51 Self-Care Quotes To Nourish Your Mind, Body and Soul

My entire blog and ethos are dedicated to the importance of self-care.

Because I believe self-care is essential.

Not only for your overall health and well-being but for your productivity and success, too.

But throughout the past 3 years of Notes by Thalia, I have not once written a blog post of self-care quotes.

So here it is! 51 beautiful quotes to read to yourself out loud or in your head to help inspire a balanced and fulfilling life.

Enjoy xx

What is self-care

Before I dive into my favourite 51 “me-time” quotes, let me first refresh what self-care means.

Simply put, self-care is any activity you do to help take better care of your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

And like I say time and time again, self-care is unique to you.

It is anything that brings you joy.

Your self-care routine doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s online.

You know the ones I mean — waking up at 5 am, drinking a green matcha latté, heading to a HIIT class and then spending 2 hours on skincare and then going on a “hot girl” walk.

Self-care can look like taking a 3-minute break in between tasks, getting outside for some fresh air or reading a fiction book instead of a self-development one.

In short, self-care is whatever you need in that moment to make you feel good, which can look different each day.

And sometimes, this might look like reading a self-care quote or two in the morning to help mentally prepare you for the day.

What are self-care quotes, and why are they important?

It’s important to remember that self-care doesn’t need to be overly complicated or expensive.

Self-care can be affordable and as quick as 5 or 10 minutes long.

And what ticks both of these boxes? Self-care quotes!

A self-care quote is a simple but powerful message centred around the importance of taking care of yourself.

They are mostly mindful (sometimes challenging) and are designed to encourage self-compassion and self-love.

Overall, self-care quotes serve as mini reminders for a healthier and more balanced life.

In a world that often demands our constant attention and energy, self-care quotes serve as valuable tools to help us slow down and reconnect with ourselves.

And this is what makes them so important.

Because they are free to read and easily accessible online (especially if you bookmark this blog post).

So refer back to this blog post each day or week and choose 3 quotes (one from each section) to add to your self-care routine, and read them out loud to nourish your mind, body and soul.

51 self-care quotes to nourish your mind, body and soul

Self-care quotes for your mental well-being

“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first; it means me too.” – L.R. Knost

“Self-care means giving the world the best of you instead of what’s left of you.” — Katie Reed

“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

“It’s not being selfish to take care of your own needs; it’s being self-caring.” — Jerry Manney

“Self-care is taking all the pressures you are facing right now, and deciding to which you will respond, and how.” — Imani Shola

“If you’re suffering but trying to give the outward appearance that you’re fine and good, in the end, you’re just doing yourself a great disservice. Trust me on this! Silence is the opposite of self-care. When we are honest about what we’re going through, we encourage others to talk about their issues. Openness relieves shame and creates a virtuous cycle of women helping women.” — Lo Bosworth

“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

“True self-care is an inside job” — Meghan Rabbitt

“Self-care is giving yourself permission to pause.” — Cecelia Tran

“Taking time to quiet your mind is a powerful form of self-care.” — Eleanor Brownn

“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

“Self-care is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde

“Self-care should move you toward a life you don’t need to run away from.” — Rina Raphael

“Women have to take the time to focus on our mental health—take time for self, for the spiritual, without feeling guilty or selfish. The world will see you the way you see you, and treat you the way you treat yourself.” — Beyoncé

“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 others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves but for the many others whose lives we touch.” ― Parker Palmer

“Self-care is how you take your power back.” — Lalah Delia

“Every time you make a commitment to your own self-care, self-love and self-respect and then follow through, you build trust in yourself.” ― Miranda J. Barrett

“The best kind of self-care involves a gratitude practice, a pursuit of self-awareness, and a journey of constant self-forgiveness.” — Elayna Fernandez

“Self-care is how you take your power back.”

Lalah Delia

Self-care quotes for your physical well-being

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” — Etty Hillesum

“Self-care is not a waste of time. Self-care makes your use of time more sustainable.” — Jackie Viramontez

“Rest but never quit. Even the sun has a sinking spell each evening. But it always rises the next morning.” — Muhammad Ali

“By being able to pinpoint what you and your body need in terms of nourishment, you can be intentional with your self-care routine and choose an activity that fits your needs rather than indulging in a random activity that you won’t benefit from.” —Thalia-Maria Tourikis (that’s me )

“Take care of your body; it’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn

“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 Brownn

“Closing your eyes and listening to silence is self-care.” ― Maxime Lagacé

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott

“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.” — Dalai Lama

“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

“Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other – activity in rest and rest in activity – is the ultimate freedom.” ― Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

“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

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Anne Lamott

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” — John Lubbock

“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

“Do something every day that is loving toward your body and gives you the opportunity to enjoy the sensations of your body.” — Golda Poretsky

“An empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly.” — Unknown

“Caring for your body, mind, and spirit is your greatest and grandest responsibility. It’s about listening to the needs of your soul and then honoring them.” — Kristi Ling

Self-care quotes for your emotional well-being

”The deepest form of self-care is building a life you are in love with, and that is sometimes a very unbeautiful thing.” — Brianna Wiest

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

“Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.” — Dale Carnegie

“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

“Remember that self-love is also revolutionary and world-changing.” — Pooja Lakshmin

“Take the time today to love yourself. You deserve it.” — Avina Celeste

”The deepest form of self-care is building a life you are in love with, and that is sometimes a very unbeautiful thing.”

Brianna Wiest

“When you say ‘yes’ to others make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho

“When you take care of yourself, you may notice that you get along better with others. Being more consistent in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual self-care can help you build a reserve to sustain you in more trying times.” – Jerry Manney

“There are a million ways we can practise self-love: we can make a conscious effort to practise and demonstrate more self-care, more self-respect, more self-discipline. We can create healthy boundaries, we can let go of things that no longer serve us, we can be mindful of the way in which we speak to ourselves. To practise self-love, we can fuel our minds, bodies and souls with nourishing food, thoughts and ideas. We can start saying no to the things we don’t want to do. We can do more of the things that make us happy.” — Roxie Nafousi

“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” — Mandy Hale

“There is enough time for self-care. There is not enough time to make up for the life you’ll miss by not filling yourself up.” — Jennifer Williamson

“The most important relationship in your life is the relationship you have with yourself. Because no matter what happens, you will always be with yourself.” ― Diane Von Furstenberg

“The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” — C. Joybell C.

“Radical self-care is the secret of joy, resistance, and freedom. When we care for ourselves as our very own beloved- with naps, healthy food, clean sheets, and a lovely cup of tea- we can begin to give in wildly generous ways to the world, from abundance.” — Anne Lamont

“You can’t always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.” — Wayne Dyer

“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

“Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It’s about cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘no matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking ‘yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging'” — Brené Brown

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.”

Mandy Hale

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this blog post on self-care quotes to inspire you to build a balanced and fulfilling life.

I’m sure that I will continue to update this blog post over time as I find new self-care quotes I fall in love with.

In the meantime, I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.

And if you’re struggling to know where to start with your self-care routine or crave a more personalised approach, get in touch.

Let’s chat about creating a wellness journey that serves you!

You’ve got this,

Thalia xx