If you know the selfless, rewarding life of caring for another person, then you also know how heavy things can get. That’s true whether you’re a family caregiver or a caregiver working with a patient. Sometimes, just a kind word of support can help us rise above caregiver burnout.
We’re at our best when we’re thinking positively, but that’s not something that always happens spontaneously. Instead, caregivers might find quotes bolster their optimism. Here, 40 inspirational caregiver quotes that could give you just the boost of support you need to keep going.
- “There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.” ― Rosalyn Carter
- “My caregiver mantra is to remember: The only control you have is over the changes you choose to make.” ― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey
- “The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.” ― Carson McCullers, The Square Root of Wonderful
- “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Carl W. Buechner, American theologian
- “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” — Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker
- “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.” — Irish proverb
“There will come a time when your loved one is gone, and you will find comfort in the fact that you were their caregiver.” — Karen Coetzer
- “Sometimes asking for help is the most meaningful example of self-reliance.”— from poem “Sometimes” by U.S. Senator Cory Booker
- “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” — Dalai Lama
- “It is not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.” — Lena Horne, singer
- “Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves.” — Mason Cooley
- “Compassion automatically invites you to relate with people because you no longer regard people as a drain on your energy.” — Chogyam Trungpa
- “We rise by lifting others.” — Robert Ingersoll
- “The disease might hide the person underneath, but there’s still a person in there who needs your love and attention.” — Jamie Calandriello
- “Be determined to handle any challenge in a way that will make you grow.” — Les Brown
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is an attitude.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” — Emory Austin
- “God gave burdens; he also gave shoulders.” — Yiddish Proverb
- “It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.” — Mother Teresa
- “Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.” ― Tia Walker, from The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love
- “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” — Leo Buscaglia, author
- “Kindness can transform someone’s dark moment with a blaze of light. You’ll never know how much your caring matters. Make a difference for another today.” ― Amy Leigh Mercree, author
- “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” ― Tia Walker, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love
- “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” ― Denis Waitley, author
- “No matter what you’ve done for yourself or for humanity, if you can’t look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?” ― Lee Iacocca, businessman
- “Care is a state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness.” ― Rollo May, psychologist
- “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ― Lao Tzu, philosopher
- “Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.” ― Thomas Merton, Trappist monk
- “Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” ― Margaret Mead, anthropologist
- “Caregivers attract caregivers and live in a community of love. They are energized by their caring, fulfilled, and they love life.” ― Gary Zukav, author
- “Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness.” ― Harold Kushner, Rabbi
- “The simple act of caring is heroic.” – Edward Albert, actor
- “One person caring about another represents life’s greatest value.” — Jim Rohn, author
- “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” — Michael J. Fox, actor
- “An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” — G. K. Chesterton
- “You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live.” — Joan Baez
- “Never underestimate your problem or your ability to deal with it.” — Robert H. Schuller
- “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” — Bernice Johnson Reagon
- “Be determined to handle any challenge in a way that will make you grow.” — Les Brown
- “Caregiving is a constant learning experience.” — Vivian Frazier
