You’ve been wronged. You’re angry. Upset. Mad as hell. Maybe it’s a friend, colleague, partner, or family member who’s to blame.
You want them to know how hurt you feel. But here’s the thing: In these moments, you have a choice that will define you as a person. Will you live with hate, or will you rid yourself of it and live a free life? The following quotes about being the bigger person will show you that you’re better off letting it go.
1. “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.” – Robert Brault
2. “When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.” – Patrick Stump
3. “Pay no attention to what critics say. A statue has never been erected to a critic.” – Jean Sibelius
4. “Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does.” – Sukhraj S. Dhillon
5. “Be nice to everyone, even those who keep hurting you. It confuses them to see you happy even after they tried to rip you apart.” – Tshepo Koos Maluleke
6. “Being the bigger person in a situation requires humility and restraint.” – Aimee Vernon
7. “Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it.” – Rene Descartes
8. “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” – Dita Von Tesse
9. “Opening your heart and being courageous and telling people that you care about them or like them or that you think they’re special only makes you a better, bigger, kinder, softer, more loving person, and only attracts more love into your life.” – Amy Poehler
10. “That’s the best revenge of all: happiness. Nothing drives people crazier than seeing someone have a good fucking life.” – Chuck Palahniuk
11. “Respect is not an obligation nor a favour. It takes a bigger person to give or show some, whether it is returned or not.” – Unarine Ramaru
12. “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” – Mark Twain
13. “We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.” – Abraham Lincoln
14. “Just about every human being can reflect on his or her past and say, ‘I learned from that hardship. I didn’t think I would at the time, but I’m a bigger and better person for having endured it and persevered.’” – Lee Strobel
15. “In small arguments, it isn’t about who is right or wrong but who can be the bigger person.” – David Cuschieri
16. “Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” – Dave Willis
17. “When faced with senseless drama, spiteful criticisms, and misguided opinions, walking away is the best way to stand up for yourself. To respond with anger is an endorsement of their attitude.” – Dodinsky
18. “How beautiful it is to stay silent when someone expects you to be enraged!” – Rachel Wolchin
19. “The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.” – D.L. Moody
20. “Be the bigger person. Let arguments go; not bigger in the sense of pride or knowledge, but to back down, be humble and apologize if needed. Ask yourself before arguing: Who are you trying to prove yourself to? The Almighty knows what’s in your heart; so who else matters? Nobody!” – Urooj Baloch
21. “Whenever you think of the way that someone has wronged, you wish a blessing upon them instead of blaming them and stay as positive as possible.” – Anurag Prakash Ray
22. “The way to beat them is to stop fighting them.” – Miranda Bailey
23. “You don’t have to knock anyone off their game to win yours. It doesn’t build you up to tear others down.” – Mandy Hale
24. “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.” – Marcus Aurelius
25. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
26. “When you forgive those that hurt you, they no longer have control over your future happiness. Their anger keeps them a prisoner to your past while you enjoy the present.” – Zakiya Caswell
27. “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer
28. “Love people who hate you. Pray for people who have wronged you. It won’t just change their life…it’ll change yours.” – Mandy Hale
29. “Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he or she treats a person who can do them absolutely no good.” – Ann Landers
30. “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.” – Goi Nasu
31. “Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he or she treats a person who can do them absolutely no good.” – Ann Landers
32. “An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.” – Goi Nasu