Imagine a world where we all decided to be kind to each other. A world without jealousy or bitterness. A world without gossip and lies. Instead of feeling lonely and unsure of ourselves, we would all feel confident and loved.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Quotes About Random Acts of Kindness
- Quotes About Love, Compassion, and Kindness
- Quotes About Choosing Kindness
- Quotes About Being Kind to Animals and Nature
- Quotes About Kindness for Kids or Students
- Quotes About Choosing Kindness
- Kindness Quotes From Books
- Quotes About Friendship and Kindness
- Quotes About Kindness and Thanks or Gratitude
- Motivational or Inspiring Quotes About Kindness
- Funny Quotes About Kindness
- Quotes About Kindness for the Office or Workplace
The problem is that we all need constant reminders to be kind. That’s one reason we would like to share these quotes about kindness with you.
Let’s all be inspired to make someone’s day. Post these quotes on your social media accounts and share them with your children. We can change the world, one kind act at a time.
Quotes About Random Acts of Kindness
The phrase “random acts of kindness” may be relatively new, but its meaning is as old as time. Here are some quotes that will teach you how to help others with kind acts and inspirational words.
1. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill
Remember, money isn’t the only gift you can give. You can also give your time. Don’t avoid being charitable because you think you can’t afford it.
2. “Kindness starts with one.” —Random Acts of Kindness Foundation
Think of all the simple acts you can complete in an hour of your day that would spread happiness to others. Your small actions could change your community, your state, your country, and your world.
3.. “Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” —Bob Kerrey
How have you felt when you have been the recipient of unexpected kindness? Don’t you want to help others feel the same way?
4. “We rise by lifting others.” —Robert Ingersoll
Although this sounds like an oxymoron, it’s true. If you feel sad, consider spending more time on charitable acts. You will help others and feel better at the same time.
5. “Whenever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” —Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Since the beginning of time, people have understood the importance of being kind. This quote is attributed to a Roman philosopher who died in 65 AD, and his ideas are just as relevant today.
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Quotes About Love, Compassion, and Kindness
Kindness and compassion never go out of style. Here are some quotes to share about sacrificial love.
6. “Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your modus operandi and change your world.” —Annie Lennox
Even if you were not patient and compassionate today, you can begin anew tomorrow. Just as you exercise to become physically stronger and to increase your endurance, you can become a kinder, gentler person with practice as well.
7. “I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” —Vincent Van Gogh
People are difficult to be around sometimes. Perhaps Van Gogh was right. We do create a thing of beauty when we are kind and loving to difficult people.
8. “Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude.” —Confucius
Make sure you say thank you to the people who are kind to you. Here are some thank you quotes for inspiration. But when you complete an act of kindness, don’t expect any recognition for it.
9. “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” —Proverbs 21:21
The Bible has a lot to say about kindness. In fact, it is one of the central tenants of the book.
10. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” —Maya Angelou
We all know people who seem to be weighed down by life’s burdens. What can you do today to make their lives a little happier?
Quotes About Choosing Kindness
Everything you say and everything you do is a choice, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. Let’s all try to choose kind words and actions.
11. “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the greatest intention.” —Kahlil Gibran
You may intend to reach out to the lonely, elderly widow who lives across the street, but your intentions mean nothing when you don’t follow through with actions. Start with small, kind acts. Call someone who is lonely. Bake some cookies for a grouchy neighbor. Pay for a stranger’s coffee.
12. “Gentleness and kindness will make our homes a paradise upon earth.” —C. A. Bartol
Do you want your children and your spouse to enjoy spending time in your home? Treat them with gentleness and kindness.
13. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” —1 Corinthians 13:4
This verse from the Bible may sound familiar even to non-Christians. It is often used during marriage ceremonies. While some have grandiose ideas about romantic love, the Bible says that at its core, love comes from kindness.
14. “Be kind to unkind people. They need it the most.” —Unknown
It’s easy to be friendly with a smiling, outgoing person. We need to reach out to others who look as if they are having a bad day.
15. “There’s no such things as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end” —Scott Adams
Start by being kind to your family and coworkers. You never know how much kindness you can inspire.
Quotes About Being Kind to Animals and Nature
Don’t wait for April 22 to celebrate Earth Day. Be kind to animals and our planet all year round. Here are some quotes about being kind to our Earth.
16. “He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” —Thomas Fuller
Planting trees is an act of kindness. Even if you don’t own any land, there are plenty of organizations that will allow you to pay for trees to be planted in your community or across the world.
17. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.” —Leo Tolstoy
Being kind to the Earth is not only good for the Earth. It helps your fellow humankind as well.
18. “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall
Will you choose to be kind to the Earth and animals today? Jane Goodall made a difference in the world by devoting her life to the study of animals.
19. “It’s the little things that citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.” —Wangari Maathai
All of these quotes have a common theme. Small actions can make a difference in the world.
20. “Be kind to every kind, not just mankind.” —Anthony Douglas Williams
How can you be kind to animals? To plants? Even if you are unable to give them a loving home, you could always donate time or money to your favorite environmental charity.
Quotes About Kindness for Kids or Students
You can talk all day about the importance of being kind, but your kids will learn it the best by your actions. Here are some quotes about kindness you can share with your children or students.
21. “Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give.” —Unknown
Your kids or students may feel as if they don’t have enough money or power to be kind. Teach them that kindness is free because it comes from the heart.
22. “Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.” —Frank A. Clark
Often, small kids get hung up with wanting recognition or thanks for doing something kind. There are adults in the world who feel this way as well.
23. “Good words bring good feelings to the heart. Speak with kindness always.” —Rod Williams
This sentiment is especially important to teach children when they open social media accounts.
24. “Kind people are the best kind of people.” —Unknown
Hopefully, children are beginning to realize that the best athletes and entertainers are the ones who have both talent and a kind heart.
25. “Be nice to strangers. Be nice even when it doesn’t matter.” —Sam Altman
Although it is essential to teach our children to be nice to siblings and classmates, we also need to teach them to be kind to strangers as well.
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Quotes About Choosing Kindness
We know it may not feel natural to be kind to someone who is rude to you. In fact, it may feel like a Herculean effort. So here are some quotes to encourage ourselves and others to choose kindness.
26. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” –Mark Twain
“Mark Twain” was a pseudonym for Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
27. “One kind word can warm three winter months.” –Japanese Proverb
This can be especially true if the kind word is spoken to a person who is lonely.
28. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.” –Mother Teresa
If only we were all like Mother Teresa, who didn’t need reminders about the importance of being kind.
29. “Kindness is a hard thing to give away; it keeps coming back to the giver.” –Ralph Scott
While it would be nice to think that people are kind for altruistic reasons, you may benefit from being nice.
30. “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” –William Penn
William Penn was the founder of Pennsylvania.
31. “A pat on the back, though only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants, is miles ahead in results.” –Bennett Cerf
We love this quote by one of the founders of the publishing giant Random House.
Kindness Quotes From Books
Here are some quotes about kindness from published authors. Enjoy and be inspired!
32. “You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.” –Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie’s most famous book was called “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It was published in 1936 and is one of the best-selling self-help books of all time.
33. “Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Emerson was a transcendentalist author who wrote a series of essays called “Self Reliance.”
34. “Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.” –Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill was one of the best-selling self-help writers of all time. He is best known for his book called “Think and Grow Rich.”
35. “When a man has compassion for others, God has compassion for him.” –Talmud
This quote is from the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
36. “Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” –J. M. Barrie
J.M. Barrie’s most famous work was Peter Pan.
Quotes About Friendship and Kindness
Sometimes people are kinder to strangers than they are to friends and family members. Here are some quotes that remind us to offer kindness to the people closest to us.
37. “I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” –Leo Rosten
Leo Rosten was known for writing many one-liners that made people laugh. However, this quote represents a time he was serious.
38. “Often the most loving thing we can do when a friend is in pain is to share the pain–to be there even when we have nothing to offer except our presence and even when being there is painful to ourselves.” –M. Scott Peck
Sometimes kindness just comes from being present and being silent.
39. “When a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it.” –Edgar Watson Howe
This is especially true if a friend is going through a crisis, such as a death in the family.
40. “The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend.” –Henry David Thoreau
Kindness is an integral part of the friendship equation.
41. “Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joy, and dividing our grief.” –Joseph Addison
It’s a kind thing to celebrate a friend’s triumphs instead of being jealous or bitter that they didn’t happen to you.
Quotes About Kindness and Thanks or Gratitude
Think about what a difference you can make in the world by spreading kindness and gratitude. Your kind words can motivate someone else to do the same.
Here are some quotes about kindness and gratitude.
42. “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick
We have all been guilty of this at some time in our lives.
43. “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” – Gladys Bronwyn Stern
Gladys Bronwyn Stern was an English novelist.
44. “For what I have received may the Lord make me truly thankful. And more truly for what I have not received.” – Storm Jameson
In other words, sometimes, you need to thank God for unanswered prayers.
45. “Got no checkbooks, got no banks.
Still, I’d like to express my thanks –
I got the sun in the mornin’
And the moon at night.” – Irving Berlin
These are some of the lyrics to “I Got the Sun in the Mornin’.”
46. “Don’t kneel to me, that is not right. You must kneel to God only, and thank Him for the liberty you will hereafter enjoy.” – Abraham Lincoln
This is an interesting view of gratitude from our 16th President.
47. “O Lord My God, I will give thanks to thee forever.” Psalms 30:12
There are an abundance of verses in the Bible about gratitude.
48. “A great many people do many things that seem to be inspired more by a spirit of ostentation than by heartfelt kindness . . . Such a pose is nearer akin to hypocrisy than to generosity or moral goodness.” – Cicero
Think about your inspiration for your kind act.
49. “A forced kindness deserves no thanks.” – Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller wrote in the early 1700s.
50. “If the instinctual and repressed kindness of mankind were suddenly let loose upon the earth, sooner than we think would we be members one of another, sitting around one family hearthstone, and singing the song of the new humanity.” – George Herron
Although this quote is hard to get through, it illustrates the importance of being kind to others — even if it means going outside our comfort zones.
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51. “Kindness can become its own motive. We are made king by being kind.” – Eric Hoffer
Choose to become kind today by doing a kind act.
52. “Whoever is kind to His creatures, God is kind to him.” – Muhammad
This quote makes me smile.
Motivational or Inspiring Quotes About Kindness
We hope these quotes inspire you to be kind to your family, friends, and neighbors. Do you need more inspiration? Keep reading!
53. “Do the thing you believe in. Do the best you can in the place where you are and be kind.” – Scott Nearing
What a beautiful thought! If only the first sentence didn’t end with a preposition!
54. “What is it to practice benevolence? It is to imitate the Deity.” – Publius Syrus
This quote can be found in “Moral Sayings.”
55. “In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;
And passing even into my purer mind,
With tranquil restoration – feelings too
Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,
As have no slight or trivial influence
On that best portion of a good man’s life,
His little, nameless, unremembered, acts
Of kindness and of love.” – William Wordsworth
This quote is from a poem called “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.
56. “Kindness begets kindness.” – Swedish Saying
This succinct quote is the theme of this article.
57. “We live very close together. So, our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” – Dalai Lama
Offer kindness with your words and actions.
58. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else.” – Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol,” “Bleak House,” and other famous Victorian novels.
59. “God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.” – Billy Graham
What acts of kindness are you giving to those around you?
60. “Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm . . . As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was only 63 years old when she died.
61. “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Mother Teresa
Think about this the next time you are sad that you can’t contribute more.
62. “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” – John Andrew Holmes, Jr.
John Andrew Holemes, Jr., was a poet who died in 1962.
Funny Quotes About Kindness
It’s tough to be funny. And it’s difficult to find funny quotes about kindness. So here’s our feeble attempt to make you smile.
63. “Learn to drink the cup of life without stirring up the bottom.” – Carlotta Monterey O’Neill
Sometimes not “stirring up the bottom” is an act of kindness.
64. “Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” – Voltaire
Quote books are full of thoughts by Voltaire.
65. “If you reduce your expectations to zero, life becomes a series of happy surprises.” – Tuck Andres
So, if you don’t expect people to be kind, you might be happily surprised.
66. “Every day is a new beginning and a chance to blow it.” – Cathy Guisewite
Cathy Guisewite wrote the comic strip “Cathy.”
67. “The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere. That’s why so much social life is exhausting.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Do you feel like it is hard to be kind? Then, perhaps this quote speaks to you.
68. “You can’t build a reputation on what you intend to do.” – Liz Smith
If you want a reputation for kindness, you need to complete a few acts.
69. “Humankind can’t stand too much reality.” – T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot is a poet who wrote “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”
70. “The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.” – Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant wore many hats in his lifetime — including pianist, author, actor, and comedian.
71. “We will talk without listening to each other, which is the best way to get along.” – Alfred de Musset
Maybe your act of kindness for today is NOT to listen when you know listening may provoke a fight.
72. “If you want to get your message across, shut up.” – Dr. Mandy Grothe
Sometimes it is kind not to speak.
73. “You never see a fish on a wall with its mouth shut.” – Sally Berger
Being kind sometimes means being quiet.
74. “It is a common delusion that you can make things better by talking about them.” – Dame Rose Macaulay
You will appreciate this quote if you have gone around in circles arguing about something with a friend or family member.
75. “Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” – Josh Billings
Again, sometimes the kindest thing you can do is just be quiet.
76. “March is a windy month. Help out by keeping your yap shut from time to time.” – John Wagner
John Wagner wrote the words for Maxine, the Crabby Lady.
Quotes About Kindness for the Office or Workplace
You may feel the most challenging place to show kindness is in the workplace. It’s easy to become frustrated by incompetence or laziness. Additionally, dealing with clients or customers may also tax your brain.
We know it’s hard. So we want to offer these quotes about being kind to your coworkers, bosses, subordinates, and customers.
77. “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.” – Betty Bender
Betty Bender is an American professor.
78. “Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.” – Colleen C. Barrett
Colleen C. Barrett is an executive with American Airlines.
79. “Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live.” – Margaret Fuller
Don’t forget to live, and be kind, while at work.
80. “The one important thing I have learnt over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking oneself seriously. The first is imperative and the second disastrous.” – Margot Fonteyn
Margot Foteyn was a ballerina.
81. “Work is work, and everything else is everything else.” – Monika Faltiss
Monika Faltiss is an American editor.
82. “When I cannot love, I overlook. Is that real friendship?” – Anais Nin
Perhaps it’ll be easier to be kind at work if you overlook some of your coworkers’ quirks.
83. “As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” – Amy Poehler
Being open to new ideas is important in the workplace too.
84. “My recipe for dealing with anger and frustration: Set the kitchen time for 20 minutes, cry, rant, and rave, and at the sound of the bell, simmer down and go about business as usual.” – Phyllis Diller
This practice may help you be kind at work.
85. “Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.” – Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is the founder of The Children’s Defense Fund.
86. “Don’t be yourself — be someone a little nicer.” – Mignon McLaughlin
We hope this quote made you smile.
87. “I prefer to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.” – Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
How to Make Our World a Better Place
Are you inspired? What are you going to do right now to show kindness to others and make the world a better place?
First, you could share this article on social media. Others will be inspired to share these quotes on their social media pages, and you could create a ripple that would positively affect the world.
Second, you could call or text someone right now who you know needs to hear a kind and encouraging word. Perhaps you could call your grandma. Maybe you could text your widowed aunt. Why don’t you send get well wishes to someone who is fighting an illness or disease?
Next, make an extra effort to be friendly to people who aren’t kind to you. Bring coffee for your grouchy coworker. Leave flowers at the door of a grumpy neighbor. Reach out to an estranged friend or family member. Apologize to someone you treated unfairly.
Finally, be kind to your significant other, children, parents, and siblings. It’s sometimes difficult to be kind to those who leave their dirty socks on the floor or chew their celery in that annoying manner. But remember, you aren’t perfect either.
Let’s do it, America! Let’s change the world one kind act at a time.
