80 Resentment Quotes On Managing Negative Emotions

By Stephanie Kirby

Writer, Entrepreneur and Inspirational quote curator

Published September 22, 2022

We will all be faced with hurt in life, but these resentment quotes show the importance of learning to let go.

There are many ways that we can be hurt in life.

You may have someone that intentionally hurt you or you may have been hurt by someone who has no idea that their actions impacted you.

You could be hurt over situations that are still happening in the present or things that happened years ago.

Forgiveness is hard and many times it doesn’t seem that the other person deserves it.

But these resentment quotes show the dangers of holding onto hurt and why it’s better for you to work on forgiving and moving on.

Don’t forget to also check out these anger quotes to learn from.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Resentment quotes about its dangers

1. “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” – Saint Augustine

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2. “Resentment is like setting yourself on fire and waiting for other people to die of smoke inhalation.” – Diane Cameron

resentment quotes that will encourage you

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3. “Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten.” – John Dryden

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4. “As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff is bad for you.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

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5. “Resentment and bitterness and old grudges were dead things, which rotted the hands that grasped them.” – Winston

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6. “Holding on to anger, resentment and hurt only gives you tense muscles, a headache and a sore jaw from clenching your teeth. Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.” – Joan Lunden

7. “Resentment is nasty. What makes it so ugly is that it has a tendency to turn you, an otherwise kind and reasonable person, into someone who is so angry at their own life situation that it is nearly impossible to recover. Bitterness and resentment make it hard even for the people who love you to be around you.” – Martha Bodyfelt

8. “Resentment is weak and lowers your self-esteem.” – Barbara Sher

9. “Resentment is such an atrocious and sometimes all-consuming emotion. It is one that can literally take a life, usually that of the holder of the resentment.” – Robert Boich

10. “Resentment or grudges do no harm to the person against whom you hold these feelings but every day and every night of your life, they are eating at you.” – Norman Vincent Peale

11. “Resentment is an extremely bitter diet, I have no desire to make my own toxins.” – Neil Kinnock

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Resentment quotes about living with it

12. “Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment.” – Dale Carnegie

13. “Without forgiveness, life is governed by… an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.” – Roberto Assagioli

14. “Many people seem to be carrying their anger and resentment wherever they go like an overstuffed suitcase. It is baggage that weighs them down and demands considerable attention and energy.” – Dan Mager

15. “Anger, resentment and jealousy doesn’t change the heart of others – it only changes you.” – Shannon Alder

16. “It’s not worth the anger. Energy is everything. Be careful where you spend your energy – because you won’t get that time back.” – Tony Gaskins

17. “What we don’t recognize is that holding onto resentment is like holding onto your breath. You’ll soon start to suffocate.” – Deepak Chopra

18. “Something my mum taught me years and years ago, is life’s just too short to carry around a great bucket-load of anger and resentment and bitterness and hatreds and all that sort of stuff.” – Kevin Rudd

19. “Nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

20. “At the heart of all anger, all grudges, and all resentment, you’ll always find a fear that hopes to stay anonymous.” – Donald Hicks

21. “Bitterness and resentment only hurt one person, and it’s not the person we’re resenting – it’s us.” – Alana Stewart

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Resentment quotes about moving past it

22. “Let go of resentment for it will hold you back. Do not worry about what could have been, what is to come is what matters.” – Leon Brown

23. “The superpower that I would choose would be compassion. Because that’s what I think it takes to make it through life and understanding, a give and take. It saves an awful lot of resentment.” – Craig T. Nelson

24. “Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.” – Lawrence G. Lovasik

25. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” – Steve Maraboli

Wise and inspirational resentment quotes

26. “No matter how frustrated, disappointed and discouraged we may feel in the face of our failures, it’s only temporary. And the faster you can stop wallowing in guilt, blame or resentment, the faster you can put it behind you.” – Fabrizio Moreira

27. “Resentment is a mental resistance to, a non-acceptance of, something which has already happened … an emotional rehashing, or re-fighting of some event in the past. You cannot win, because you are attempting to do the impossible–change the past.” – Maxwell Maltz

28. “Hope makes people good, a lot of the time. You hope for a brighter future, and resentment is outweighed.” – Daisy Ridley

29. “Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be responsible for themselves and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress.” – Melody Beattie

Resentment quotes about forgiveness

30. “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” – Corrie Ten Boom

31. “I feel like unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment, it blocks the flows of God’s blessings in life.” – Ja Rule

32. “Forgive those who insult you, attack you, belittle you or take you for granted. But more than this forgive yourself for allowing them to hurt you.” – Unknown

33. “I eventually came to understand that in harboring the anger, the bitterness and resentment towards those that had hurt me, I was giving the reins of control over to them. Forgiving was not about accepting their words and deeds. Forgiving was about letting go and moving on with my life.” – Isabel Lopez

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34. “Forgiveness gives you back the laughter and the lightness in your life.” – Joan Lunden

35. “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Catherine Ponder

36. “I tried to manipulate and control people, and I harbored resentment. I wanted to be forgiven, but I wouldn’t forgive others.” – Lauryn Hill

37. “Forgiveness. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. You are relieved of carrying that burden of resentment. You really are lighter. You feel lighters. You just drop that.” – Maya Angelou

Resentment quotes to enlighten you

38. “The worst resentment that anybody can have is one you feel justified to keep.” – Louis Gossett, Jr.

39. “Non-expectation, non-acceptance because the expectation leads to resentment and depression, so I have no expectations.” – Anthony Hopkins

40. “The resentment of a good man is the hardest thing to bear.” – Publilius Syrus

41. “For years I bore the crippling weight of anger, bitterness and resentment toward those who caused my suffering. Yet as I look back over a spiritual journey that has spanned more than three decades, I realize the same bombs that caused so much pain and suffering also brought me to a place of great healing. Those bombs led me to Jesus Christ.” – Phan Thi Kim Phuc

42. “A long-simmering resentment against the world can burn off more calories than you might imagine.” – Paul Russell

43. “The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.” – Elbert Hubbard

44. “Expectations are resentments waiting to happen.” – Anne Lamott

45. “The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?” – Jack Kornfield

46. “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” – John Wooden

47. “The elimination diet: remove anger, regret, resentment, guilt, blame, and worry. Then watch your health, and life, improve.” – Charles Glassman

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48. “Frankly, many times, the people that we resent either have no idea about it or could care less.” – Taite Adams

49. “Holding a grudge & harboring anger/resentment is poison to the soul. Get even with people … but not those who have hurt us, forget them, instead get even with those who have helped us.” – Steve Maraboli

50. “I think that burnout happens because of resentment. That notion that, ‘I worked 100 hours last week, and I couldn’t even have this thing that I really wanted.’” – Marissa Mayer

More resentment quotes and sayings

51. Resentment can make you bitter rather than encouraging you to be your best.” – Frank Sonnenberg

52. “The best treatment for a virus called resentment is forgiveness.” – Debasish Mridha

53. “Resentment is an emotion based on some kind of a bond, and its next stages are feelings of unfamiliarity and indifference.” – Ch’oe Yun

54. “Resentment is a deadly virus that only infects the host.” – Debasish Mridha

55. “Resentment and bitterness build the cage that only punishes ourselves.” – Jeffrey Fry

56. “Resentment, born of weakness, harms no one more than the weak person himself.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

57. “A life lived mired in resentment is one that is lived primarily in the past and this is never one that is filled with joy.” – Taite Adams

58. “There is enough heartache and sorrow in this life without our adding to it through our own stubbornness, bitterness, and resentment.” – Dieter F. Uchdorf

59. “The secret of how to live without resentment or embarrassment in a world in which I was different from everyone else. was to be indifferent to that difference.” – Al Capp

60. “Once you get to a certain age, if you have resentment towards people, it only affects you.” – Slowthai

Resentment Quotes to Help You Move On

61. “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. ” ― Carrie Fisher

62. “Resentment is often a woman’s inner signal that she has been ignoring an important God-given responsibility – that of making choices.” ― Brenda Waggoner

63. “Never hold resentments for the person who tells you what you need to hear; count them among your truest, most caring, and valuable friends.” ― Mike Norton

64. “Time doesn’t heal all wounds, only distance can lessen the sting of them.” ― Shannon Alder

65. “But love like that doesn’t just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there is always a little love left, underneath. Yes. Horrible, isn’t it?” ― N.K. Jemisin

66. “Because when there is true equality, resentment does not exist.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

67. “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” ― Malachy McCourt

68. “The bittersweet about truth is that nothing could be more hurtful, yet nothing could be more helpful.” ― Mike Norton

69. “His love for her was so deeply woven with resentment that he could not untangle the two.” ― Kim Edwards

70. “Those who are critical don’t like being criticized, and those who are insensitive have a deficiency in their senses.” ― Suzy Kassem

Resentment Quotes To Help You Let It Out

71. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves that allows us to get on with our lives instead of being trapped in the past by resentment.” ― Rick Warren

72. “People carry around resentment for years! And that creates daily stress.” ― Gabrielle Bernstein

73. “When a man feel the reprehension of a friend seconded by his own heart, he is easily heated into resentment.” ― Samuel Johnson

74. “Any act of violence creates resentment and resistance, because humans were meant to be free.” ― Bryant H. McGill

75. “Raw emotions – anger, frustration, bitterness, resentment – are the feelings we tend to hide from people we want to impress but spew on those we love the most.” ― Lysa TerKeurst

76. To bear all kinds of tortures without a murmur of resentment is not possible for a human being without the strength that comes from God.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

77. “Simmering resentment saps energy.” ― Nido R Qubein

78. In the spiritual life one becomes just like a little child, without resentment, without attachment, full of life and joy.” ― Paramahansa Yogananda

79. “Never allow sick attitudes to poison your thinking, nor let ill will make you ill. Avoid making your mind sore by that painful rehurting called resentment.” ― Norman Vincent Peale

80. “Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fear.” ― Susana Martinez

What did you learn from these resentment quotes?

If you’re struggling to forgive a person or situation in your life and move on, these resentment quotes may be just the motivation you need.

However, it doesn’t mean that it will become easier to move on just because you know it’s the right thing to do.

But just because something is hard doesn’t mean it’s not right.

In the long run, as you can see from some of these quotes, it’s actually much harder and worse for you to continue living with resentment in your life.