So often we can be the biggest obstacle in our own lives. But, as these quotes about self-love make quite clear, that is just not OK. In fact, if there is one person who should be your biggest supporter, it shouldn't be your parents, your spouse, or your friends — it should be you. Just take it from Tina Fey, Johnny Depp, or Sally Field if you don't believe me.
Being confident in yourself is not something to be ashamed of — nor is it something that should make you feel overly self-involved. When you believe in yourself and your own ability, you can then start to help others. The beauty of loving yourself is that it will inevitably trigger you to love others. Paradoxical? Yes. Utterly true? Of course.
As long as you remember that self-love is different than thinking yourself better than others, then you are in good shape. There is a fine line between building up your self-esteem and believing that you are more deserving of privilege than those around you. However, if you can master the ability to love yourself in a way that's authentic and doesn't bring others down, you will undoubtably go far in life.
1. “Do your thing and don't care if they like it.” — Tina Fey
2. “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
3. “Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.” — André Gide
4. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. “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
6. “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” — Oscar Wilde
7. “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
8. “I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” — Johnny Depp
9. “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” — Benjamin Spock
10. “If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” — Fred Rogers
11. “It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.” — Sally Field
12. “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain
13. “The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours — it is an amazing journey — and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.” — Bob Moawad
14. “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” — Carl Gustav Jung
15. “To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives.” — Denis Waitley
16. “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” — Malcolm S. Forbes
