Please Take Care of Yourself Quotes: Gentle Lines to Send Someone You Love
You can see a friend running on empty, and you want to say something, but “take care” sounds like the end of an email.
If you’re like me, you end up sending a heart emoji and hoping they understand.
A good quote can say it better, as long as it’s real, because a misattributed line has a way of turning up in the comments.
So every quote below is traced to its book, poem, letter, or speech, and the source is right there next to it.
I’ve also written a few plain messages of my own for the times a quote feels like too much, and the famous lines that turned out to be misattributed are at the end.
For Someone Who’s Exhausted
“Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.” Max Ehrmann, “Desiderata” (1927). Posters often date it to 1692, which is a myth.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28, King James Version.
“Are you tired? Worn out? … I’ll show you how to take a real rest … Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” Matthew 11:28–29, in Eugene Peterson’s The Message.
The Desiderata line is the one I’d write in a card, because “you have a right to be here” is exactly what a tired person needs to hear.
For Someone Who Needs to Rest
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means waste of time.” John Lubbock, The Use of Life (1894). Most quote sites add “a” before “waste,” but the original doesn’t have it.
“Men’s minds ought to have relaxation: they rise up better and more vigorous after rest.” Seneca, “Of Peace of Mind,” chapter 17, in Aubrey Stewart’s translation (1889).
“Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, … Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, / Chief nourisher in life’s feast.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2.
The Lubbock line is my favourite permission slip for a lazy afternoon, written by a Victorian banker and scientist, of all people.
For Someone Going Through Something Hard
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.” Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, Letter Four (1903), in M.D. Herter Norton’s translation.
“For a time / I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things,” from Openings (1968).
“The time will come / when, with elation, / you will greet yourself arriving / at your own door.” Derek Walcott, “Love After Love,” from Sea Grapes (1976).
The Walcott poem is short and worth reading in full, and the last line, “Sit. Feast on your life,” is one of the kindest instructions I know.
Why Taking Care of Yourself Matters
“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847), chapter 27.
“While fixing and saving and trying to rescue is futile, radical self-care is quantum, and it radiates out from you into the atmosphere like a little fresh air. It’s a huge gift to the world.” Anne Lamott, from her TED talk “12 truths I learned from life and writing” (2017).
“Searching all directions / with your awareness, / you find no one dearer / than yourself.” The Buddha, Mallikā Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 3.8), in Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation.
The Lamott line is the one I send to friends who are busy looking after everyone except themselves, which is most of my friends, and sometimes me.
If you’d like more on this, I wrote about how to make yourself a priority without feeling selfish.
Gentle Messages of My Own
Sometimes a quote feels too formal, and you just want to say it plainly.
These are mine, not quotes, so feel free to borrow and change them.
“Please take care of yourself this week. Eat something warm, go to bed early, and let the rest wait.”
“You’ve been looking after everyone. Who’s looking after you? Let me bring dinner on Thursday.”
“No need to reply. Just wanted you to know I’m thinking of you, and you’re allowed to rest.”
“Be as kind to yourself today as you always are to everyone else.”
“Whatever you didn’t get done today can wait. You can’t.”
A message that offers something specific, like a meal or a walk, is often easier to accept than “let me know if you need anything.”
Short Ones for Captions
“Be excessively gentle with yourself.” John O’Donohue, “For One Who Is Exhausted,” To Bless the Space Between Us (2008).
“You do not have to be good.” Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese,” Dream Work (1986).
“Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.” Mark 6:31, King James Version.
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” Psalm 23:2, King James Version.
The O’Donohue line is the one I’d choose for a caption, because “excessively” is such a generous word to use about gentleness.
The Famous Ones I Couldn’t Verify
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” Usually credited to the Buddha, but these are Sharon Salzberg’s own words from her book Lovingkindness (1995), paraphrasing his teaching. The canonical line is the Mallikā Sutta quote above.
“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” Credited to Eleanor Brownn online, but I couldn’t find a book or dated original.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup.” A lovely modern saying with no known author.
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” Credited to Lucille Ball, but there’s no primary source for it.
You can still use any of these, just without the famous name.
And Remember
That heart emoji you were about to send is fine, but you can say more.
Pick one line, add one specific offer, like a meal or a walk, and send it today.
And if you’re the one who needs to hear it, this is me saying it: please take care of yourself.
For more on looking after yourself, my best self care quotes and self healing quotes are good company.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good quote to tell someone to take care of themselves? “Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here,” from Max Ehrmann’s “Desiderata” (1927), and “Be excessively gentle with yourself” from John O’Donohue are both warm and well-sourced.
How do you say “take care of yourself” in a nice way? Make it specific and kind, for example “Please take care of yourself this week. Eat something warm, go to bed early, and let the rest wait,” or offer something concrete, like bringing dinner.
Who said “You can’t pour from an empty cup”? Nobody knows. It’s a popular modern saying with no known original author.
What is a short take care of yourself quote? “Be excessively gentle with yourself” (John O’Donohue), “You do not have to be good” (Mary Oliver), or “Come ye yourselves apart … and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).
Did the Buddha say “You yourself deserve your love and affection”? Not in those words. It’s Sharon Salzberg’s paraphrase in Lovingkindness (1995). The closest original teaching is in the Mallikā Sutta: “you find no one dearer than yourself.”