You should be your most important person. Period.
By Jaycee Levin — Written on Jan 12, 2020
Always put yourself first! It is highly important to always do what is best for you because you are the most important person in your life. Don’t let others dictate what you should be doing if their suggestions don’t serve you and your happiness.
Only you know what will bring you joy and happiness, so follow your heart.
It can be incredibly difficult to choose to value yourself more because we are often taught to care for others first. Although it is important to be there for others, you will not truly be able to help others until you help yourself. Caring about yourself is not selfish and you should not feel guilty because of it.
When you think about yourself first then you are on the path to genuinely loving yourself. By looking after yourself, you are being proactive in implementing self-care.
You don’t always have to cater to other people’s needs if they do not align with your own. You are allowed to say no to things if you do not want to do them. Saying no does not mean that you are rude or mean, it simply means that you value your mental health!
I, personally, have become much more comfortable with not doing things I don’t want to do. I enjoy going to bed early so I can wake up early for a morning workout class. I often have to decline late-night invitations and sometimes get judged for it. However, I know that I feel much more fulfilled when I am working towards my personal goals and paying no attention to criticism for it.
I am not a big drinker or partier, so if a friend is having a birthday party at a bar I usually stop by for one glass of rosé and then leave to go home. I just genuinely know that I won’t have fun staying out late and would rather be in bed early and play World of Warcraft like the true nerd I am.
I currently live with two older roommates, I’m 24 and they are in their late thirties, and they often poke fun of me and call me a grandma because I rarely stay out late. I don’t mind it at all though because I enjoy taking time to be by myself and do what makes me happy. It has taken me a long time to get to a place where I’m content with putting my needs first and spending time by myself, but all it took was mindfully taking small steps everyday towards caring about myself.
Now, I don’t have any regrets when canceling plans or not showing up to things that I do not care to show up for. Instead of suffering from FOMO, I think I have a fear of being included. I’m just out here being me and doing what I want to do!
If you want to practice putting yourself first and finding your inner confidence, then these self love quotes about prioritizing yourself in your life are sure to motivate you to do just that!
1. Take care of yourself first.
“You always have to remember to take care of you first and foremost, because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others.” — Jada Pinkett Smith
2. Keep your cup full.
“It’s not selfish, but selfless to be first, to be as good as possible to you, to take care of you, to keep you whole and healthy, that doesn’t mean that you disregard everything and everyone, but you gotta keep your cup full.” — Iyanla Vanzant
3. Don't sacrifice yourself for others.
“When you start sacrificing yourself for other people, you make them a thief, because they are stealing from you what you need and they don’t even know it.” — Iyanla Vanzant
4. Create healthy relationships.
“Always putting others first creates deep resentment, destroys your happiness, and is unsustainable. Putting yourself first allows you to meet your needs in the most skillful way. This, in turn, increases your happiness, joy, and capacity to love, so you can give freely and create healthy relationships.” — Aziz Gazipura
5. Just be yourself.
"One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself." — Shannon L. Alder
6. Own your story and live unapologetically.
"Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do." — Brené Brown
7. Embrace your uniqueness.
"Once you embrace your value, talents, and strengths, it neutralizes when others think less of you." — Rob Liano
8. It's not weak to choose you.
“It’s not weak to stand by the person you love when they’re trying to fix a big mistake, and it’s not weak to decide to put yourself first.” — Sylvia Day
9. Be happy to be you.
"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
10. Stop worrying about what others think.
"Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?" — Brigham Young
11. Be selfless.
“You have to be self-interested in order to be selfless. You have to put yourself first if you want to be of use to other people.” — Rachel Bartholomew
12. Society taught us to choose others.
“Always choose yourself first. Women are very socialized to choose other people. If you put yourself first, it’s this incredible path you can forge for yourself.” — Rebecca Traister
13. Make your own choices.
“If you don’t make the choices in your own life, then someone else is going to end up making them for you and they are not gonna be good." — James Altucher
14. You are enough.
"You are enough just as you are." — Meghan Markle
15. Learn how to be the best version of yourself.
"If you don’t workout, sleep, meditate, relax, or do whatever special things you need to do for you, you won’t be the best version of yourself. When you’re not your best version of yourself, you can’t do things for others. In a way, it’s actually selfless to take great care of yourself because it allows you to be more present for your family and friends." — Heather Monahan
16. Fall in love with yourself.
"To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." — Robert Morley
17. Treat yourself with respect.
"How you treat yourself is how you treat God, because you are the representative of God in your life. So when you put yourself last, you are putting God last." — Iyanla Vanzant
18. Water yourself first.
“If you want to have enough to give to others, you will need to take care of yourself first. A tree that refuses water and sunlight for itself can’t bear fruit for others.” — Emily Maroutian
19. It is necessary.
“Choose to put yourself first and make you a priority. It’s not selfish, it’s necessary.” — Keysha Jade
20. Gain self-respect.
“To gain self-respect, you need to put yourself first.” — Lorii Myers
21. You must value yourself.
“If you don’t value yourself, you’re not going to draw valuable things into your life.” — Robert Tew
22. Live for yourself.
“You don’t need to live to fulfill other’s expectations. Live for yourself, love yourself and do not let them tell you that it is selfish.” — Mridula Singh
23. Right now is all we have.
“Don’t wait for a crisis to realize what matters most. Put yourself first right now. Because right now is all we have.” — Brittany Burgunder
24. Love will find you.
“Find yourself first, like yourself first, love yourself FIRST, & friendship & love will naturally find YOU.” — Mandy Hale
25. Be kind to yourself.
"We just need to be kinder to ourselves. If we treated ourselves the way we treated our best friend, can you imagine how much better off we would be?" — Meghan Markle
26. Stay healthy and feel good.
"Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you." — Beyoncé
27. Don't deny your own reality.
“Whenever you feel compelled to put others first at the expense of yourself, you are denying your own reality, your own identity.” — David Stafford
28. Save yourself.
“If you prioritize yourself, you are going to save yourself.” — Gabrielle Union
29. Discover what your passions are.
"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
30. Pay attention to what you want.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
31. Know what matters to you.
“Know what matters most to you and be unwilling to compromise those priorities at almost any price.” — Frank Sonnenberg
32. Value your time.
“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” — M. Scott Peck
33. Don't be an empty vessel.
“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” — Eleanor Brown
34. Give yourself what you need.
“You should endeavor to give your body what it needs to be healthy, your mind what it needs to be peaceful and focused, and your soul what it needs to feel content.” — Dedeker Winston
35. Be your own best friend.
"Friendship with one’s self is all important, because without it one can not be friends with anyone else in the world." — Eleanor Roosevelt
36. Be your number one priority.
"Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option." — Maya Angelou
37. Don't hold yourself back.
"Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on." — Maxwell Maltz
38. Your opinion matters.
"Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions … Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it." — Tina Fey
39. Being selfish isn't a bad thing.
"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
40. Break down your barriers.
"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
41. Don't be a victim.
"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
42. Talk to yourself with love and respect.
"When you make a mistake, respond to yourself in a loving way rather than a self-shaming way." — Ellie Holcomb
43. Value what you do.
"When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are." — Oprah Winfrey
44. Don't let negativity in.
"I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet." — Mahatma Gandhi
45. Come alive.
"Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." — Howard Washington Thurman
46. Let your light shine.
"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." — Marianne Williamson
47. Find the love you seek.
"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
48. Show yourself how much you care.
"Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves." — Diana, Princess of Wales
49. Approve of yourself.
"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval." — Mark Twain
50. Stay original always.
“You were born an original work of art. Stay original always. Originals cost more than imitations.” — Suzy Kassem
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Jaycee Levin is a writer who covers pop culture, astrology, and relationship topics.