We’re all bound to encounter people who aren’t necessarily our cup of tea, and we would either do two things: exhibit our dislike rather explicitly or play it nice and just accept our differences.
While the former can be satisfying at times, the latter would be more ideal if we truly want to push for a world that would accept us all, no matter how contrasting our personalities may be.
But if you’re having a hard time doing it or you want to convince a friend or a family to just be the bigger person in a certain situation, then here are some of the best accepting others quotes collected just for you.
Read on and enjoy!
Quotes About Accepting Others And Their Differences
1. “Unconditional acceptance of others is the key to happy relationships.” ― Brian Tracy
2. “I think tolerance and acceptance and love is something that feeds every community.” ― Lady Gaga
3. “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” ― Nathaniel Branden
4. “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ― Audre Lorde
5. “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” ― Stephen Covey
6. “Acceptance of all humans as our own kind doesn’t weaken us or belittle us in any manner, rather it only magnifies our innate humanity and brings out the true human in us.” ― Abhijit Naskar
7. “It is your differences that make you glorious.” ― Neil Gaiman
8. “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.” ― Martin Luther King, Jr.
9. “By acknowledging and accepting the ultimate commonality, we can naturally and voluntarily develop the attitude of compassion and benevolence toward other people, other life-forms, and all beings. We will want to live for the good of all because we know that's the way we benefit ourselves, too.” ― Ilchi Lee
10. “To make a difference, understand differences.” ― Syed Sharukh
11. “Be accepting. Of everything. Peoples differences, their similarities, their choices, their personalities. Sometimes it takes a variety to make a good collection. The same goes for people.” — Colleen Hoover
12. “The only true disability is the inability to accept and respect differences.” — Tanya Masse
13. “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
14. “Life is like a roadtrip: you pass by many people and many situations and they're all different. You don't stop on your roadtrip to try and fix everything that you see along the way. Or judge every encounter as good or bad. You only experience what you see as part of your roadtrip, leaving everyone and everything at that. A compassionate acceptance.” ― C. JoyBell C.
15. “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
16. “You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.” — Jeannette Walls
17. “Acceptance is simply love in practice. When you love, you accept, when you lack love, you judge.” ― Abhijit Naskar
18. “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
19. “The only way to come to a full acceptance and understanding of yourself is to embrace your own culture, quirks and differences while learning about those around you and exploring, incorporating and embracing their cultures, differences, quirks, etcetera.” — Toks Olagundoye
Quotes About Accepting Others For Who They Are
20. “The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance.” ― Christina Baker Kline
21. “Unconditional love means accepting someone for who they are now, not who you hope they will be one day. People.” — DeVon Franklin
22. “You can live your life afraid to move forward, or you can live your life accepting people for who they are and believing in those people, giving second chances with the hopes that the changes they've worked hard to achieve remain.” ― Melissa Foster
23. “I have found the courage to see people exactly where they are at, without acting on my need to gloss them over, to coat them with sugar, to paint them nicely. And then I have applied that courage to embracing and accepting them exactly that way, for where and who they precisely are.” ― C. JoyBell C.
24. “Love isn't about finding the perfect person. A perfect person does not exist. Love is about accepting someone for who they are completely, good and bad. It's about seeing their flaws and understanding that it makes them who they are. Love isn't always going to be easy, in fact it really shouldn't be. If love is easy, it isn't love.” — Crystal A. Cordero
25. “It is noble to love another without caring to know who gave them breath.” ― Cornelius Elmore Addison
26. “I hold space for people who sin differently from me. I'm not, like, ‘My sins are better than yours,’ or, ‘My sins are more acceptable than your sins.’ It's ridiculous how we favour our own sins while we all dance with different demons. We are afraid of another's demons when we ourselves have our own. So, I hold space in me for those who sin differently from me, because it is those imperfections in their own stories which have painted them the colours that are their own. The same way I have been painted in my colours, they have been painted in theirs.” ― C. JoyBell C.
27. “Nothing brings down walls as surely as acceptance.” ― Deepak Chopra
28. “If we took just 5 minutes to recognize each other's beauty, instead of attacking each other for our differences. That's not hard. It's really an easier and better way to live. And ultimately, it saves lives. Then again, it's not easy at all. It can be the hardest thing, because loving other people starts with loving ourselves and accepting ourselves. I know many of you have struggled with this. I draw upon your strength and your support, and have, in ways you will never know.” — Ellen Page
29. “Love begins with an acceptance of the person as they are. That does not mean we accept bad behaviour or a lazy attitude towards life. Our primary focus is on loving the person, come what may. Part of love is helping them become the best they can be. We want the best for them, but our love is not dependent on it. Life, without any assistance from us, has its teaching methods.” ― Donna Goddard
30. “Peace is self-examination and being all right with what you see. Freedom is being able to open up to others without the worry of persecution. Happiness is seeing others for who they are and embracing the differences.” — Leeann Smith
Quotes About Learning To Accept Our Differences
31. “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” ― Brad Meltzer
32. “Emotional support involves accepting differences with others and not insisting on what you want or you want from others. Don't set absolute criteria that require before you're satisfied.” ― Anil Sinha
33. “I accept who you are and the life that you live as long as your life does not adversely affect mine.” — Gary Johnson
34. “Our flaws were what made us unique as individuals; and accepting them and working through our differences was what made us stronger as a couple.” ― S.C. Miotto
35. “We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity, life would be very boring.” ― Catherine Pulsifer
36. “People should decide what success means for them, and not be distracted by accepting others' definitions of success.” ― Tony Levin
37. “Acceptance is the only thing you should teach. Be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Dalit, you must inculcate acceptance, not tolerance.” — Kamal Haasan
38. “Compassion for the other comes out of our ability to accept ourselves. Until we realize both our own weaknesses and our own privileges, we can never tolerate lack of status and depth of weakness in the other.” — Joan D. Chittister
39. “A great relationship is about two things, appreciating your similarities and respecting your differences.” ― Proverb
40. “And he knew that at that moment, they understood each other perfectly, and when he told her what he was going to do now, she would not say ‘be careful’ or ‘don’t do it’, but she would accept his decision because she would not have expected anything less of him.” — J. K. Rowling
41. “Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
42. “The acceptance of certain realities doesn’t preclude idealism. It can lead to certain breakthroughs.” ― Rem Koolhaas
43. “Recovery is not about being right; it's about allowing ourselves to be who we are and accepting others as they are.” — Melody Beattie
44. “When you feel yourself resisting differences, lean into them, instead, and have fun with what happens.” ― Gina Greenlee
45. “Some people confuse acceptance with apathy, but there's all the difference in the world. Apathy fails to distinguish between what can and what cannot be helped; acceptance makes that distinction. Apathy paralyzes the will-to-action; acceptance frees it by relieving it of impossible burdens.“ — Arthur Gordon
46. “The best way is not to fight it, just go. Don't be trying all the time to fix things. What you run from only stays with you longer. When you fight something, you only make it stronger.” — Chuck Palahniuk
Quotes About Not Judging Others And Accepting Their Opinions
47. “Judgement is poverty.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin
48. “The moment that judgment stops through acceptance of what it is, you are free of the mind. You have made room for love, for joy, for peace.” — Eckhart Tolle
49. “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” — Mark 12:31
50. “Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding.” — Mahatma Gandhi
51. “Accepting others' life choices is something most people only learn with age.” — Neil Strauss
52. “Tolerance is the mindful capacity to love, respect, accept the differences that make people unique.” — Byron Pulsifer
53. “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”― Bryant H. McGill
54. “Tolerance is accepting differences in other people, it is thinking ‘It is OK that you are different from me.” ― Cynthia Amoroso
55. “Speak up and speak clearly. I want to hear what you have to say because it matters. Let's listen to each other and respect one another's opinions. Although, they may be different, wisdom allows us to be responsible for our own feelings and actions.” ― Felicia Johnson
56. “I must respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them.” ― Herbert H. Lehman
57. “Tolerance is the ability to forgive those who tend to speak before thinking.” ― Catherine Pulsifer
RELATED: Don’t Judge Me: 101+ Quotes About People Judging You
Quotes About Acceptance Of Others
58. “The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.” ― Brian Tracy
59. “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
60. “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
61. “Accepting all the good and bad about someone. It's a great thing to aspire to. The hard part is actually doing it.” ― Sarah Dessen
62. “The most difficult thing to get people to do is to accept the obvious.” ― Dick Gregory
63. “Acceptance is a letting-go process. You let go of your wishes and demands that life can be different. It’s a conscious choice.” ― Gary Emery
64. “Don't wish that people would change. Accept them for who they are and keep on searching for your higher self.” ― Matthew Donnelly
65. “Accepting the truth is difficult. Not accepting the truth is tragic.” — Tupac Shakur
66. “None knows the weight of another's burden.” ― George Herbert
67. “At the center of accepting differences stand the principles of inclusion, humanity, and peace.”
— Ty Howard
68. “I believe it's our responsibility to show our communities the value of all people, to celebrate different, and to take a stand for acceptance and inclusion.” — Julie Foudy
69. “Acceptance makes an incredible fertile soil for the seeds of change.” ― Steve Maraboli
70. “Although the butterfly and the caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.” — Kendrick Lamar
71. “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
72. “The only way a society of diverse people can survive without tearing itself apart over differences in nature is by accepting that ALL people are different, and that no single one of us is more or less deserving of decent treatment, compassion, legal and ethical equality, justice, life, or love, than any other.” — Christina Engela
73. “Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” ― Jessica Lange
74. “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” ― J.K. Rowling
75. “We must learn to talk with each other, and we mutually must understand and accept one another in our extraordinary differences.” — Karl Jaspers
76. “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got.” — Robert Brault
Quotes About Accepting Yourself In Order To Accept Others
77. “If you're jealous of someone else it simply means you have not come to a true acceptance and appreciation of yourself.” ― Rasheed Ogunlaru
78. “The less harshly we judge ourselves, the more accepting we become of others.” — Harold H. Bloomfield
79. “Real confidence comes from knowing and accepting yourself- your strengths and your limitations -in contrast to depending on affirmation from others.” — Judith M Bardwick
80. “Do not expect to be fully accepted if, firstly, you do not truly accept yourself, and, secondly, you are not truly accepting of others. Every rejection you’ve ever faced has been mirroring your own.” ― Petra Poje
81. “What if each time you experienced an emotion, you acknowledged it, accepted it, and became curious about its message for you (instead of trying to make it go away or make it last longer)? Imagine how this could change your life. Imagine how heard, loved, and honored you would feel if you really listened to yourself.” ― Vironika Tugaleva
82. “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
83. “No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.” ― Robert Holden
84. “Every step of our life we need to accept ourselves all over again.” ― Jeff Moore
85. “When people are not accepting toward themselves they are often obsessed with acceptance by others.” — Nathaniel Branden
86. You will never learn anything new unless you are ready to accept yourself with your limitations. You must accept the fact that you are capable in some directions and limited in others, and you must develop your capabilities. — Bruce Lee
87. “I release all criticism. I only give out that which I wish to receive in return. My love and acceptance of others is mirrored to me in every moment.” ― Louise Hay
88. “The happiest people in life are able to be themselves. But you cannot be yourself, until you accept yourself.” ― Jeff Moore
89. “Many people think of perfectionism as striving to be your best, but it is not about self-improvement; it’s about earning approval and acceptance.” ― Brene Brown
90. “Those who love others grandly are those who love themselves grandly. Those who have a high toleration and acceptance of others are those who have a high toleration and acceptance of themselves. You cannot show another a part of you that you cannot show yourself. Therefore, begin where all growth, where all evolution, where all love must begin; with the person in the mirror.” ― Neale Donald Walsch
91. “The things about others that irritate, annoy, and unsettle us are the very things we have not accepted and embraced about ourselves.” ― R. Alan Woods
Accepting Others Quotes For Peace Of Mind
92. “Humility means accepting reality with no attempt to outsmart it.” ― David Richo
93. “Acceptance is a whole different kind of maturity. It is a gift of freedom to self more than to others.” ― Chinonye J. Chidolu
94. “Know that everything is in perfect order whether you understand it or not.” ― Valery Satterwhite
95. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
— Aristotle
96. “Attitude is your acceptance of the natural laws, or your rejection of the natural laws.” — Stuart Chase
97. “Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why.” — Benjamin Zander
98. “Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it.” ― Kathleen Casey Theisen
99. “The keys to patience are acceptance and faith. Accept things as they are, and look realistically at the world around you. Have faith in yourself and in the direction you have chosen.” — Ralph Marston
100. “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
101. “Start accepting things when they are less than perfect. I believe that one of the biggest challenges for people, including myself, who want to improve themselves and improve the world is…learning to accept things as they are. Sometimes its better to accept and appreciate everything as it is, and people as they are, rather than needing everything and everyone to be the impossible. I don't believe in accepting a life of mediocrity, but sometimes we need to learn to love and value things when they are less than perfect.” ― Markesa Yeager
102. “There is strange comfort in knowing that no matter what happens today, the Sun will rise again tomorrow.”― Aaron Lauritsen
103. “Acceptance is observation of life and suspension of judgment about whether what is happening is good or bad, right or wrong.” ― Ron Smotherman
104. “Sometimes you just have to regret things and move on.” ― Charlaine Harris
105. “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” ― George Orwell
106. “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” ― Tina Fey
107. “My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.” ― Michael J. Fox
108. “Acceptance is usually one of the most trying learning experiences. Some things may appear impossible to overlook or get past but therein lies the absolute peace of mind. The world won't adjust by our pretty wishes or skillful hands. Gotta give up control sometimes.” ― Chinonye J. Chidolue
109. “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
110. “For after all the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
111. “First you accept, then you become peaceful.” ― Maxime Lagacé
What’s Your Favorite Quote About Accepting Others And Their Differences?
It takes both guts and growth to be able to go from tolerating people to thoroughly accepting them.
We can’t always take control of the narrative, and sometimes, it’s better to just let things go and accept the fact that we can’t please all the people we encounter in life.
These accepting others quotes may take time to embody, but they are essential to have if you want to have peace of mind.
Which one of these quotes was too relatable for you?
Let us know in the comments below!
Alan is the founder of Subconscious Servant. He has a passion for learning about topics such as spirituality and the metaphysical world. The thing he loves to explore most though is manifesting with the law of attraction ✨.