If you are like most people, you would be quick to agree that attaining self-love is easier said than done.

Many people are quick to criticise themselves for their mistakes, often forgetting that they are human. 

And humans make mistakes.

Contrary to popular belief, loving yourself is not selfish.

The first rule of self-love is not to put yourself last in line just to meet the needs of others. 

If you struggle with self-love, below are some of the most empowering quotes written on the subject.

1. Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. -Lucille Ball
2. To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness. -Robert Morely
3. Know who you are. Know what you want. Know what you deserve. And don’t settle for less. -Tony Gaskins
4. Love yourself enough to set boundaries. Your time and energy are precious. You get to choose how to use it. You teach people how to treat you by deciding what you will and won’t accept. -Anna Taylor
5. Be gentle with yourself. Learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself. For only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others. -Wilfred Peterson
6. If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself. -Barbara De Angelis
7. If you can learn to love yourself and all the flaws, you can love other people so much better. And that makes you so happy. -Kristin Chenoweth
8. No other love, no matter how genuine it is, can fulfill one’s heart better than unconditional self-love. -Edmond Mbiaka
9. Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions. -Pema Chodron
10. Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives. -Louise L. Hay
11. There are plenty of places in which you will face rejection; the mirror… should not be one of them. -N.R. Shephard
12. Embrace the glorious mess that you are. -Elizabeth Gilbert 
13. If you have the ability to love, love yourself first. –Charles Bukowski
14. Love yourself instead of abusing yourself. -Karolina Kurkova
15. When a woman becomes her own best friend, life is easier. -Diane Von Furstenberg
16. Often we are reluctant to promote self-love mostly because we confuse it with selfishness. Since we are humans, we ought to have a healthy love for ourselves; it is from this fount that love flows out to others. -Mason Olds
17. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. -Buddha
18. You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first. -Norm Kelly
19. Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself. Love yourself. -Tara Stiles
20. Choose every day to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, and most of all worthy of love. -Alison Malee
21. How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you. -Rupi Kaur
22. About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all. -Rita Mae Brown
23. So plant your own gardens and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. -Jorge Luis Borges
24. I have so much love in my heart to give; I have to remember to save some for myself. -Ericka Leigh
25. I don’t like myself, I’m crazy about myself. -May West

Over to You

Nowadays, in the time of quarantines and self-isolation, self-love is no longer considered a luxury but a necessity. In tough times, you are first your own person before others. If you fall out of favor with yourself, those who depend on you will also suffer in the process.