30 Kindness Quotes to Inspire Anyone

The incredible influence of kindness is summed up in this quote from Maya Angelou: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Whether our acts of kindness are small or large, there is no arguing that kindness has a ripple effect, even if it simply brings a smile to another person's face! Here are some favorite quotes and facts to remind you of the incredible impact your kindness can have.  

Kindness helps and heals

A Mayo Clinic article entitled "The Art of Kindness" expounds on the health benefits of kindness saying, "It can decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, which directly impacts stress levels. People who give of themselves in a balanced way also tend to be healthier and live longer." It's just that simple, being kind is not just good, it's good for you!  Mayo Clinic has even created a free month-long program for people to join called "Kickstart Kindness" where you can complete kindness activities from over 100 different suggestions. 

How to weave kindness into your days

Being kind is intentional and can be cultivated as a lifestyle. Here are some small acts of kindness to integrate kindness into your days: 

  • Tell someone you hope they have a great day and mean it.
  • Tell people what you sincerely appreciate about them.
  • Acknowledging kindness when it presents itself - recognize when someone holds the door open for you, says hello or even smiles at you. 
  • Text someone who has been sick and tell them you are thinking about them and hoping they are better.
  • Ask someone about their favorite person in the world, or the person who has most impacted their life for good. Really listen and thank them for sharing their story.
  • Remembering is a wonderful form of kindness. Even if you have to write it down to remember later, people are touched when you follow up a previous conversation at another time. 
  • Have a pad of sticky notes and a pen and you'll be ready to leave a kind note on a co-worker's car, on a loved one's mirror, or a kindness quote on the kitchen table as a daily reminder to cultivate kindness. 
  • And of course, a quick text or post on social media to remind others that they are special or to share one of the kindness quotes in this article can spread kindness near and far. 

30 kindness quotes

 Here are 30 quotes  to inspire kindness in your own life (especially being kind to yourself!) and to share with others:  

  1. The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid. - Unknown
  2. I've been searching for ways to heal myself, and I've found that kindness is the best way. - Lady Gaga, vocalist, musician, and actor
  3. Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. - Theodore Isaac Rubin, psychiatrist and author
  4. Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change. - Bob Kerrey, veteran and former politician
  5. When you carry out acts of kindness, you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel. - Harold Kushner, rabbi and author 
  6. You will never speak to anyone more than yourself in your head, be kind to yourself. - Unknown
  7. We get so worried about being pretty.  Let's be pretty kind.  Pretty funny.  Pretty smart.  Pretty strong. - Britt Nicole, vocalist
  8. Remember you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens. - Louise L. Hay, author
  9. Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. - Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. President
  10. Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind? - Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder
  11. Kindness is lighting someone else's torch with your own inner flame. - Unknown
  12. Ask any decent person what he thinks matters most in human conduct: five to one his answer will be "kindness. - Lord Kenneth Clark, art historian
  13. Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used. - Blaise Pascal, mathematician
  14. Our days are happier when we give people a piece of our heart rather than a piece of our mind. - Unknown
  15. Be kind to yourself so that you can be happy enough to be kind to the world. - Misha Collins, actor
  16. The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth. - Albert Einstein, physicist
  17. Every act of kindness is a piece of love we leave behind. - Paul Williams, composer and songwriter 
  18. Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. - Mark Twain, author
  19. You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
  20. Be kind to yourself, it's the best medicine to heal and grow. - Aziz Farheen
  21. No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind. - Taylor Swift, vocalist and musician
  22. When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. - Abraham Joshea Jeschel, rabbi
  23. Modern science is still trying to produce a tranquilizer more effective than a few kind words. - Douglas Meador
  24. Kindness is loaning someone your strength instead of reminding them of their weakness. - Unknown
  25. Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Teresa, nun and humanitarian
  26. I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. - Etienne de Grellet, Quaker missionary
  27. As it turns out, we can't practice compassion with other people if we can't treat ourselves kindly. - Brené Brown, author
  28. A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal. - Steve Maraboli, philanthropist and veteran
  29. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. - Amelia Earhart, aviator
  30. Speak tenderly to them.  Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting.  Always have a cheerful smile.  Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well. - J. S. Bach, composer and musician
Being intentional leads to kindness becoming a habit, one habit that we all hope to have for life! Simple acts of kindness not only make others happy, but they can make you healthier as well, and all that adds up to making the world a much better place.  

Julie David is a freelance writer, educator, and worship pastor's wife from the Midwest who likes warm hugs.