33 Kindness Quotes That Will Remind You to Cut Your Coworkers Some Slack

You like your coworkers, but lately, every little thing they do is getting on your last nerve. Likewise, maybe your normally laid-back and easygoing deskmate has been particularly grouchy as of late.

While you may want to lash out at someone—anyone—you know you need to smile, nod, and go with the flow. But even better, you could show kindness and compassion.

Whether you know it or not, the smallest acts of kindness and generosity could be the brightest spot in someone’s day. From simply paying a compliment, being a good Samaritan, performing random acts of kindness and good deeds, and extending your support to another human being, even a tiny gesture can go a long way in helping someone else, even if she's just having a bad day—and can make you feel better as well.

Here are 33 kindness quotes and sayings to remind you of why you should practice compassion and show human kindness.

1. “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” — William Arthur Ward

2. “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” — John Ruskin

3. “Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat people.” — Dennis Prager

4. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop

5. “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” — Princess Diana

6. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” — Barbara De Angelis

7. “We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.” — Ellen DeGeneres

8. “Kindness can come from someone on Twitter, it can come from someone on the street, it can come from someone at work. Without kindness, I don't know what I would do. The greatest part of life is the simple things.” — Andie MacDowell

9. “Everyone responds to kindness.” — Richard Gere

10. “I realized that social media can be a powerful force for good in the world and that acts of kindness can be scaled globally.” — Amy Jo Martin

11. “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau

12. “Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll

13. “Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome.” — Amelia Barr

14. “Kindness is loving people more than they deserve.” — Joseph Joubert

15. “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

16. “It’s not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, event—or rather, especially—when we’d prefer not to be.” — Josh Radnor

18. “Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you wanted to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.” — Ellen DeGeneres

19. “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” — Og Mandino

20. “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” — Lao Tzu

21. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

22. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” — Barbara De Angelis

23. “True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to other.” — Alek Wek

24. “Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll 

25. “Treat everyone with respect and kindness. Period. No exceptions.” — Kiana Tom

26. “You don’t teach morals and ethics and empathy and kindness in the schools. You teach that at home, and children learn by example.” — Judy Sheindlin 

27. “To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.” — Confucius

28. “The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey.” — Sarah Fielding

29. “Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.” — Annie Lennox

30. “Kindness and generous spirit go a long way. And a sense of humor. It’s like medicine—very healing.” — Max Irons

31. “I actually think that the most efficacious way of making a difference is to lead by example and doing random acts of kindness is setting a very good example of how to behave in the world.” — Misha Collins

32. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” — Scott Adams

33. “Constant kindness can accomplish so much. AS the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.” — Albert Schweitzer

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Samantha Smoak is a journalist turned tech public relations professional based in Nashville, Tennessee. For sports jokes and dog pictures, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @samanthaksmoak.