20 Kindness Quotes to Inspire Greatness

Practicing kindness is one of the fastest and most gratifying ways to inspire greatness in ourselves and others. Many of us are kind by nature, but what if we consciously looked for opportunities to extend kindness as we go about our day? Some opportunities can be to help carry groceries for someone, letting a car go ahead of you in traffic, saying hello to new people, buying a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line, giving someone a compliment or encouraging words. There are so many ways to be kinder, both large and small, and it can fun! You never know—you may even change someone’s life or motivate them to do an act of kindness themselves.

To propel yourself into greatness, start to look for ways to practice kindness, while brightening someone’s day. Here are 20 kindness quotes to inspire your journey of spreading kindness and making a better world:

1. “Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.” ~R.J. Palacio

2. “Your greatness is measured by your kindness; your education and intellect by your modesty; your ignorance is betrayed by your suspicions and prejudices, and your real caliber is measured by the consideration and tolerance you have for others.” ~William J.H. Boetcker

3. “When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.” ~The 14th Dalai Lama

4. “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

5. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel in order to be tough.” ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt

6. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” ~Plato

7. “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” ~Dalai Lama XIV

8. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” ~Desmond Tutu

9. “Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” ~Albert Schweitzer

10. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~Aesop

11. “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.” ~Maya Angelou

12. “I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.” ~Mother Teresa

13. “If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.” ~Lao Tzu

14. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” ~Mark Twain

15. “Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.” ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

16. “When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world.” ~Harold Kushner

17. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” ~Barbara de Angelis

18. “Only your compassion and your loving kindness are invincible, and without limit.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

19. “Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.” ~Margaret Cho

20. “Choose being kind over being right, and you’ll be right every time.” ~Richard Carlson

What act of kindness will you do today? Let’s share some!