From brilliant poets to inspirational writers and the great sages of all time, each had espoused one and the same: love within yourself leads you to love for all. It is the secret to living fully. Through self-love, you lay the foundation to becoming your greatest potential.
(Love who you are. Love yourself through self acceptance, forgiveness and esteem. My collage illustrates Loving Yourself Quote #62 below.)
The following are 101 quotes to inspire you. I have also classified the quotes according to the sub-categories of self-love, where possible. Pick one each day to contemplate over its meaning. Enjoy!
1. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
- Buddha
2. “There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame that heats our soul, energizes our spirit, and supplies passion to our lives.”
- Elisabeth Kubler Ross
3. “The love you seek is seeking you at this moment.”
- Deepak Chopra
4. “There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer….
No door that enough love will not open
No gulf that enough love will not bridge,
No wall that enough love will not throw down….
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble,
How great the mistake,
Sufficient realization of love will resolve it all.
If only you could love enough,
You would be the happiest and most powerful being in the universe.”
- Emmet Fox
5. “Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
- Rumi, thirteenth century Sufi poet
Self Love Secrets: How to Love Yourself Unconditionally
Facing tremendous difficulties with accepting who you are? Learn more about loving yourself holistically – in mind, body and spirit. Click over to purchase a copy of Self-Love Secrets - available as a download by now!
6. “Something inside you emerges….an innate, indwelling peace, stillness, aliveness. It is the unconditioned, who you are in your essence. It is what you had been looking for in the love object. It is yourself.”
- Eckhart Tolle
7. “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 Sri Ravi Shankar
8. “Dedicate yourself to Love. Decide to let Love be your intention, your purpose, and your point. And then let Love inspire you, support you and guide you in every other dedication you make thereafter.”
– Robert Holden
9. “No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.”
- Barbara de Angelis
10. “I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.”
- Dwight L Moody
11. “What you think about yourself is much more important than what others think of you.”
- Marcus Annaeus Seneca
12. “Self-love seems so often unrequited.”
- Anthony Powell
13. “Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”
- Veronica A. Shoffstall
14. “Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.”
- Michel de Montaigne
15. “The things we hate about ourselves aren’t more real than things we like about ourselves.”
- Ellen Goodman
16. “Love is based on our capacity to trust in a reality beyond fear, to trust a timeless truth bigger than all our difficulties.”
– Jack Kornfield
17. “Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.
- Louise L. Hay.
18. “Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
19. “I am an artist of my own creation. I like myself.”
- Sondra Ray
20. “I love myself for I am a beloved child of the universe and the universe lovingly takes care of me now.”
- Louise Hay
21. “You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.”
- Wayne Dyer
22. “Whatever you are doing, love yourself for doing it. Whatever you are feeling, love yourself for feeling it.”
- Thaddeus Golas
23. “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
24. “The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others.”
- Sonya Friedman
25. “If we really love ourselves, everything in our life works.”
- Louise L. Hay
26. “To love others, we must first learn to love ourselves.”
- Anonymous
27. “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”
- Oscar Wilde
28. “Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.”
- Alexander Smith
29. “About all you can do in life is be who you are.”
- Rita Mae Brown
30. “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
- Maya Angelou
31. “A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.”
- Ken Keyes
32. “She lacks confidence, she craves admiration insatiably. She lives on the reflections of herself in the eyes of others. She does not dare to be herself.”
- Anais Nin
33. “I am somebody. I am me. I like being me. And I need nobody to make me somebody.”
- Louis L Amour
34. “Of all afflictions, the worst is self-contempt.”
- Berthold Auerbach
35. “I didn’t belong as a kid, and that always bothered me. If only I’d known that one day my differentness would be an asset, then my early life would have been much easier.”
- Bette Midler
36. “Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do-can love things that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music.”
- Barbara Sher
37. Ultimately, love is self approval.
- Sondra Ray
Self Acceptance
38. “The greatest success is successful self-acceptance.”
- Ben Sweet
39.”If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.”
- Maxwell Maltz
40. “Accept your humanness as well as your divinity, totally and without reserve.”
- Emmanuel
Self Love Secrets: How to Love Yourself Unconditionally
Facing tremendous difficulties with accepting who you are? Learn more about loving yourself holistically – in mind, body and spirit. Click over to purchase a copy of Self-Love Secrets - available as a download by now!
41. “Resolve to be thyself … he who finds himself loses his misery!”
- Matthew Arnold
42. “We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open.”
- Shakti Gawain
43. “Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness.”
- Jean Vanier
44. “Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections.”
- Saint Francis de Sales
45. “I’ve finally stopped running away from myself. Who else is there better to be?”
- Golden Hawn
46. “A man can stand a lot as long as he can stand himself.”
- Axel Munthe
47. “Our entire life … consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.”
- Jean Anouih
48. “Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being.”
- Michel de Montaigne
49. “I’m not OK, you’re not OK-and that’s OK.”
- William Sloane Coffin
50. “To accept ourselves as we are means to value our imperfections as much as our perfections.”
- Sandra Bierig
51. “You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled then something has been lost.”
- Martha Graham
52. “Oh, I’m so inadequate. And I love myself!”
- Meg Ryan
53. ““Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.”
- Author unknown
54. “The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.”
- Paul Tillich
55. “Contentment, and indeed usefulness, comes as the infallible result of great acceptances, great humilities-of not trying to conform to some dramatized version of ourselves.”
- David Grayson
56. “We have to learn to be our own best friends because we fall too easily into the trap of being our own worst enemies.
- Roderick Thorp
57. “Accept the place the divine providence has found for you.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
58. “Try to be like the turtle – at ease in your own shell.”
- Bill Copeland
59. “Be content to seem what you really are.”
- Marcus Aurelius
60. “People are crying up the rich and variegated plumage of the peacock, and he is himself blushing at the sight of his ugly feet.”
- Sa’Di
61. “The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.”
- Mark Twain
62. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
63. “It’s OK if you mess up. You should give yourself a break.”
- Billy Joel
64. “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
- William James
65. “How I relate to my inner self influences my relationships with all others. My satisfaction with myself and my satisfaction with other people are directly proportional.”
- Sue Atchley Ebaugh
Celebrate Who You Are
66. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.”
- Abraham Lincoln
67. “When you know you are doing your very best within the circumstances of your existence, applaud yourself!”
- Rusty Berkus
68. “You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, “I’m proud of what I am and who I am, and I’m just going to be myself.”
- Mariah Carey
69. “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
- Oprah Winfrey
70. “If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.”
- Ralph Emerson.
71. “Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another.”
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
72. “When you know you are doing your very best within the circumstances of your existence, applaud yourself!”
- Rusty Berkus
Self-trust and Belief
73. “Our doubts are traitors and makes us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.”
– William Shakespeare
74. “Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.”
- Ellen Sue Stern
75. “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
- Vincent Van Gogh
76. “People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
78. “Always act like you’re wearing an invisible crown.”
- Author Unknown
79. “Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being.”
- Michel de Montaigne
80. “Never dull your shine for somebody else.”
- Tyra Banks
81. “If you must love your neighbor as yourself, it is at least as fair to love yourself as your neighbor.”
- Nicholas de Chamfort
82. “The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others.”
- Sonya Friedman
83. “I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
- Louisa May Alcott
84. “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
- Johann von Goethe
85. “Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by the belief in your heart.”
- Robert Collier
86. “Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we have learned here. The spiritual journey is the relinquishment – or unlearning – of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts. Love is…our ultimate reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life.”
- Marianne Williamson
87. “I’ve learned to trust myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it.”
– Sarah MchLachlan
88. Yours is the energy that makes your world. There are no limitations to the self except those you believe in.”
- Jane Roberts
89. “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
- Edmund Hillary
90. “Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway.”
- Mary Kay Ash
91. “Believing in our hearts that who we are is enough is the key to a more satisfying and balanced life.”
- Ellen Sue Stern
Self Esteem
92. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
93. “Your problem is you’re … too busy holding onto your unworthiness.”
- Ram Dass
94. “If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”
- Author Unknown
95. “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
96. “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”
- African Proverb
97. “There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity. People who do not experience self-love have little or no capacity to love others.”
- Nathaniel Branden
98. “It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.”
- Sally Field
99. “It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.”
- Sally Kempton
100. “A gold medal is a nice thing – but if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”
- From Cool Runnings
101. “Self-esteem is as necessary to the spirit as food is to the body.”
- Dr. Maxwell Maltz
Your Favorite Self Love Quote?
I have listed 101 quotes. Which is your favorite self-love saying and why?
Shine and Smile in Self-Love Always,
P.S. Self Love Series
Today’s post is part of the series on Self Love that I am publishing on my site. Missed any of the earlier posts? Here are the links once again…
Self Love Series: Take a Self Love Quiz
Self Love Series: Say Yes to Loving Yourself
Self Love Stories: Lessons from the Heart
Self Love Secrets Update
Eliminate negative self-talk by loving yourself. Click over to purchase a copy of Self-Love Secrets - available as a download by now!
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Evelyn,
What a great collection of thoughts on self love, right here in one place. Thanks so much for assembling this!
Big love,
Lance
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Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 9:57 am
Big love to you too, Lance.
Have an awesome week!
xoxo,
Evelyn
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“As soon as you trust your self, you will learn how to live”
“It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.”
So many options, I had to pick two…….
Wow, what a collection. I feel a meaningful message through quotes but could never find such an outstanding collection.
In the end, it all comes back to yourself being your worst enemy. You are the one who sets the extremley high standards to be and do all these things. Therefore it is quite difficult to fight the enemy aka your inner compulsions. When your brain is used to thinking like that it is really hard to change it. But it is possible, I think……….
Self trust goes hand in hand with self insecurites. If I could only believe myself when I’m trying my hardest or doing my best. Why is it so hard to be and believe in yourself. The more I write the more questions are coming up…… You are given one life, One chance to live your fullest, and throughout that time it is all spent on finding yourself when really, you are there all along…….and always will be. Well, this comment turned out different then I thought it was going to be…. : ) Thanks girl, the quotes are all amazing!!
Peace, Love
S.Ana
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Dear Sophie Ana,
I’m glad to know that many of the quotes are resonating with you. It’s great that they are inspiring you to reflect on the better way forward.
Your phrase “you are given one life” struck me. Incidentally, I posted this song on my facebook account 2-3 days ago. The title is “One Life”.
Here’s the link
http://youtu.be/VaW7EiSvjfM
Enjoy!
With love,
Evelyn
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Evelyn,
Wow! This was awesome. I loved this one from Louise Hay:
“If we really love ourselves, everything in our life works.”
Thank you~!
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Angela,
I love that quote too. It’s true, isn’t it?
With love,
Evelyn
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I so appreciate this list, Evelyn!
I love the Wayne Dyer one about “You can’t be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with!” and of course, Billy Joel! “It’s ok if you mess up…you should give yourself a break!”
I may have to print these out. Too many good ones to read just once!
Thanks Evelyn…and I think your collage is wonderful!
Jen
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Hi Jen,
It’s great that the time I have taken to compile the list is being appreciated! Thanks too for your kind feedback about my collage. It’s one of my favorites
With love,
Evelyn
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Hi Evelyn,
Skipped over from Angela’s. You’ve complied quite the list here. Thanks for doing all this work.
I like them all, especially this one.
11. “What you think about yourself is much more important than what others think of you.”
- Marcus Annaeus Seneca
This one’s key. Others just reflect what you project onto them about yourself.
Thanks, Giulietta the Muse
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Hi there Guiliette,
Welcome to my blog. It’s wonderful that you are liking the first post here.
I enjoy quotes on mirrors and reflections myself. They always make me stop and reflect!
With love,
Evelyn
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I love the quote about the gold medal — it’s particularly important for me, because there always seems to be some “gold medal” in some area of my life that I’m striving for, and it keeps hitting home for me that feeling complete is not going to come from accomplishing something in the world.
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:12 am
Hello Chris,
The “gold medal” quote spoke to me too. It’s great to be driven but I believe that we can still enjoy ourselves whilst on the journey to success.
With love,
Evelyn
[Reply]
Thank you for taking the time to come up with this list, Evelyn. There’s so much in here that I could use one every time I feel low (which is quite often, really) I might just have to print this and post it somewhere in my room. But the quote I am loving right at this moment is “Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.” This struck me the most today especially with the challenges I’ve been facing lately with regard to managing my weight and love in general. Keep it up!
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Great idea, Jenn. I find that when I surround myself with uplifting quotes and inspiring words, I am better able to shift myself from a negative state. The quote that you’ve chosen is an awesome one to do just that! It’ll be a wonderful reminder to put on my desk too.
With love,
Evelyn
[Reply]
That’s quite an amazing list of quotes.
I especially like the power, depth, and effectiveness of this quote: “Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”
I also like the complimentary contrast of that quote, with this: “If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.”
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:27 am
Hi J.D.,
I like the two that you’ve chosen. The quote “If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me” is so true!
All the best,
Evelyn
[Reply]
Dearest Evelyn, this is just an astounding resource of inspiration. I loved Jenn’s idea of using one every time we need it. Or use one for each day. I am going to save this post as well. What an enormous amount of work this took. I LOVE IT!!!
The one that really resonates with my life right now is: #16. “Love is based on our capacity to trust in a reality beyond fear, to trust a timeless truth bigger than all our difficulties.” – Jack Kornfield I find that so very inspiring and true. Trusting in love, allows us to let go of all that is fear based. That may sound so simple but it is truly powerful. Thank you dear friend for sharing such beauty. Hugs, Robin
Also I LOVED your comment on my post “How We Shape Our World” and I responded to it here: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/how-we-shape-our-world/ You will see it at the bottom of the page. You are truly a beautiful spirit, Evelyn.
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:38 am
Hello Robin,
Yes, the inability to trust hampers our capacity to live life fully. It’s only when we choose to release our fears that we can awaken into the truth.
From one beautiful spirit to another, I honor and cherish you – deeply.
With love,
Evelyn
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Hi Evelyn,
Nice job with this. Thanks for sharing.
Be good to yourself
David
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Hi David,
Yes, I will be good to myself LOL! Do the same for yourself too!
With love,
Evelyn
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Excellent article, I loved the information.
Congratulations!
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Thank you, Ganhar.
With love and appreciation,
Evelyn
[Reply]
Evelyn, I agree with Jenn; I think that I will have to print out this post as well. What a nice compilation of quotes!
I love #95. Every now and then I come across this quote in the most interesting of places. Prior to today, the last time I came across this quote, I was in the “girl’s bathroom” located in one of Ashland , OR parks and recreation’s community centers. The entire bathroom was hand painted by young girl’s in the community and Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote was on the wall facing the stalls surrounded by butterflies and sunshine.
Thanx for sharing
Love and Light
Ajen
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Hi Ajen,
I find it interesting that you would come across this quote in various places. It’s wonderful that the last one you saw was hand painted in a public bathroom. Did you take a picture of it? It would be nice to keep it as a reminder.
Shine in self-love always,
Evelyn
[Reply]
Awesome Evelyn! With the first quote, my smile brightened, and by the end it just radiates! I cannot pick one quote to stand out over any other, because they are all perfect expressions of love. I nodded in affirmation and said a quick yes! to Universe as I read. What a huge resource..thank you for investing the energy into this and for sharing!
I love your collage..you’ve taught me much in terms of creating visual affirmations for my heart Truths.. I have a huge sketch book that I collage in and is a joy to create.
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Hello Joy,
It’s great that you’ve found the post a great all-in-one list for self-love affirmations. I’m also delighted to know that you’ve been inspired by the collages I have done. I love to flip through my album of pieces. They may not win awards but the pictures and the words mean a lot to me
With love,
Evelyn
[Reply]
a fab collection…. no need to say anymore as that is what it is
[Reply]
Evelyn Reply:
May 17th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Thank you, Beverly
With love,
Evelyn
[Reply]
OMG these are so fantastic. I love the poster as well. I’m going to use these as a resource for myself, daughters and granddaughters. I would love to help my grandduaghter who is 17 make a collage like this. I’m going to forward this to her. I’ll be visiting her again in July. Thank you.
[Reply]
Hi Evelyn,
This is a great collection of quotes on self-love. I believe many of us will find inspiration from them. I particularly like how you have divided the quotes into the various categories. It does go a long way in making them easier to absorb.
I am particularly drawn by the quotes on “Self-Trust and Belief.” In our darkest days when everything seems to be against us, we need to trust and believe in ourselves to overcome the odds. The moment we allow doubts to cripple us, all hope is lost.
My favourite quote is the one by Goethe. “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” I feel that as soon as we trust ourselves, we will know what to do no matter what obstacles we face. Focusing on the solutions and not the problem is a sure way to resolve problems, increase our confidence and thereby our self-love in a natural way.
Thank you for sharing this lovely article!
Irving the Vizier
[Reply]
Thank you for this post. It’s very inspiring. I recently wrote a novel about a girl finding her way. Many of these quotes apply.
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wow so real nice ..
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This is really beautiful. I’ve been looking for a nice list of self-care and self-love quotes to record for daily listening, and I’ve found it! I’m looking forward to reading more of your blogs. Thanks for doing something so meaningful and needed in this world.
In lovingkindness,
Sharon
[Reply]
Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thanks a lot!
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Hi;
Thks a lot for take u time to post it !! I live in Brasil…very nice site!
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love this site and i come often
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I was wondering if you made that collage personally… I have a tattoo that says “write your own story,” and am very connected to the entire collage in general. I am actually just about to publish a post about loving yourself. Just a strange coincidence I suppose! Thanks!
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