There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.
“Learn to love yourself and you will be a lot happier in life.”
We often hear these words from people who have achieved the ultimate state of happiness—those who seem to have perfected the art of coping and self-help.
We may realize that if only we could learn how to actually do what they do, then we’d probably be able to accomplish what they had. We could learn to practice self-love and feel a lot better about ourselves.
But loving yourself is easier said than done. Even if you read a lot of self-love books, followed thousands of different self-help bloggers, or watched a plethora of self-help movies, self-love is not something you can achieve overnight.
Fortunately, it is possible. You have to take things slow. Read those books, follow those bloggers, and watch those movies, and remember that it won’t happen in a blink of an eye—but it will happen eventually.
In addition to books, bloggers, movies, and a variety of other sources, you can also draw inspiration from the quotes about loving yourself that are listed below.
Before we proceed, let’s discuss the importance of reading these quotes. How can reading them help you through your journey of self-help and self-love?
(Side note: Want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life? Then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success).
What You Will Learn
Why Read Quotes About Loving Yourself First?
There is an endless list of reasons why it is important to love yourself first, and there are also a number of reasons why reading quotes that relate to this practice can be helpful.
Having these quotes to guide you through your self-love journey helps increase your confidence. They help you believe in things that will make you love yourself even more.
Moreover, reading these quotes can help you understand what we said in the introduction—that loving yourself may not be easy, but it is definitely possible. A lot of people have been able to do so, which means that you can do it to.
Now that you have learned what these quotes can do to empower you, let’s check them out!
Quotes About Loving Yourself First to Inspire Self-Love
- “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” – Dianna, Princess of Wales
- “When you make a mistake, respond to yourself in a loving way rather than a self-shaming way.” – Ellie Holcomb
- “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud, ‘I am lucky to be what I am!’” – Dr. Seuss
- “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” – Mark Twain
- “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein
- “When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen
- “Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.” – Parker Palmer
- “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.” – Robert Morley
- “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown
- “Once you embrace your value, talents, and strengths, it neutralizes when others think less of you.” – Rob Liano
- “If you don’t love yourself, nobody will. Not only that, you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self.” – Wayne Dyer
- “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
- “To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” – Denis Waitley
- “It is so important to take time for yourself and find clarity. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
- “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.” – Maya Angelou
- “Respect yourself, love yourself, because there has never been a person like you and there never will be again.” – Osho
- “You start to live the moment you stop competing with others.” – Maxime Lagacé
- “I have discovered, just as my teachers always told me, that we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart, and mind are always accessible, here, now, always.” – Pema Chödrön
- “A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else.” – Haruki Murakami
- “You are morally obliged to take care of yourself. You should take care of, help and be good to yourself the same way you would take care of, help and be good to someone you loved and valued.” – Jordan Peterson
- “The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off.” – Robert Hand
- “Only when you are kinder to yourself, you can be kinder to the world.” – Haemin Sunim
- “If you live to please others, everyone will love you except yourself.” – Paulo Coelho
- “Helping yourself, you help the world. You are in the world – you are the world. You are not different from the world, nor is the world different from you.” – Sri Ramana Maharshi
- “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance in the world to pursue your dreams.” – Hillary Clinton
- “I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” – Johnny Depp
- “We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.” – John Lennon
- “There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin.
- “Be your own biggest fan. Love yourself and give yourself the things that you need.” – Mel Robbins
- “Remind yourself of all the ways you can be more loving, more supportive, and more encouraging to yourself.” – Iyanla Vanzant
- “Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others.” – Brené Brown
- “The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.” – Robert Greene
- “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” – Lucille Ball
- “When you love yourself, you automatically attract feelings of love for others around you.” – Rhonda Byrne
- “You were born an original work of art. Stay original always. Originals cost more than imitations.” – Suzy Kassem
- “You are beautiful. Know this. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply lying.” – Steve Maraboli
- “Maturity comes only when you are ready to face the pain of your being; maturity comes only when you are ready to take the challenge. And there is no greater challenge than love.” – Osho
- “Our problem is that we choose to deny love. In fact, we only have one problem: that our mind chooses fear over love.” – Gabby Bernstein
- “To love ourselves and support each other in the process of becoming real is perhaps the greatest single act of daring greatly.” – Brené Brown
- “Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “If you don’t love yourself in a healthy way, you will never be able to love others in the way that you should.” – Joel Osteen
- “The fact that someone else loves you doesn’t rescue you from the project of loving yourself.” – Sahaj Kohli
- “Treat yourself as if you were someone that you are responsible for helping.” – Jordan Peterson
- “It is better to do nothing than to do what is wrong. For whatever you do, you do to yourself.” – The Dhammapada
- “The development of loving-kindness and compassion begins with learning how to appreciate oneself.” – Mingyur Rinpoche
- “You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
- “Spend time understanding who you are, after all the only person you’re ever going to truly live with; is yourself.” – Nikki Rowe
- “I stopped looking for someone to love me. I became that person instead.” – Rudy Francisco
- “Don’t worry about finding the love of your life. First, love yourself and everything will fall into place.” – Ralph Napolitano
- “Stop criticizing yourself. Take a moment to look yourself in the face, at least 3x a day, and say, “I love you”.” – Iyanla Vanzant
- “It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.” – Eartha Kitt
- “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “We are all begging for love forgetting the simple truth that love doesn’t happen between beggars; love happens between a king and a queen who have treasures of their beings to share with each other. To be an emperor is our nature; to be a beggar is our habit.” – Osho
- “When you say “I love you” it means “I can offer you true peace and happiness”. Can you already offer them to yourself first?” – Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Attitudes we habitually use toward ourselves, we will use on others, and whatever attitudes we habitually use toward others, we will use on ourselves.” – Henepola Gunaratana
- “Before offering love to anyone else, offer it to yourself. Before offering acceptance to anyone else, first offer it to yourself. Before being nonjudgemental of others, be nonjudgemental of yourself. You can only give the world what you have within.” – Thibaut
- “The more you practice self-acceptance, the more you’ll realize the only person who’s acceptance you ever needed, is your own.” – Mel Robbins
- “You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks.” – Deepak Chopra
- “Stop saying those things that make you weak and ashamed. Say only those things that make you strong. Do only those things that you could speak of with honor.” – Jordan Peterson
- “The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I’m not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” – C. JoyBell C.
- “What makes people weak? Their need for validation and recognition, their need to feel important. Don’t get caught in this trap.” – Paulo Coelho
- “Your body adapts to what you eat. Your mind adapts to what you consume. Your soul adapts to what you love. What you feed yourself today is who you become tomorrow.” – James Clear
- “How to ‘Self-Love’: workout, eat healthy, practice virtues, defend values, seek challenges, speak the truth, accept responsibility. Self-love is earned not wished.” – Carlos Del Valle
- “Go back and take care of yourself. Your body needs you, your feelings need you, your perceptions need you.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Everyone wants to lead a peaceful, happy life, but happiness and success aren’t measured by how much money you have, but by whether you have inner peace in your heart.” – 14th Dalai Lama
- “Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.” – Sri Ravi Shankar
- “Never explain yourself to anyone. Your friends don’t need you, your enemies won’t believe. You don’t need anyone’s approval: live your life and do what makes you happy.” – Paulo Coelho
- “This day, I vow to myself to love myself, to treat myself as someone I love truly and deeply – in my thoughts, my actions, the choices I make, the experiences I have, each moment I am conscious, I make the decision I LOVE MYSELF.” – Kamal Ravikant
- “You are not an option, a choice, or a soft place to land after a long battle. You were meant to be the one. If you can wrap yourself around the idea that you are something incredible, then you will stop excusing behavior that rapes your very soul. You were never meant to teach someone to love you. You were meant to be loved.” ― Shannon L. Alder
Final Thoughts on Loving Yourself First
It takes a lot of self-awareness before people can learn to love themselves first. It also takes a lot of courage and discipline before one can confidently say that he has learned to love himself.
The process isn’t always smooth—it can be full of road blocks and challenges. But as long as you’re determined to hold on and continue your journey, you’ll eventually find the peace and self-love that you deserve.
Love yourself first. No one else can do it for you.
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.
