Article image

14 Acceptance Quotes for Inner Peace

Acceptance is a powerful tool that can help us achieve our goals, live a better life, and find a sense of peace within ourselves. By recognizing the reality of ourselves and the world around us, we can create an environment of understanding, compassion, and growth.

Often misunderstood, acceptance does not have to mean that we support or condone things that aren’t how we wish they were. Acceptance and support are two distinct concepts: The first is about understanding our reality while the second provides active assistance. That said, acceptance isn’t passive. On the contrary, it can be quite difficult, but it’s only once we see things as they truly are that we can begin to make meaningful change. Acknowledging and internalizing difficult truths gives us an informed position from which to take powerful action.

Acceptance allows us to open up our minds to new possibilities, take risks, and explore the unknown. It also helps us to recognize our strengths and weaknesses so that we can move forward with confidence. Through acceptance, we can learn to appreciate the beauty of what is,  and find peace within ourselves.

If you feel called to be more accepting in your life, we offer up these 15 quotes to get you started. May they inspire you to embrace a deeper understanding of the world around you.

Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.
Deepak Chopra

Share Quote

Belonging starts with self-acceptance… Believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.
Brené Brown

Share Quote

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.
Nathaniel Branden, psychotherapist and writer

Share Quote

Happiness can exist only in acceptance.
George Orwell

Share Quote

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.
Thích Nhất Hạnh

Share Quote

Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me.
Audre Lorde, writer and activist

Share Quote

The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
Brian Tracy, motivational speaker

Share Quote

My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.
Michael J. Fox

Share Quote

Self-acceptance begets acceptance from others, which begets even deeper, more genuine self-acceptance. It can be done. But no one is going to bestow it on you. It is a gift only you can give yourself.
Camryn Manheim, actress

Share Quote

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Share Quote

If I could define enlightenment briefly I would say it is “the quiet acceptance of what is.”
Wayne Dyer, motivational speaker

Share Quote

Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.
Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher and author

Share Quote

Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.
Roy Bennett, Zimbabwean politician

Share Quote

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.
Jack Kornfield, writer and Buddhist teacher

Share Quote

Photo credit: Jerod Harris/ Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Author image
About the Author
Meghan Neal
Inspiring Quotes editor, cat-lover, and coast-hopper living in Brooklyn, New York.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Who said, "You exist only in what you do"?

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.

separator icon
Franz Kafka
motivation theme icon

Live for each second without hesitation.

separator icon
Elton John
hope theme icon

My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it.

separator icon
Judy Blume
love theme icon

Pretend you’re more obsessed with this moment and a little bit less with the way it ends.

separator icon
Buddy Wakefield
wisdom theme icon

Some things are best mended by a break.

separator icon
Edith Wharton
happiness theme icon

Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

separator icon
William Shakespeare
motivation theme icon

You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.

separator icon
John Wooden
hope theme icon

I felt it shelter to speak to you.

separator icon
Emily Dickinson
love theme icon

Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.

separator icon
Kurt Vonnegut
wisdom theme icon

The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.

separator icon
Keanu Reeves
happiness theme icon

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

separator icon
Pope John Paul II