Thoughts of Acceptance Quotes in English With Images

Acceptance quotes in English function as potent reminders of the critical role that embracing life's multifaceted challenges and uncertainties plays in personal growth and emotional well-being. These quotes serve not only as inspirational messages but also as guiding principles that encourage individuals to develop a mindset rooted in resilience and self-compassion. By emphasizing the importance of accepting oneself—including one’s flaws, limitations, and past experiences—alongside the unpredictable nature of external circumstances, these quotes provide a framework for navigating the complexities of life.

Here’s a list of quotes about acceptance, along with explanations and examples to clarify their meanings:


1. “Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.” – Michael J. Fox

Meaning: Acceptance is not about giving up; it’s about acknowledging reality and looking for ways to cope with it constructively. It allows us to find peace and make positive choices even in tough situations.

Example: If someone loses their job, instead of feeling hopeless, they might accept the situation as it is, then focus on applying for new roles, perhaps even exploring a new career path.


2. “The only way to make peace with yourself is to accept yourself completely—flaws and all.” – Unknown

Meaning: Inner peace comes from self-acceptance. Acknowledging and embracing both strengths and weaknesses, rather than rejecting parts of oneself, is key to feeling whole and balanced.

Example: A person struggling with self-doubt because of past mistakes might work on forgiving themselves and recognizing that mistakes are part of being human, allowing them to move forward with more confidence.


3. “Acceptance is the road to all change.” – Bryant H. McGill

Meaning: Real change begins with acceptance. When you acknowledge where you are and what’s happening, you can create a foundation for transformation. Denial often keeps people stuck, while acceptance opens doors for progress.

Example: Someone who wants to improve their health may start by accepting their current physical condition rather than being ashamed of it. With acceptance, they can begin taking small steps to adopt healthier habits.


4. “Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that some people only enter your life as a temporary happiness.” – Unknown

Meaning: Not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever. Learning to accept that some relationships are temporary can help you let go gracefully and cherish memories without holding on to the past.

Example: After a meaningful friendship fades due to distance or life changes, rather than feeling sadness or resentment, a person might accept that it was beautiful while it lasted and focus on the joy it brought at the time.


5. “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” – George Orwell

Meaning: True happiness comes from accepting life as it is, rather than wishing it were different. Trying to change things that can’t be changed often leads to frustration, while acceptance brings a sense of peace.

Example: A person living with a chronic illness may find peace by accepting their condition and focusing on what they can still enjoy in life, rather than constantly wishing for things to be different.


6. “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” – J.K. Rowling

Meaning: Acceptance often follows understanding, especially in the context of challenges or personal struggles. By understanding a situation fully, you can accept it more easily, which is essential for healing and moving forward.

Example: Someone dealing with grief might first learn about the stages of grief, which helps them understand their feelings. This understanding makes it easier to accept the process and begin healing.


7. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Meaning: Self-acceptance is at the heart of true beauty and confidence. Rather than seeking validation from others, accepting who you are brings out your inner strength and uniqueness.

Example: Someone might feel insecure about not fitting into societal beauty standards. By embracing their own unique features and qualities, they learn to see their own beauty without needing outside approval.


8. “What you deny or ignore, you delay. What you accept and face, you conquer.” – Robert Tew

Meaning: Denying or avoiding issues only prolongs them. When you accept and confront challenges head-on, you empower yourself to overcome them and move forward.

Example: If someone avoids addressing financial difficulties, the problem worsens over time. But by accepting their situation and creating a budget, they take control, reduce stress, and work toward a solution.


9. “The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.” – Brian Tracy

Meaning: Accepting and loving others as they are is a profound gift. It fosters meaningful relationships and allows others to feel safe, valued, and understood.

Example: A parent might want their child to follow a certain career path, but by accepting the child’s own interests and choices, the parent strengthens their bond and allows the child to feel unconditionally loved.


10. “Acceptance makes an incredible fertile soil for the seeds of change.” – Steve Maraboli

Meaning: Accepting things as they are lays the foundation for growth and transformation. When we resist less, we create more space for positive change to occur.

Example: If someone is unhappy in a job but initially refuses to acknowledge it, they may stay stuck. By accepting their dissatisfaction, they can explore other opportunities or passions, eventually finding more fulfilling work.


Each of these quotes emphasizes different aspects of acceptance—whether it’s self-acceptance, accepting others, or embracing life’s circumstances. Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up; instead, it allows us to find peace, create change, and deepen connections with ourselves and others.

For example, the quote "What you resist, persists" encapsulates the concept that denial or avoidance of difficult emotions and situations tends to exacerbate them, rather than alleviate them. This notion urges individuals to confront their fears and challenges head-on, fostering a healthier relationship with their inner experiences. Additionally, many acceptance quotes inspire a profound shift towards gratitude and understanding, reminding individuals that by acknowledging and accepting what is beyond their control, they can cultivate a more fulfilling and peaceful existence.

The emotional resonance of these sayings is significant; they often offer timeless wisdom that aids in fostering emotional growth and resilience. When individuals internalize these messages, they become better equipped to handle life's inevitable ups and downs with grace and poise. This shift in perspective not only enhances one’s ability to cope with adversity but also promotes a more positive and nurturing outlook on life. Thus, acceptance quotes emerge as invaluable tools for personal development, encouraging individuals to embrace their journeys with openness and courage while navigating the complexities of the human experience.

Thought of the day Acceptance

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.

- Russell Lynes Thoughts

Always fall in with what you're asked to accept.  Take what is given, and make it over your way.  My aim  is life has always been to hold my own with whatever's going.  Not against: with.

- Robert Frost 1875 - 1963

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Acceptance is different than apathy. It is important to strive to be your best self, your healthiest, most productive, joyful self. But that is going to be a different answer to everyone.

- Teri Hatcher

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

- Melody Beattie

Acceptance and assimilation, you know, breeds mediocrity and perhaps an even more sheep-like conformism in terms of what kind of music you’re supposed to listen to if you’re gay… What are you supposed to look like? What’s your body supposed to look like?

- John Cameron Mitchell

Acceptance of one’s life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering, of psychological complexes and injustices.

- Paul Tournier

For the ordinary man is passive. Within a narrow circle (home life, and perhaps the trade unions or local politics) he feels himself master of his fate, but against major events he is as helpless as against the elements.  So far from endeavoring to influence the future, he simply lies down and lets things happen to him.

- George Orwell 1903 - 1950

We are all going, I thought, and it applies to turtles and turtlenecks, Alaska the girl and Alaska the place, because nothing can last, not even the earth itself. The Buddha said that suffering was caused by desire, we’d learned, and that the cessation of desire meant the cessation of suffering. When you stopped wishing things wouldn’t fall apart, you’d stop suffering when they did.

- John Green

The strongest and most effective force in guaranteeing the long-term maintenance of power is not violence in all the forms deployed by the dominant to control the dominated, but consent in all the forms in which the dominated acquiesce in their own domination.

-Maurice Godelier

Life has no other discipline to impost, if we would but realize it, then to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind.  Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

-Henry Miller 1891 - 1980

Acceptance Quotes List

Die while alive and be thoroughly dead. Then do what you will, and all will be well.

- Philip Kapleau

Die while alive and be thoroughly dead. Then do what you will, and all will be well.

- Philip Kapleau Quotation

I’m not okay, you’re not okay, and that’s okay.

- William Sloane Coffin

I’m not okay, you’re not okay, and that’s okay.

- William Sloane Coffin

I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it.

- Isaac Marion

I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it.

- A Quotation From Isaac Marion

Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.

- Roy Bennett

Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward.

- Roy Bennett

Change is possible, but it must start with self-acceptance.

- Alexander Lowen

Change is possible, but it must start with self-acceptance.

- Alexander Lowen

Parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance.

- Zachary Quinto

Parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance.

- Zachary Quinto

The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.

- Pierre Bayle

You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.

- Diane Von Furstenberg

Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.

- Jessica Lange

Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.

- James Baldwin

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

- Dalai Lama XIV

The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.

- Stephanie Perkins

Generally speaking, the Way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death.

- Miyamoto Musashi

No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.

- Robert Holden

The first thing a kindness deserves is acceptance, the second, transmission.

- George MacDonald

Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.

- Jessica Lange

Acceptance of prevailing standards often means we have no standards of our own.

- Jean Toomer

I think tolerance and acceptance and love is something that feeds every community.

- Lady Gaga

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

- Alan Watts

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.

- Nathaniel Branden

Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself.

- Nathaniel Branden

Certainly tolerance and acceptance were at the forefront of my music.

- Bruce Springsteen

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.

- Nathaniel Branden

Bad humor is an evasion of reality; good humor is an acceptance of it.

- Malcolm Muggeridge

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining, is to let it rain.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.

- Fulton Oursler

I found that laughter was a form of acceptance, and I really enjoyed that and I just - I crave it.

- Gabriel Iglesias

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

- William James

I’ve learned that universal acceptance and appreciation is just an unrealistic goal.

- Dan Brown

The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.

- Brian Tracy

I don’t need anyone else to distract me from myself anymore, like I always thought I would.

- Charlotte Eriksson

Attitude is your acceptance of the natural laws, or your rejection of the natural laws.

- Stuart Chase

No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it.

- Fernando Pessoa

When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.

- Peace Pilgrim

Gay rights and body acceptance are two things I feel very passionately about.

- Mary Lambert

Happiness can exist only in acceptance.

- Denis De Rougamont

Happiness can exist only in acceptance.

- Denis De Rougamont Download or Share

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

- Acceptance Quote byBrendan Francis

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

- Acceptance Quote by Brendan Francis Download or Share

One must not attempt to justify them, but rather to sense their nature simply and clearly.

- Acceptance Quote by Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955

One must not attempt to justify them, but rather to sense their nature simply and clearly.

- Acceptance Quote by Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955 Download or Share

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.

- Maureen Dowd

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.

- Maureen Dowd Download or Share

The first thing a kindness deserves is acceptance, the second, transmission. 

- Acceptance Quote by George MacDonald

The first thing a kindness deserves is acceptance, the second, transmission.

- Acceptance Quote by George MacDonald Download or Share

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

- William James Quotes Download or Share

To make oneself an object, to make oneself passive, is a very different thing from being a passive object.

- Acceptance Quote by Simone De Beauvoir 1908 - 1986 Download or Share

Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events.

- Acceptance Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 - 1882 Download or Share

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

- Mark Twain Download or Share

Acceptance is the key to everything.

- Acceptance Quote by Michael J Fox Download or Share

Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviors, their beliefs, bring you an inner peace and tranquility - instead of anger and resentment

- Unknown

The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.

- Russell Lynes *

Accept everything about yourself - I mean everything, you are you and that is the beginning and the end - no apologies, no regrets.

- Clark Moustakas Humanistic Psychologist

Self-love has very little to do with how you feel about your outer self. It’s about accepting all of yourself.

- Tyra Banks

Live your life, sing your song. Not full of expectations. Not for the ovations. But for the joy of it.

- Rasheed Ogunlaru

It is easier to make our wishes conform to our means than to make our means conform to our wishes.

- Robert E. Lee

Nobody’s going to win all the time. On the highway of life you can’t always be in the fast lane.

- Haruki Murakami

Acceptance Quotation in English

Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.

- Jackie Robinson

To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow—this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.

- Elizabeth

Social acceptance, ‘being liked,’ has so much power because it holds the feelings of loneliness at bay.

- Rollo May

Acceptance doesn’t mean that life gets better; it just means that my way of living life on life’s terms improves.

- Sharon E. Rainey

Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.

- J.K. Rowling

The acceptance of certain realities doesn’t preclude idealism. It can lead to certain breakthroughs.

- Rem Koolhaas

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

- William James

Acceptance doesn’t mean that life gets better; it just means that my way of living life on life’s terms improves.

- Sharon E. Rainey

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

- Michael J. Fox

Marriage equality is about more than just marriage. It’s about something greater. It’s about acceptance.

- Charlize Theron

I feel blessed and humbled that people have loved my music. Nothing would be possible without their acceptance.

- A. R. Rahman

Accept everything about yourself I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end no apologies, no regrets.

- Henry A. Kissinger

What self-acceptance does is open up more possibilities of succeeding because you aren’t fighting yourself along the way.

- Shannon Ables

Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they’re alive and human.

- Albert Ellis

Any natural, normal human being, when faced with any kind of loss, will go from shock all the way through acceptance.

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.

- Lucille Ball

The acceptance of death gives you more of a stake in life, in living life happily, as it should be lived. Living for the moment.

- Sting

It was gradually learned that acceptance of a somewhat higher inflation rate would not really bring somewhat higher employment.

- Edmund Phelps

At the heart of personality is the need to feel a sense of being lovable without having to qualify for that acceptance.

- Paul Tournier

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

As you become clearer about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.

- Oprah Winfrey

I think it’s important to remember that Christianity was based in love and tolerance and forgiveness and acceptance.

- Kristin Chenoweth

Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

- William James

Body love is more than acceptance of self or the acceptance of the body. Body love is about self-worth in general. It’s more than our physical appearance.

- Mary Lambert

Have a big enough heart to love unconditionally, and a broad enough mind to embrace the differences that make each of us unique.

- D.B. Harrop

Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.

- Deborah Reber

As I get older, the more I stay focused on the acceptance of myself and others, and choose compassion over judgment and curiosity over fear.

- Tracee Ellis Ross

Every woman that finally figured out her worth, has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change.

- Shannon L. Alder

Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.

- Michael J. Fox

When you stop living your life based on what others think of you real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self acceptance opened.

- Shannon L. Alder

Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.

- Eckhart Tolle

The acceptance of ‘Quantico’ so far has been really great. At the moment, I’m just straddling two continents far away from each other, with very active careers in both!

- Priyanka Chopra

Acceptance of the power of God in one’s life lays the groundwork for personal commitment to both science and Christianity, which so often have been in conflict.

- Kenneth L. Pike

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and morality are not givens but imperfect human constructs, is the point from which fiction begins.

- Salman Rushdie

A friend is one to whom one may pour out the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that gentle hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.

- George Eliot

The acceptance of the facts of African-American history and the African-American historian as a legitimate part of the academic community did not come easily. Slavery ended and left its false images of black people intact.

- John Henrik Clarke

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.

- Ann Landers

It’s important to remember that the animals are not grieving with us. They’re very accepting. They’re not lying there thinking ‘How could you do this to me? Why aren’t you keeping me going?’ Pets don’t do the human things of guilt and anger and recrimination that we do. They come and go with great acceptance.

- Jon Katz

Wonder Woman is a fighter, better than most, but it’s what she fights for that is important. It’s her vision of a future of peace and acceptance that makes her the right ambassador for everyone.

- Gal Gadot

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

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

- Lao Tzu

A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself - and especially to feel, or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at any moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to - letting a person be what he really is.

- Jim Morrison

We must accept life for what it actually is - a challenge to our quality without which we should never know of what stuff we are made, or grow to our full stature.

-Ida R. Wylie

Ah, when to the heart of man of man was it every less than a treason to go with the drift of things to yield with a grace to reason and bow and accept at the end of a love or a season.

- Acceptance Quote by Robert Frost 1875 - 1963