forgive yourself; never forget to be compassionate to yourself.” ― Debasish Mridha

“To love yourself, you must forgive yourself of your mistakes – all the things you’ve done or left undone.” — Jena Pincott

“Forgive yourself first. Let go of past hurts and direct your spirit to goodness and hope by having gratitude.” — Janet Taylor Spence

“We all make mistakes, don’t we? But if you can’t forgive yourself, you’ll always be an exile in your own life.” — Curtis Sittenfeld

“A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.” — Linda Sue Park

“Never forget that to forgive yourself is to release trapped energy that could be doing good work in the world.” — D. Patrick Miller

“No one can or will ever feel your pain as much as you. Forgive yourself for the past, seize the gift of the present moment.” — K.J. Kilton

“The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself.” — Confucius

Sunrise on rolling hills with forgive yourself quotes by Confucius

“You will have no peace until you have discovered how to forgive yourself, to forgive other people and let them forgive you.” — Dorothy Rowe

“People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what’s bitter and move on.” — Bill Cosby

“Forgive yourself; you are not perfect. Show yourself grace; you are still learning. Show yourself patience; you are on a journey.” — Shannon Yvette Tanner

“Having asked God for forgiveness, accept release, then truly forgive yourself and turn your back definitely on the matter.” — Norman Vincent Peale

“You forgive yourself for every failure because you are trying to do the right thing. God knows that and you know it. Nobody else may know it.” — Maya Angelou

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” — Dr. Steve Maraboli

“Forgiveness is beautiful and it feels good when someone gives that gift to you. But it’s one thing for someone you wronged to forgive you. It was another to forgive yourself.” — Kristen Ashley

“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

“Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do. Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it. Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others. Don’t assume that it’s too late to get involved.” — Mitch Albom

“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

Short Forgive Yourself Quotes

“Forgive yourself, but don’t forget.” — Alexandra Bracken

“Forgive yourself – no one else will.” — Maya Angelou

“Learn to forgive yourself and move on.” — Helene D. Gayle

“Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Don’t wait.” — Mitch Albom

“You need to learn to forgive yourself first.” ― Nicholas Sparks

“Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others.” — Morrie Schwartz

“Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others.” — Mitch Albom

“Forgive yourself and welcome love back into your life.  ― Wayne Dyer

“Forgive yourself as you strive to be your best self.” ― Angel Moreira

Person looking at mountains with short forgive yourself quotes by Moreira

“You need to learn to accept your flaws and forgive yourself.” — Susan Mallery

“Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.” — Les Brown

“Forgive yourself for believing that you’re anything less than beautiful.” — Iyanla Vanzant

“The best way to calm the anxious mind is to forgive yourself and others.” ― Debasish Mridha

“Feel guilty. Mourn this. But move on. Don’t let it destroy you. Forgive yourself.” — Richelle Mead

“Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil; With them forgive yourself.” — William Shakespeare

“Forgive yourself for not being at peace.” — Eckhart Tolle

“If you can’t forgive yourself, how can you expect me to?” — E. C. Myers

“It’s okay to forgive yourself immediately and for good.” — Carolyn Hax

“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.” — Maya Angelou

If you like these, you might also like our other lists of Love Yourself Quotes, Believe in Yourself Quotes, New Beginnings Captions, Invest in Yourself Quotes, Challenge Yourself Quotes, Be Yourself Quotes, Be Kind to Yourself Quotes, Trust Yourself Quotes, Self Love Captions and Positive Affirmations.

Inspirational Quotes About Forgiving Yourself

“You cannot travel back in time to fix your mistakes, but you can learn from them and forgive yourself for not knowing better.” — Leon Brown

“It is such a great moment of liberation when you learn to forgive yourself, let the burden go, and walk out into a new path of promise and possibility.” — John O’Donohue.

“Forgiving yourself, believing in yourself and choosing to love yourself are the best gifts one could receive.” — Brittany Burgunder

“Forgive yourself for the decisions you have made, the ones you still call mistakes when you tuck them in at night.” — Sarah Kay

“Forgiveness is really a gift to yourself — have the compassion to forgive others, and the courage to forgive yourself.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

Sunset over lake with inspirational quotes about forgiving yourself by Radmacher

“He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Forgive yourself. The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you’ve created in your own life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows.” — Miguel Angel Ruiz

“Love yourself, accept yourself, forgive yourself and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.” — Leo F. Buscaglia

“Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.” — Tara Brach

“Without forgiveness life is governed by…an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” — Roberto Assagioli

“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

“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

Self Forgiveness Quotes

You’ll love these self forgiveness quotes.

“Self-forgiveness is essential to self-healing.” — Ruth Carter Stapleton

“Lack of forgiveness of others breeds lack of self-forgiveness.” — Albert Ellis

“I haven’t sought self-forgiveness because I feel I was preyed upon and not responsible for the many bad things that happened to me.” — Liane Holliday Willey

“Self-forgiveness is a daily practice of the humble, strong and mentally sane. It is an intentional preservation of inner-peace and a reflection of a healthy self-concept.” ― Shannon Tanner

“Loving people are compassionate towards others. However, if that compassion doesn’t start at home and doesn’t include self-forgiveness, it is incomplete and lopsided.” ― Annette Vaillancourt

“Most people focus on forgiving others, thinking there isn’t a need for self-forgiveness, particularly if they see themselves as a victim.” — Liane Holliday Willey

“The simple truth is, we all make mistakes, and we all need forgiveness.” — Desmond Tutu

Person looking at sunset with self forgiveness quotes by Tutu

“Forgiveness is for yourself because it frees you. It lets you out of that prison you put yourself in.” — Louise Hay

“There are only 2 two ways to have a peaceful conscience: Never do anything wrong or learn self-forgiveness (Pro tip: first way’s impossible).” — Elizabeth Gilbert.

“Forgiveness is a choice, but it is not an option.” — Joel Osteen

“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” — Bryant H. Mcgill

“In the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feels like a decision to reward my enemy. But in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is merely a gift from one undeserving soul to the next.” — Andy Stanley.

“As for discipline – it’s important, but sort of overrated. The more important virtue for a writer, I believe, is self-forgiveness. Because your writing will always disappoint you. Your laziness will always disappoint you.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

Meaningful Quotes on Forgiving Yourself

“Forgiveness is healing. Especially forgiving yourself.” — Alyson Noel

“Beauty is an understanding of what you have, and it’s forgiving yourself of what you don’t have, and appreciating all of it.” — Jill Scott

“The past doesn’t determine your future unless you carry it with you into the present. Forgiving yourself and others, you free the universe to begin again at any moment.” — Marianne Williamson

“Being gentle means forgiving yourself when you mess up. We should learn from our mistakes, but we shouldn’t beat the tar out of ourselves over them. The past is just that, past. Learn what went wrong and why. Make amends if you need to. Then drop it and move on.” — Sean Covey

“We can make choices, but we can be vulnerable; we can do the wrong thing, but the wrong thing for all the right reasons. I think it [life] is basically about forgiveness, and not about someone else forgiving you, but you forgiving yourself. I think we all want a lot of that.” — Kelli O’Hara

“There is a lot to look at when you are serious about transformation. You look at everything you’ve ever done, every circumstance you’ve ever been in, cleaning up everything in your past. Reconciling, forgiving others, forgiving yourself. It’s a lot of work, actually.” — Marianne Williamson

“Forgiving yourself, not guilt, increases personal accountability.” — David D. Burns

Person walking on beach with meaningful quotes on forgiving yourself by Burns

“Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.” — Wilferd Peterson

“You make choices and sometimes they’re good and sometimes they backfire. The most important thing is to be brave, forgive yourself when you do something stupid, and allow yourself to move on.” — Kiersey Clemons

“The most important thing about being a father is being able to forgive yourself. If you don’t forgive yourself, you’re not going to forgive your kids, either.” — Evander Holyfield

“But life isn’t about learning to forgive those who have hurt you or forgetting your past. It’s about learning to forgive yourself for being human and making mistakes.” — Sherrilyn Kenyon

“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

“If you stay in that new flow of positive behavior, it’s hard to revert back to old patterns. But if you do fall off, just forgive yourself, recover quickly, and get right back on.” — Gabrielle Bernstein

“The only thing I can talk about is just forgiving yourself, because I do not have everything together. And so I tell people: No, you should see my house, it’s a mess.” — Susan Sarandon

Last Quotes to Forgive Yourself

You can find some of our favorite last quotes to forgive yourself here.

“Forgive yourself and forgive others around you.” — Raven-Symone

“If you can’t forgive yourself, you think you’re never going to be able to forgive yourself.” — Bill Hader

“Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy? Forgive yourself and stop punishing yourself.” — Louise Hay

“Forgive yourself and be ready to forgive yourself in the future. You’re gonna screw up. It’s okay.” — David D. Burns

“Forgive yourself for what you aren’t able to do, the ones who aren’t able to acknowledge their ownselves are bound to fail.” — Masashi Kishimoto

“The people who did you wrong or who didn’t quite know how to show up, you forgive them. And forgiving them allows you to forgive yourself too.” — Jane Fonda

“Learn to face yourself, learn to forgive yourself during your meditation and you will see how your life starts transforming MAGICALLY!” ― Purvi Raniga

“Procrastination is not Laziness”, I tell him. “It is fear. Call it by its right name, and forgive yourself.” — Julia Cameron

“Never forget to forgive yourself; always remember to love yourself.” ― Debasish Mridha

Person looking at lake with quotes to forgive yourself by Mridha

“When you slip up and let yourself back into old, toxic patterns of thinking, forgive yourself before you try to fix yourself.” ― Vironika Tugaleva

“Perhaps, if you knew then what you know now you would have done it differently. You are a different person today. Forgive yourself, and move on.” ― Germany Kent

“Shake hands with yourself. Forgive yourself and you can learn to love yourself and others in the manner that brings you the greatest fulfillment of all. With love, all things are truly possible.” ― Charmaine Smith Ladd

“Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. It frees you from the past, past experiences, and past relationships. It allows you to live in the present time. When you forgive yourself and forgive others, you are indeed free.” — Louise Hay

“Bring it up, make amends, forgive yourself. It sounds simple, but don’t think for a second that it is easy. Getting free from the tyranny of past mistakes can be hard work, but definitely worth the effort. And the payoff is health, wholeness and inner peace. In other words, you get your life back.” — Steve Goodier

“I have learned, that the person I have to ask for forgiveness from the most is: myself. You must love yourself. You have to forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, a flaw, you have to tell yourself “That’s just fine”. You have to forgive yourself so much, until you don’t even see those things anymore. Because that’s what love is like.” ― C. JoyBell C

Forgive and Forget Quotes

These forgive and forget quotes will make you feel good.

“I don’t know why, I made you cry I’m sorry sweetheart and yet Though you shouldn’t be lenient with me I hope you’ll forgive and forget.” — Frank Sinatra

“The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” —Thomas Szasz

“Forgive, you will have happiness. Forget, you will have satisfaction. Forgive and forget, you will have everlasting peace Within and without.” — Sri Chinmoy

“The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.” — Ali ibn Abi Talib

Hiker with forgive and forget quotes by Talib

“Pray you now, forget and forgive.” — William Shakespeare

“First, forgive. Second, forget by choosing not to dwell on that which is forgiven and in the past.” — David Jeremiah

“Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain.” — Celia Cruz

“Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work.” — William Arthur Ward

“Life is short. Kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quick.” — Paulo Coelho

“Some forgive and forget, more forgive and remember, most forgive and remind.” — Robert Breault

“Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget.” — Maria Edgeworth

“The only thing left to do is forgive and forget. I want to forgive you and I want to forget you.” — Lauren Conrad

“Sometimes you have to forget and forgive. Forgive them for hurting you and forget that they exist!” — Jeffree Star

“If you can’t forgive and forget, pick one.” — Robert Breault

“To forgive and forget means to throw away dearly bought experience.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

“Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” — William P. Young

Forgive Me Quotes

Pick the best forgive me quotes here.

“Forgive my indifference; I’d rather be distant than devastated.” ― Ahmed Mostafa

“If there is a god, or hundreds of them, I hope they will forgive me for the harm I may have inflicted on you by telling you exactly what happened.” ― Carlos Ruiz Zafón

“So this is me swallowing my pride Standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night.” — Taylor Swift

“Never forget that when connections get destroyed by means of bad communication, it’s good communication that resolves them. Don’t be shy to say “I am sorry” and “please forgive me”. That’s a good communication!” ― Israelmore Ayivor

“Never forget the nine most important words of any family: I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr

Person looking at river with forgive me quotes by Brown

“How do I say the words, ‘I’m sorry’ when I know that words are not enough? And how can I ask you to forgive me when I know I can’t forgive myself?” — Unknown

“Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel bad that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?” — Randy Pausch

“Sorry means you leave yourself open, to embrace or to ridicule or to revenge. Sorry is a question that begs forgiveness, because the metronome of a good heart won’t settle until things are set right and true. Sorry doesn’t take things back, but it pushes things forward. It bridges the gap. Sorry is a sacrament. It’s an offering. A gift.” — Craig Silvey

“Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” — Dave Willis

“Forgive me for allowing myself to be hurt by you so easily.” — Ashleigh Brilliant

“Forgive me if what has seemed little to you, to me is all.” — Jose Saramago

“Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense.” — Robert Frost

Be Kind to Yourself Quotes

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” — Sharon Salzberg

“When you look in the mirror, smile at your own kindness.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

“Be kind to yourself so you can be happy enough to be kind to the world.” — Misha Collins

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Philo

Mountain and hiker iwth short be kind quotes by Philo

“Be nice to yourself… It’s hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time.” — Christine Arylo

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.” — Mark Twain

“Go above and beyond for yourself! You do it for family, friends, and colleagues, but don’t forget about YOU. It’s important to include yourself… You are worthy of your own kindness, too!” — Stephanie Lahart

“Be patient with yourself; trust in the Universe; find mentors; know that you can achieve whatever you set out to do.” — Diane L. Dunton

“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

“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” — Brene Brown

“Be kind to yourself, it’s the best medicine to heal and grow.” – Aziz Farheen

Hiker watching ocean wtih be kind to yourself quotes by Farheen

“Transform your world by transforming your internal state. Start by learning to let go of negative self judgment, and replace it with positive and loving thoughts about yourself. Be kind to yourself, and watch your external world change.” — Anita Moorjani

“Go for long walks, indulge in hot baths, Question your assumptions, be kind to yourself, live for the moment, loosen up, scream, curse the world, count your blessings, Just let go, Just be.” — Carol Shields

“Be kind to yourself as you proceed along this journey. This kindness, in itself, is a means of awakening the spark of love within you and helping others to discover that spark within themselves.” — Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Love Yourself Quotes

“How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” — Rupi Kaur

“Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults.” — Les Brown

“You really have to love yourself to get anything in this world done.” — Lucille Ball

“If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.” — Charles Bukowski

Person looking at volcano with love yourself first quotes by Bukowski

“Love yourself when you’re tired. Love yourself when you’re weak. Love yourself when you’re confused. Love yourself when you’re broken. Love yourself when you’re restored.” — MB

“Gonna love myself. No, I don’t need anybody else.” — Hailee Steinfeld

“To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” ― Oscar Wilde

“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 judgement called it disloyal. Now I see it as self—loving.” — Kim McMillen

“I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.” — Maya Angelou

So there you have it! We hope we’ve helped you find the perfect quote about forgiving yourself you were looking for.

Let us know in the comments if you have a favorite quote on forgiving yourself we missed.

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