70 Rupi Kaur Quotes on Self Love and Life

Some of the wisest words ever said have come from the minds of those who are still so young.

Our latest collection of Rupi Kaur quotes on Everyday Power Blog are full of beauty, wisdom, and inspiration, and you’ll love each and every one of them.

Rupi Kaur is an Indian born Canadian poet, writer, illustrator, and performer who first rose to fame on Instagram and Tumblr (see Tumblr quotes) sharing her short visual poetry.

She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator best known for her two collections of poetry – Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers.

Milk and Honey is internationally acclaimed and has sold over a million copies.

Besides, the remarkable poetry collection spent dozens of weeks on The New York Times’ bestseller lists and has since been translated into over thirty languages.

Born on October 4, 1992, in Punjab, India, Kaur and her parents immigrated to Toronto, Canada when she was a child.

She inherited her love of art from her mother and started drawing at the age of five.

Kaur’s work addresses subjects such as feminism, love, domestic abuse,  violence and more.

Still only in her mid-twenties, Kaur has clearly managed to tap into her Everyday Power.

She has proved to be a great poet and a total success despite her young age.

In that respect, here are some thought-provoking Rupi Kaur quotes that will inspire you to love yourself more and live your best life.

Remember to also read our collection of rose quotes that will inspire you and encourage growth in your life.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.

Rupi Kaur quotes on self-love and life

1. “Loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself.” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Love who you are, and be comfortable with your own company. If you are feeling lonely, try looking inward and see what need you have that is not being met.

2. “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Self-love translates into other things like self-respect, self-worth, and self-esteem. We teach people how to treat us through what we accept and the boundaries we set. The higher you self-worth the less crap you are likely to put up with from others.

3. “You do not just wake up and become the butterfly—growth is a process” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Everyone wants to talk about how pretty the butterfly is or how lucky the successful person is. However, no one wants to talk about the painful process of transforming yourself into something new. It is hard, painful, and uncomfortable. However, if you can do it, the results are spectacular! 

4. “People go but how they left always stays” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Nothing is permanent, not even the presence of people we love. Even the people who are supposed to love us unconditionally and forever do not always stay in our lives. Accepting this can make their absence easier to handle, but how they left will stick with you.

5. “You must want to spend the rest of your life with yourself first” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: It might sound trite, but you really do have to love yourself before you love anyone else. Rupi puts this into perspective: how can you imagine spending your life with someone you love, if you don’t love yourself to that degree?

6. “Trust your body it reacts to right and wrong better than your mind does” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s term for the sensation in our body that tells us when a choice feels wrong or right is “somatic marker.” Think about that pit in your stomach when you are doing something you know is not right. Your body has already processed this before your mind can apply rational thought to the situation. 

7. “We have been dying since we got here and forgot to enjoy the view- live fully” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Life is fragile and can end at any age. From the moment we are born, we begin our journey to the end. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us, and it is important that we are grateful for every moment. Beyond that, we also need to take care of ourselves, experience things, and spend time with the people who matter.

8. “What is stronger than the human heart which shatters over and over and still lives.”― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: There are so many ways in this life that your heart can break. And yet, it heals and the capacity to keep going. We have the ability to choose to love, trust, and feel empathy despite having our hearts crushed. This is true strength. The ability to love and not become bitter.

9. “It isn’t what we left behind that breaks me it’s whatever we could’ve built had we stayed” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: This comment is incredibly sad, but what we can take from it is the importance of living in the moment. Focusing on the the past and what might have been will break you, if you let it. The past provides us with an opportunity to learn and then move on. Similarly, focusing on what might have been in the future will keep you from experiencing and seeing the things in front of you. Bottom line…don’t let the past or the future break you. Learn to exist in the moment that is now.

10. “The right one does not stand in your way they make space for you to step forward” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Be with someone who understands and supports you. The person in your life should not hold you back or stand in your way. They should be your biggest champion. And you should be theirs.

You will also enjoy our article on short inspirational poems.

Thought-provoking Rupi Kaur quotes

11. “Our backs tell stories no books have the spine to carry” ― Rupi Kaur

12. “Trying to convince myself I am allowed to take up space is like writing with my left hand when I was born to use my right” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: First, you are allowed to take up space. Use all the space! Convincing yourself might feel uncomfortable and unnatural. However, it is a truth you need to keep telling yourself!

13. “The world gives you so much pain and here you are making gold out of it – there is nothing purer than that” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Unfortunately, pain is something we will all deal with, in one way or another. How we handle the storms of our life matters more than just about anything else. You can not stop all the pain that life will bring you, but you can learn to adapt, cope, and move forward in a better way. And that is one of the purest and most powerful lessons we can learn as humans.

14. “A lot of times we are angry at other people for not doing what we should have done for ourselves.” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: You might get angry at someone for not respecting you, being honest with you, or caring for you in the way you deserve. However, each of these things are things that we should be doing for ourselves. Self-respect, being honest with yourself, and taking care of your needs are all things we should do for ourselves. The impact that doing these things has on our lives and relationships is massive! 

15. “The thing worth holding onto would not have let go” ― Rupi Kaur

16. “Why is it that when the story ends we begin to feel all of it” ― Rupi Kaur

17. “That is the thing about selfish people. They gamble entire beings. Entire souls to please their own.” ― Rupi Kaur

18. “I was music but you had your ears cut off.” ― Rupi Kaur

19. “I thank the universe for taking everything it has taken and giving to me everything it is giving -balance” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: The Christian equivalent of this phrase is, “The good Lord giveth, and the good Lord taketh away.” In truth, this is just another philosophy about balance. Balance in our experiences (positive and negative) helps us grow. The losses help us appreciate the wins. Each win becomes more sweet because we know what the other side looks like. We learn to live our lives fully.

20. “You have sadness living in places sadness shouldn’t live” ― Rupi Kaur

You might also like these inspirational Dorothy Parker quotes to uncover life’s secrets.

Rupi Kaur quotes for Women

21. “I want to apologize to all the women I have called beautiful
before I’ve called them intelligent or brave
I am sorry I made it sound as though
something as simple as what you’re born with
is all you have to be proud of
when you have broken mountains with your wit
from now on I will say things like
you are resilient, or you are extraordinary
not because I don’t think you’re beautiful
but because I need you to know
you are more than that” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: Women, and really everyone, are all of these things. However, women learn at a young age that there worth is correlated to how conventionally attractive they are. There is so much more to women then their beauty, which is subjective, and based on the opinion of someone else. If you want to give your daughter, wife, sister, or any female in your life a meaningful compliment, let them know what things you appreciate about them that are not associated with their looks.

22. “Other women’s bodies are not our battlegrounds” ― Rupi Kaur

23. “My heart aches for sisters more than anything it aches for women helping women like flowers ache for spring” ― Rupi Kaur

24. “She was a rose in the hands of those who had no intention of keeping her” ― Rupi Kaur

25. “When you are broken and he has left you do not question whether you were enough the problem was you were so enough he was not able to carry it” ― Rupi Kaur

26. “We all move forward when we recognize how resilient and striking the women around us are” ― Rupi Kaur

27. “The next time he points out the hair on your legs is growing back remind that boy your body is not his home he is a guest warn him to never outstep his welcome again”― Rupi Kaur

28. “I could be anything in the world but I wanted to be his”― Rupi Kaur

29. “Growing up, I naturally embraced who I was, but I was always battling with myself. So I spent half my time being proud of being a woman and the other half completely hating it.”- Rupi Kaur

30. “I am made of water, of course, I am emotional” ― Rupi Kaur

If you enjoyed this article, read our collection of Rumi quotes on life, love and strength that will inspire you.

Inspirational Rupi Kaur quotes

31. “The kindest words my father said to me: ‘Women like you drown oceans.’”― Rupi Kaur

32. “Let it go, let it leave, let it happen. Nothing in this world was promised or belonged to you anyway.” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: The world owes us nothing. We are not permanent in this world, and the things we think belong to us, can cease being ours at any moment. If someone (or something) leaves, then let them (it) go! It just means it was not meant for you. Believe in yourself, even when it is painful.

33. “My heart is beating, and I’m breathing, and nothing anybody has ever done has changed that.” – Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: As long as there is blood pumping through your heart and oxygen filling your lungs, then you have a chance to be whoever you want to be. You have the opportunity to be grateful for your life, and the chance to correct any mistakes. The negative opinions or thoughts of others should not take any of those things away from you!

34. “Despite knowing they won’t be here for long they still choose to live their brightest lives – sunflowers”― Rupi Kaur

35. “Do not bother holding onto that thing that does not want you-you cannot make it stay”― Rupi Kaur

36. “I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you, I left because the longer I stayed the less I loved myself.” ― Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: This can be one of the hardest truths to recognize. Sometimes the people we love are just not good for us. This could be romantic partners or even our family members. If you love someone who is toxic and unhealthy for you, be brave enough to sever those ties so you can live the life you were meant to!

37. “There is a difference between someone telling you they love you and them actually loving you”― Rupi Kaur

38. “I will no longer compare my path to others-I refuse to do a disservice to my life” ― Rupi Kaur

39. “If I’m not the love of your life I’ll be the greatest loss instead” ― Rupi Kaur

40. “I think I finally overcame my self-esteem and confidence issues at around 20.” – Rupi Kaur

You will also enjoy our article on love yourself quotes.

Other beautiful Rupi Kaur quotes

41. “Do not look for healing at the feet of those who broke you”― Rupi Kaur

42. “Truth, honesty, empowerment – it’s what I want for myself and my readers.” – Rupi Kaur

43. “I want to leave behind a literary legacy.” – Rupi Kaur

44. “I did not start out thinking I’m going to become a feminist poet. It was a tag I was given.” –  Rupi Kaur

45. “I grew up thinking I was going to change the world, but not because I was treated like a special snowflake. It’s a silly label. People are starving. We need to feed them. That’s the end of the conversation.” – Rupi Kaur

46. “Give to those who have nothing to give to you ” ― Rupi Kaur

47. “We began with honesty let us end in it too – us” ― Rupi Kaur

48. “It isn’t blood that makes you my sister
it’s how you understand my heart
as though you carry it
in your body” ― Rupi Kaur

49. “If you are not enough for yourself you will never be enough for someone else” ― Rupi Kaur

50. “And here you are living despite it all” ― Rupi Kaur

More Rupi Kaur quotes and sayings

51. “If you were born with the weakness to fall you were born with the strength to rise.” – Rupi Kaur

52. “We need more love not from men but from ourselves and each other.” – Rupi Kaur

53. “Really, at the end of the day, the only thing you can control is yourself; the only person you can truly educate is yourself. You have to redefine what beauty is to you so you can’t be affected by what people are saying.” – Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: It does not matter what other people think of you. What matters is who you are and what you think of yourself. You define what beauty is. You get to determine how you measure success. This is your life and you get to live it.

54. “I’m a new person every month always becoming and unbecoming only to become again.” – Rupi Kaur

55. “For if we can’t learn to be kind to each other how will we ever learn to be kind to the most desperate parts of ourselves.” – Rupi Kaur

56. “Life does not stop for anybody it drags you by the legs whether you want to move forward or not that is the gift.” – Rupi Kaur

57. “You have everything to gain from believing in yourself yet you spend all your time with self-doubt.” – Rupi Kaur

Everyday Application: What do you have to gain from believing in yourself? Well, with confidence comes the ability to take action and risks. It is one thing to have a dream. It is another to know you can do what you set your mind to and use that confidence to actually do the work required to make your dreams come true.

58. “Rise said the moon and the new day came the show must go on said the sun life does not stop for anybody it drags you by the legs whether you want to move forward or not.” – Rupi Kaur

59. “Wish pure love and soft peace upon the ones who’ve been unkind to you and keep moving forward.” – Rupi Kaur

60. “Don’t let us convince you that sacrificing yourself is how you must show love.” – Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur Quotes to Believe in Yourself

61. “I know I should crumble for better reasons but have you seen that boy he brings the sun to its knees every night.” ― Rupi Kaur
62. “Look down at your body whisper there is no home like you.” ― Rupi Kaur
63. “After feeling disconnected for so long my mind and body are finally coming back to each other.” ― Rupi Kaur
64. “I will never have this version of me again let me slow down and be with her – always evolving.” ― Rupi Kaur
65. “When snow falls I long for grass when grass grows I walk all over it when leaves change color i long for flowers when flowers bloom I pick them -unappreciative” ― Rupi Kaur
66. “You are lonely but you are not alone – there is a difference.” ― Rupi Kaur
67. “Don’t mistake salt with sugar if he wants to be with you he will it’s that simple.” ― Rupi Kaur
68. “Like the rainbow after the rain joy will reveal itself after sorrow.” ― Rupi Kaur
69. You might not have been my first love but you were the love that made all the other loves irrelevant.” ― Rupi Kaur
70. “What is the greatest lesson a woman should learn that since day one she’s already had everything she needs within herself it’s the world that convinced her she did not.” ― Rupi Kaur

Which of these Rupi Kaur quotes was your favorite?

Rupi Kaur has proven to be a great poet and a total success despite her young age.

She has performed her poetry across the world and continues to amaze with her ability to put thoughts into words in the most inspiring ways.

Hopefully, these quotes have given you hope and inspired you to celebrate life and to never give up.

Did you enjoy these Rupi Kaur quotes?

Which of the quotes was your favorite?

Tell us in the comment section below.

We would love to hear all about it.