Resentment is a feeling close to hatred and resentment . When we feel resentment towards someone who hurt or humiliated us in the past, we discard the possibility of forgiveness and remain anchored in that which caused us pain.

Like any human feeling, resentment can be adaptive. However, taking it too far can have a boomerang effect and not let us take flight and be happy on our own.

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Famous phrases of rancor, resentment and hate

Many writers and thinkers of history have uttered amazing phrases of rancor , reflecting on this unpleasant emotion that emanates from hatred and resentment.

In this article we have collected all these famous quotes to invite you to analyze the grudge and make positive decisions for your future.

1. Resentment is a bottomless pit. Or a boundless burning moor. (Miguel Gutiérrez)

A phrase of poetic rancor that invites us to reflect.

2. You couldn’t be full of hate and be beautiful. Like any girl, I wanted to be beautiful. But I was full of hate. (Alice Sebold)

The grudge from the female perspective. An extract from “Afortunada”, published in 1999.

3. Life is spiteful and unforgiving, but – despite everything – it is worth it. (Monica Carrillo)

A thought from the Spanish writer and journalist.

4. This city is not appeased by fire, this laurel with a grudge is not cut down. This rosebush without fortune, this lavender with joy exhales. (Miguel Hernández)

A poem by the great Spanish writer.

5. A grudge is the lockbox of evil. (Miguel Mihura)

The anteroom of hate, the progeny of aggression. Phrase of the great Miguel Mihura.

6. The last few weeks have refreshed some of my grudges. Or maybe they’ve gotten stale. (Xavier Velasco)

A feeling that rots the more we let it live in our minds.

7. A grudge may be an adaptive feeling until we realize that it affects our self-esteem. (Jonathan Garcia-Allen)

Reflection of the Catalan psychologist and writer.

8. Our resentment stems from the fact that we have fallen below our means without being able to reach ourselves. And we will never forgive others for that. (Emil Cioran)

Self-concept and the way we compare ourselves to others are the genesis of rancor and resentment.

9. To live happily, one must live without resentment. (Yasmina Khadra)

The Algerian writer leaves us a maxim that we should take very much into account.

10. It is not possible to fly back if we are anchored to the ground in resentment. (Adrian Triglia)

Reflection of the Spanish social psychologist and writer.

11. One reason I didn’t hold a grudge or have bad feelings for Dad must have been that my mother rarely blamed him; at least she didn’t do it in front of us or so that we would listen. (Ben Carson)

Childhood is a key stage in understanding why we are prone to hold this resentment towards others.

12. Memory that doesn’t forget, rancor that doesn’t go away. (Hernán Cortés)

Sometimes it is preferable to forgive and start from scratch.

13. Resentment drowns us, forgiveness oxygenates us. (Krishnamurti)

A metaphor for learning to forgive.

14. Forgetting things is the worst thing that can happen to you, I remember everything. What I do not keep is a grudge, because things happen and that’s it, period. I think you have to be positive, always look ahead and think that what is coming is always better than what has happened. (Víctor Manuel)

A cheerful and positive look at the issue of personal quarrels and the past.

15. He felt no resentment towards society because he did not belong to it. (Charles Bukowski)

Always irreverent, the German author.

16. A grudge pilots your soul when it yields to forgiveness. (Guy Fields)

Another phrase of rancor that contrasts this feeling with the art of Ho’ponopono.

17. How quickly we forget the grudge when that person has something that interests us. (Anonymous)

Certainly, our mind deceives us to be more understanding and forgiving of those with whom we have no choice but to cooperate.

18. No hard feelings, but I don’t have amnesia either. (Anonymous)

Not being spiteful doesn’t mean not being aware of the past.

19. The grudge is only a sign of the presence of memories. (Anonymous)

A sign that we do not forget the past and that it continues to anchor us to certain negative and limiting feelings.

20. If you’re not dead yet, excuse me. A grudge is dense, it is worldly; leave it on earth: die lightly. (Jean-Paul Sartre)

A phrase of bitterness from the exceptional French philosopher.

21. Christianity has in its very essence the rancor of the sick, the instinct against what is healthy, against health. Everything that is well built, proud, brave, and above all beautiful offends its ears and eyes. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

A critique by the German philosopher of the Christian belief system.

22. Greatness inspires envy, spite and spite lies. (J.K. Rowling)

The author of Harry Potter talks like this about resentment.

23. A grudge is like taking poison and expecting it to kill your enemies. (Nelson Mandela)

Unfortunately, it only hurts you.

24. ‘He has insulted me; he has wounded me; he has defeated me; he has robbed me’… In those who harbor such grudges, the hatred never ceases. (Buddha)

The spiritual leader Buddha talks like this about resentment and hatred.

25. Nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

A direct highway to emotional and existential crisis.

26. If you hold a grudge against someone else, you destroy the bridge with which God will come to seek you. (Peter Marshall)

A religious view on resentment and hatred and their negative effects.

27. He who requires much of himself and very little of others, will keep himself as the object of resentment. (Confucius)

Having a very high self-concept can border on narcissism.

28. Oh, grudge! Too old for youth so tender… (William Shakespeare)

Here are 73 more lines from William Shakespeare.

29. Anger will disappear as soon as the thoughts of rancor are forgotten. (John Dryden)

Another famous quote that invites us to get rid of the burden of hate and resentment.

30. Damn grudge, I spent the best years of my life concentrating on the pain of the past, instead of focusing on the happiness of the present… (Walter Riso)

The Latin American writer laments that he has focused his mind on the negative.

31. A coach is someone who can make a correction without causing resentment. (John Wooden)

The forerunner of basketball had this vision of the role of the coach.

32. The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there? (Jack Kornfield)

A nice phrase to think about and change our lives with.

33. Where there’s a grudge there are memories. (Mastretta Angels)

It is virtually impossible not to keep these negative memories.

34. If you allow yourself to be overcome by rancor, the flower of hope will cease to bloom. (Jorge Belzunces)

Don’t be corrupted by bad feelings.

35. Is there anything useful in the feeling of resentment? Clinging to past frustrations will only imprison our creative talent… (Bertrand Regader)

Reflection of the Spanish educational psychologist and writer.

36. May the grudge only last 10 minutes, may goodness be with you the rest of the time. (Richard Sennett)

A philosophy of life to look to the future with optimism and without any outstanding debts.

37. Being resentful is the best way to dig yourself a deep hole from which it is increasingly difficult to escape. (Anonymous)

Don’t let your mind create problems where it’s better to let the air run.

38. If there is one thing that characterizes successful people, it is their ability to let go of all the bad and focus only on the positive. (Elon Musk)

Great reflection from the entrepreneur and founder of Amazon.

39. A grudge? I’d rather live. (Isabel Allende)

Reflection of the Chilean writer.

40. If you love your life, concern yourself with what is edifiable, not with what is miserable. (Anonymous)

Another reflection in order not to waste time on things that do not contribute anything positive to our existence.