35 Inspirational Quotes On Self-Forgiveness

Self-Forgiveness is defined as a change in emotions toward the self from negative to positive. This is similar to how a lot of folks describe forgiveness of others. Forgiveness of self involves a change in how we view ourselves. Instead of feeling a lot of guilt, shame, and anger toward ourselves, we begin to replace those feelings with empathy, compassion, and love toward ourselves. Our view of self begins to shift. May these quotes inspire you to forgive yourself.

1. “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

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

3. “Silently repeat to yourself: I forgive myself for any ways in which I knowingly or unknowingly caused hurt or harm to any living being or creature. I forgive all who have ever hurt or harmed me. Everything between us is now cleared up.” Michael Beckwith

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

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

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

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

8. “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

9. “The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself. If we don’t have that we never grow, we never learn, and sure as hell we should never teach.” Maya Angelou

10. “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

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

12. “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

13. “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

14. “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

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

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

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

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

19. “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

20. “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

21. “I think one of the most important things is starting off the day forgiving others and forgiving yourself. You learn from your mistakes, but I don’t think you have to drag them back into today.” Joel Osteen

22. “Learn to forgive yourself.” Anonymous 

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

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

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

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

27. “Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself.” George Bernard Shaw

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

29. “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

30. “If you haven’t forgiven yourself for something, how can you forgive others?” Dolores Huerta

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

32. “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

33. “The burden of regret can weigh us down heavily on our spiritual journey. The best way to release regret is to forgive ourselves.” James Van Praagh

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

35. “Ask God for forgiveness. Seek forgiveness from those you have wronged. Forgive those who have wronged you. Forgive yourself.” C. Scott Grow