22 Quotes to Help You Overcome Guilt and Shame
Especially when you’re new to recovery, feelings of embarrassment and shame can be devastating, even paralyzing. They also feed the cycle of addiction. Facing this shame without self-medicating with a substance or behavior can feel impossible, but it’s crucial to your sobriety that you do so.
22 Quotes to Help You Overcome Guilt and ShameHere, some wise words to remind you that you’re not alone in feeling as you do and that you are worthy of forgiveness and self-compassion. May these words help you find strength and inspiration.
“A moment of self-compassion can change your entire day. A string of such moments can change the course of your life.” ―Christopher K. Germer
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” —Jack Kornfield “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” ―Carl Jung
“Empathy’s the antidote to shame. The two most powerful words when we’re in struggle: me too.” —Brene Brown
“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” ―Wayne W. Dyer
“The past has no power over the present moment.” ―Eckhart Tolle
“Only if you’ve been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.” —Richard Nixon
“One small crack does not mean that you are broken, it means that you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.” —Linda Poindexter
“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”—Oscar Wilde
“Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.” —Henry David Thoreau
“Mistakes are part of life. Everyone makes them. Everyone regrets them. But some learn from them and some end up making them again. It’s up to you to decide if you’ll use your mistakes to your advantage.” —Meredith Sapp
“To keep on trying in spite of disappointment and failure is the only way to keep young and brave. Failures become victories if they make us wise-hearted.” —Helen Keller
“Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.” —the Dalai Lama
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” ―Thich Nhat Hanh
“‘All conditioned things are impermanent’ — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.” —Buddha
“A man does not have to be an angel in order to be a saint.” ―Albert Schweitzer
“Lack of forgiveness causes almost all of our self-sabotaging behavior.” —Mark Victor Hansen
“Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be any different.” ―Oprah Winfrey
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” ―Mahatma Gandhi
“Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?” ―Lao Tzu
“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” —Deepak Chopra
“Do you want to meet the love of your life? Look in the mirror.”—Byron Katie
