Sometimes, life brings out the worst in people. Moments of betrayal leave deep marks. Selfish acts can shatter trust and hurt deeply. When words fail, quotes can capture our feelings.
Heartless and selfish quotes speak to the raw emotion of those moments. They echo the pain and help make sense of the hurt. Here is a collection of quotes that reflect on such experiences, offering a voice to the silent pain many have felt.
Timeless Heartless Selfish Quotes
“The only person who deserves a place in your life is someone who never made you feel like an option.” – Unknown
“Sometimes it’s not the people who change, it’s the mask that falls off.” – Haruki Murakami
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“I have given my all, but it was never enough for you.” – Unknown
“The heart of a selfish person is a barren desert, where love struggles to grow.” – Anonymous
“we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“True love begins when nothing is looked for in return.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Your cold heart and my bruised soul – a match made in emptiness.” – Unknown
“He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others.” – Publilius Syrus
“Sometimes, the worst pain comes from those who never cared enough.” – Unknown
“Real love is not based on convenience and selfish intent.” – Unknown
“The more selfish you are, the less human you become.” – Unknown
“In a world full of flowers, don’t be a thorn.” – Unknown
“Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains.” – Unknown
“You never cared; you were just curious. That’s the difference.” – Unknown
“The heart that never loves is the heart that never breaks.” – Tennyson
“We are all selfish and I no more trust myself than others with a good motive.” – Lord Byron
“When you start to care, that’s when they like to disappear.” – Drake
“A selfish heart is its own punishment.” – Unknown
“Selfishness lives loose and unrestrained, tearing down whatever stands in its way.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Your absence is a fiery reminder of your selfishness.” – Unknown
“The heartless never start and the weak die along the way.” – Elliott Hulse
“Love yourself more, they say. But what if I’ve loved myself to the point of emptiness for others?” – Unknown
“Caring for others is an act of taking power from the self.” – Unknown
“A heart made of stone, a soul lost in the void.” – Unknown
“A selfish man is a thief in his own home.” – Unknown
“The love you gave was sweet, but it came from a bitter source.” – Unknown
Famous Quotes on Selfishness and Lack of Empathy
“The world is not a playground. It’s a place where people look out for themselves.” – Nicholas Sparks
“To be selfish is to be self-centered, and empathy is the antidote to such a mindset.” – Jane Austen
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“The world would be a better place if every villain realized they were the villain.” – Unknown
“Your lack of empathy is a reflection of a heart that only beats for itself.” – Paul Coelho
“Selfish people tend to only be good to themselves … then are surprised when they are alone.” – Steve Maraboli
“Selfishness is when someone expects you to be there for them, but they are never there for you.” – Unknown
“If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.” – Dalai Lama
“Selfishness keeps man blind through life.” – Hazrat Inayat Khan
“People who are not empathetic are only living half of a life.” – Unknown
“To be selfish is human, but to lack empathy is to lack humanity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.” – Alfred Adler
“A heart that looks out for only itself is a heart that withers in isolation.” – Kahlil Gibran
“It is not selfish to love yourself. But it is selfish to let that be the only kind of love you know.” – Unknown
“Nothing resembles selfishness more closely than a cynical distrust of human motives.” – George Sand
“We have become so self-centered that we have forgotten the joy of helping others.” – Mother Teresa
“Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself.” – Mohsin Hamid
“You can’t be for ‘me’ only, when your life is about ‘we’.” – Unknown
“Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
“Sometimes the most selfish people are the ones who convince themselves they’re altruistic.” – Neil Gaiman
“The world is full of people who are great at self-interest but low on empathy.” – Charles Dickens
“Selfishness is the root of all evil.” – Anonymous
“To lack empathy is to walk through life in darkness, forever ignorant of the color and light others bring.” – Lorraine Hansberry
“Selfishness is easy. It is sharing that presents the real challenge.” – Fred Rogers
“A soul that is solely invested in itself is a barren, lifeless land.” – Unknown
“It is easier to be selfish if you have never known pain.” – Anne Rice
“Those who lack empathy will inevitably find themselves isolated in their own world.” – Robin Sharma
Insightful Selfish Quotes from Literature
“The worst kind of selfishness is the one without acknowledgment.” – Oscar Wilde
“As selfishness and complaint pervert and cloud the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.” – Helen Keller
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – George Bernard Shaw
“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” – Benjamin Franklin
“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” – Albert Camus
“There are two kinds of selfish people: those who say ‘I will live my life in my own way,’ and those who say ‘You will live your life in my way.'” – Mary Renault
“Selfishness comes from poverty in the heart, from the belief that love is not abundant and ample for all.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
“Love yourself unabashedly, but do not fall in love with your reflection alone.” – J.K. Rowling
“In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, it is extinction.” – David Mitchell
“Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.” – Gene Fowler
“Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” – William E. Gladstone
“The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone.” – Ayn Rand
“The tyrant is a child of Pride who drinks from his own reflection until he is drunk with darkness.” – Sophocles
“Sometimes, being selfish is necessary for survival, but selfishness should never be confused with self-love.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“The difference between self-love and selfishness is night and day; one nourishes you while the other starves everyone else.” – Atticus Finch
“People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.” – Kim Culbertson
“Selfishness at the expense of others is not worth the price you pay for your own peace of mind.” – Dalai Lama
“You may be able to deceive yourself, but never confuse selfishness with strength.” – Fyodor Dostoevsky
“All selfish people are eloquent on behalf of themselves.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
“Self-love is not selfish; you cannot truly love another until you know how to love yourself.” – Charles Bukowski
“If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another.” – Buddha
“Selfishness is not about living our life by our standards. It is about requiring others to live their life by ours.” – Richard Paul Evans
“Those who love themselves too much themselves are rarely loved by others.” – Jane Austen
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” – Dr. Seuss
“In every individual, there exists the balance of light and shadow; to be selfish is to let the shadow consume the entirety.” – Rumi
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
“Selfishness is a virtue to the one who seeks only their reflection and a vice to the one who seeks for humanity.” – Christopher Paolini
Powerful Quotes Reflecting Selfish Attitude
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.” – Jackie Mason
“Selfish people often mistake selfishness for strength. It takes no talent, no intelligence, no self-control, and no effort to sacrifice other people for your ego.” – Unknown
“Because you are a selfish, greedy man! All you need in life is yourself.” – Unknown
“Selfishness comes from poverty in the heart, from the belief that love is not abundant.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
“Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
“To be happy oneself it is necessary to make at least one other person happy.” – Theodor Reik
“Selfish persons are incapable of loving others, but they are not capable of loving themselves either.” – Erich Fromm
“You’re born alone and you die alone. The rest is yours to fill in the gap.” – Kanye West
“Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough.” – Donald Trump
“Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” – William E. Gladstone
“I am constantly overestimating the power of being selfish.” – Carrie Fisher
“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places.” – Bryant H. McGill
“If I only did what I wanted, there would be nothing left of others.” – Rebecca West
“An individualist is one who is free enough to have no obligations and selfish enough to fulfill none.” – Ivy Compton-Burnett
“It’s human nature to be selfish, and therefore, it takes a great effort to be selfless.” – Tony Hsieh
“Selfish people are in a way terribly capable of great loves.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Wanting someone else to feel what you feel is perhaps the most selfish desire.” – Unknown
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“My world revolves around me, myself and I.” – Unknown
“You can’t go through life expecting everyone to hold your hand. Sometimes, you just have to find your own way.” – Unknown
“We all should rise, but because of selfishness, we only want to see ourselves rise.” – Unknown
“Constraint yourself to elevate others – what a novel concept, forgotten in the labyrinth of self-indulgent pursuits.” – Unknown
“He who lives only to benefit himself confers on the world a benefit when he dies.” – Tertullian
“A person wrapped up in themselves makes a small package.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick
Motivational Quotes to Discourage Selfishness
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” – Albert Schweitzer
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” – John Holmes
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” – Mother Teresa
“Give, even if you only have a little.” – Buddha
“Happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but from what we give.” – Ben Carson
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” – John Bunyan
“The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain
“Selflessness. It should be the basis of every relationship.” – Unknown
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We rise by lifting others.” – Robert Ingersoll
“The greatest joy in life comes from empowering others.” – Elliott Hulse
“True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice.” – Sadhu Vaswani
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.” – Kahlil Gibran
“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time, your attention, your love, your concern.” – Joel Osteen
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso
“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein
“Your greatness is not what you have, but in what you give.” – Alice Hocker
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran
“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington
“Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier.” – Albert Schweitzer
“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Heartless Quotes From Historical Figures
“The only way to deal with this life – is to be utterly selfish.” – Ayn Rand
“What do I care about the lives of others? I only care about power.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“People are like sheep; they follow without thinking, and they deserve what they get.” – Joseph Stalin
“In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.” – Isaac Newton
“No one regrets being selfish; it’s often a path to success.” – Oscar Wilde
“If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.” – Machiavelli
“Sometimes you have to use people to reach your goals.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Success is more about being ruthless than being right.” – Alexander the Great
“Nothing personal, it’s just business.” – Donald Trump
“The world is yours for the taking, forget the rest.” – Julius Caesar
“Morality is for the weak; strength knows no rules.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“There’s nothing wrong with putting yourself first; no one else will.” – Madonna
“It is not enough to succeed; others must fail.” – Gore Vidal
“I have no friends, but my close relations with time and power.” – Adolf Hitler
“Empathy is just another word for distraction.” – Joseph Stalin
“The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.” – Red Auerbach
“When I want something, I take it without hesitation.” – Alexander the Great
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” – Thucydides
“It’s every man for himself in this world.” – John D. Rockefeller
“People exist to be used; get that right and you’ll go far.” – Genghis Khan
“He who has the gold makes the rules.” – Jesús Gil
“I owe the public nothing.” – J.P. Morgan
“Compassion is the enemy of ambition and success.” – Karl Lagerfeld
“One is never too rich to ignore the needs of the poor.” – Imelda Marcos
“it’s all about profit.” – Donald Trump
Selfish Quotes in Pop Culture
“I had to do what’s best for me, even if it means hurting you.” – Unknown
“All men are selfish, and I most of all.” – George R.R. Martin
“Self love is not so vile a sin as self-neglecting.” – William Shakespeare
“I’m not heartless, I’ve just learned how to use my heart less.” – Kanye West
“The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“it’s every man for himself.” – Titanic
“People are quick to accuse you of being selfish. But it’s important to take care of yourself first.” – Beyoncé
“The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” – Mark Twain
“I’m ruthless, toothless, and selfish for truth.” – Eminem
“I cannot compromise my principles for anyone else’s comfort.” – Ayn Rand
“I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you said I couldn’t.” – Unknown
“Everyone has a selfish side, but there are those who disguise it better than others.” – Unknown
“The only person you can trust is yourself.” – Veronica Roth
“Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“I love myself more than I love anyone else.” – Unknown
“The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you’ll tolerate.” – Unknown
“Ego is the only requirement to destroy any relationship.” – Amr Khaled
“I can’t please everyone, and I don’t try to.” – Beyoncé
“I’m not responsible for your happiness.” – Unknown
“The only person that can save you is you.” – Shonda Rhimes
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“You have to learn how to care about people without taking on all of their problems.” – Phylicia Rashad
“I am not what you expected, but what you needed.” – Unknown
“Be selfish with your time – a lot of people don’t deserve it.” – Unknown
“I’m not a second option, you either choose me or lose me.” – Unknown
“Sometimes you have to be your own hero.” – Unknown
“It is not love that should be depicted as blind, but self-love.” – Voltaire
The Last Word
These “Heartless Selfish Quotes” offer a stark reflection on human nature. They remind us how selfish actions can impact relationships and life choices. By understanding these perspectives, we can recognize similar behaviors around us and strive to be more compassionate and thoughtful.
Exploring these quotes may feel tough, but it’s crucial for personal growth. They serve as a reminder that while self-interest is part of human nature, balance and empathy are key for meaningful connections. We hope these quotes give you insights to reflect on and perhaps even inspire positive change.
