2016 is the year for me to be overly confident.— Author Unknown
1,129 Self-Love Quotes
You are allowed to be the person you needed when you were younger. Start here.
Self-love is misunderstood. It is not vanity. It is not selfishness. It is not the same as positive thinking. Real self-love is treating yourself with the same patience and respect you give a good friend. Most people are kinder to a stranger than they are to themselves in their own head.
These 1,129 self-love quotes pull from voices who have actually wrestled with this. Audre Lorde wrote that caring for yourself is an act of political warfare, not self-indulgence. Maya Angelou said you alone are enough, and you have nothing to prove. Brené Brown spent twenty years studying shame and concluded that self-compassion is the only real cure for it.
If you struggle with self-love, you are not broken. You are normal. Most of us were raised on conditional approval. Be good, be quiet, be small, be useful, then you will be loved. Unlearning that takes time. A quote will not undo it overnight. But the right sentence can crack open a door.
Save the ones that hit hard. Read them on the days you forget. That is what they are for.
Self-Love Quotes: Frequently Asked Questions
What is self-love, really?
Self-love is the practice of treating yourself with the same care, patience, and honesty you would give someone you love. It is not feeling good about yourself every day. It is choosing to act in your own best interest even on the days you do not feel worthy of it. Especially on those days.
Why is self-love so hard?
Because the inner voice that criticizes you was usually installed by someone else. A parent, a teacher, a culture, a relationship. Over time it stopped sounding like an outside voice and started sounding like you. The work of self-love is noticing that voice is not actually yours and slowly choosing to disagree with it.
What is the difference between self-love and being selfish?
Selfishness takes at the expense of others. Self-love refuses to take at the expense of yourself. You can love yourself and still be generous, kind, and giving. In fact you usually become more so. The people who give until they are empty are not heroes. They are running out of fuel.
How do you practice self-love every day?
Start small. Say no to one thing that drains you. Rest without earning it. Stop comparing yourself to people on the internet. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to your best friend. Do one thing each day that is just for you, with no goal attached. The reps add up. Self-love is built, not found.
1,129 quotes
All topics ›A bar of iron costs $5, made into horseshoes its worth is $12, made into needles its worth is $3500, made into balance springs for watches, its worth is $300,000. Your own value is determined also by what you are able to make of yourself.— Author Unknown
A beautiful face can't conceal an ugly heart for very long. Who you are on the inside eventually shows up on the outside.— Mandy Hale
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A lot of people dump poison, anger, resentment and criticism. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave and wish them well.— Joel Osteen
A person may break your heart and damage your pride, but never ever give them the power to break your spirit.— Author Unknown
A relationship cannot bring you things you should be giving yourself: validation, self-worth, and completeness.— Mandy Hale
A relationship means giving the best of yourself to someone that truly deserves it.— Author Unknown
A smile doesn't always mean a person is happy. Sometimes it simply means they are strong enough to face their problems.— Author Unknown
A tiger doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.— Author Unknown
Accept that you are enough. You don't need to be anything that you are not.— Author Unknown
Accept the compliment. You earned it.— Author Unknown
Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear.— Author Unknown
Accept yourself as you are. And then work toward who you want to become.— Author Unknown
Accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your truths.— Author Unknown
Allow yourself small victories. Don’t deny giving yourself credit for accomplishing something, no matter how insignificant it might seem at the time.— Author Unknown
Always be yourself. No one can ever tell you you're doing it wrong.— Author Unknown
Always defend your right to heal at your own pace. You are taking your time. You are allowed to take your time.— Author Unknown
Always know you are more than enough. You are precious, unique, and worth being adored, cherished and treasured!— Kandee Johnson
And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.— Iain Thomas
By Doe Zantamata Aren't we all just flowers in the sun? We start small. We live through sunny days which help us grow, rains which nourish our souls, and storms which nearly end us, yet we survive. But, flowers have no fear. They grow without worry of envy from other flowers, they don't feel inferior to those taller, or superior to those not quite as tall. Wouldn't it be sad if a flower didn't bloom at all, for fear that it's colors wouldn't be as bright, or that it's petals may not be good enough for the world? Each one blooms in it's own way, knowing without knowing, that's all there is to life. Each one has worth.— Author Unknown
As long as you look for someone else to validate who you are by seeking their approval, you are setting yourself up for disaster. You have to be whole and complete in yourself. No one can give you that. You have to know who you are - what others say is irrelevant.— Nic Sheff
As time goes on, you'll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t. Time solves most things. And what time can't solve, you’ll learn to solve yourself.— Haruki Murakami
As you become more clear about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you.— Author Unknown
Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.— Author Unknown
Ask yourself: what would I need to feel like myself today?— Author Unknown
At some point you will realize that you have done too much for someone, that the only next possible step to do is to stop. Leave them alone. Walk away. It’s not like you’re giving up, and it’s not like you shouldn’t try. It’s just that you have to draw the line of determination from desperation. What is truly yours will eventually be yours, and what is not, no matter how hard you try, will never be.— Author Unknown
Attract what you expect, Reflect what you desire, Become what you respect, Mirror what you admire.— Author Unknown
Be a better you, for you.— Sonya Teclai
Be careful who you invite into your soul.— Author Unknown
Be confident. Too many days are wasted comparing ourselves to others and wishing to be something we aren't. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is only when you accept everything you are - and aren't - that you will truly succeed.— Author Unknown