45 Self-Love Quotes to Boost Your Confidence

As a wise, wigged glamazon once said, "If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" As far as gay motivational quotes go, that one arguably takes not just the cake but the whole bakery, and for good reason. Regardless of your sexuality, self-love is one hell of a way to practice self-care and become comfortable in your own skin.

Although Mama Ru’s philosophical crumbs are always welcome in our queer corner of the world, you’re probably curious about other self-love quotes out there. If so, lucky you, because the library is officially open. Here we’ve gathered our favorite phrases that highlight your inherent self-worth, quotes that make you rethink your image and learn to love yourself, and quotes that foster self-acceptance.

45 inspirational quotes that’ll have you feeling yourself

Strap yourself in for a veritable gush session about the most important thing in your life: you! Here are 45 love and self-confidence quotes (many from gay icons) that can help you find the motivation to be your best self every day. Pick your favorites to use as positive mantras.

1. “Talk to yourself like you would talk to someone you love.” — Brené Brown
2. “When you say ‘yes’ to others, make sure you are not saying ‘no’ to yourself.” — Paulo Coelho
3. “It’s not my responsibility to be beautiful. I’m not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me.” — Warsan Shire
4. “I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side.” — Dr. Maya Angelou
5. “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain
6. “Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
7. “You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” — Louise Hay
8. “There is you and you. This is a relationship. This is the most important relationship.” ― Nayyirah Waheed
9. “Keep taking time for yourself until you’re you again.” — Lalah Delia
10.  “You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending.” — James R. Sherman
11. “Not only do self-love and love of others go hand in hand, but ultimately they are indistinguishable.” — M. Scott Peck
12. “I am thankful for all of those who said no to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.” — Wayne Dyer
13. “I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. If you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier. If you cannot, I will still seek to deserve that you should.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
14. “I can’t be there for other people unless I’m there for myself. I can’t really work to push our movement without really investing in myself. By investing in yourself, you’re also investing in your community.” — Dior Vargas
15. “We are all stronger, smarter, talented, beautiful, and more resilient than we were told." — CeCe McDonald
16. “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” — Oscar Wilde
17. “Every one of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.” — Diana, Princess of Wales
18. “I’m all about body positivity and self-love because I believe that we can save the world if we first save ourselves.” — Lizzo
19. “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
20. “Be healthy and take care of yourself, but be happy with the beautiful things that make you, you.” — Beyoncé
21. “Don’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions; go over, under, through, and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.” — Tina Fey
22. “Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” — Lucille Ball
23. “Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” — Sophia Loren
24. “The people who trigger us to feel negative emotions are messengers. They are messengers for the unhealed parts of our being.” — Teal Swan
25. “I am what I am: an individual, unique and different.” — Charlie Chaplin
26. “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” — Rumi
27. “Once you've accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” — George R.R. Martin
28. “When you take care of yourself, you're a better person for others. When you feel good about yourself, you treat others better.” — Solange Knowles
29. “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller
30. “If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started.” — Marcus Garvey
31. “You look ridiculous when you dance. You look ridiculous when you don’t dance. So you might as well dance.” — Gertrude Stein
32. “Pride is holding your head up when everyone around you has theirs bowed. Courage is what makes you do it.” — Bryce Courtenay
33. “If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities — the expression of love — then life itself loses its meaning.” — Harvey Milk
34. “It is how we feel about ourselves that provides the greatest reward from any activity. It is not what we get that makes us valuable; it is what we become in the process of doing that brings value into our lives.” — Jim Rohn
35. “How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” ― Rupi Kaur
36. “I don't fit into any stereotypes, and I like myself that way.” — C. Joybell C.
37. “I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything, but I can do something. I must not fail to do the something that I can do. “ — Edward Everett Hale
38. “Choose, every day, to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, and most of all worthy of love.” — Alison Malee
39. “If you wish to be loved, love." — Hecaton of Rhodes
40. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” — Dolly Parton
41. “I am somebody. I am me. I like being me. And I need nobody to make me somebody.” — Louis L'Amour
42. “If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.” — Charles Bukowski
43. “Make happiness your priority and be gentle with yourself in the process.” — Bronnie Ware
44. “I love the person I’ve become because I fought to become her.” — Kaci Diane
45. “I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.” — Madonna