Most of the time, self-care is mistakenly thought of as being selfish. But taking care of yourself is essential to your overall well-being. It is not about being selfish, but a way to show that you take care of yourself and to take care of others as well.  This is because self-care means you are making yourself a priority, giving yourself time to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health.  It is a way of creating balance in your life knowing that you cannot help other people if you cannot help yourself first. 

In this post, we’ve compiled 15 straightforward self-care quotes to remind you that taking care of yourself is not being selfish, but rather a necessary act of self-love. These quotes will serve as a powerful reminder that self-care is important to live a happy and fulfilling life. So, take a few minutes for yourself, read through these quotes, and let them inspire you to prioritize self-care in your life.

15 Straightforward yet inspiring self-care quotes

1. “Self-care is a divine responsibility.” – Danielle LaPorte

The quotes emphasize the importance of self-care not just as a personal responsibility but as a spiritual one. In other words, self-care is the responsibility that we ought to do to take care of our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual being.  Self-care is not just about ourselves but about the people around us. It is not just about pampering ourselves but it is to value our own lives to provide for the greater good. 

2. “Self-care is how you take your power back.” – Lalah Delia

This quote highlights the idea of empowering the nature of self-care.  We take care of ourselves to gain control of our lives. This is also a way for us to become more resilient and better advocates of ourselves. Overall, this quote encourages us not to view self-care as being selfish but as an important aspect of our well-being knowing that we are always in control of our life. 

3. “Self-care is not about self-indulgence, it’s about self-preservation.” – Audrey Lorde

The real point of self-care is making sure we are taking care of ourselves to live a happy life for us to become the best version of ourselves. This is the reason why people often thought that self-care is a luxury and indulgence.  However, this is not the case, by prioritizing our self-care, we are taking a stand for our own health and happiness, and fighting for our right to exist and thrive on our own terms.

4. “Taking care of myself doesn’t mean ‘me first.’ It means ‘me, too.” – L.R. Knost

Self-care is not a selfish act. This quote emphasizes the idea of prioritizing self-care without feeling guilty. By taking care of ourselves, we are also able to take care of those around us. Ironically, self-care is a selfless act. 

5. “Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” – Katie Reed

This quote highlights the significance of looking after ourselves before looking after others. By considering self-care as a top priority, you may give your all to the world rather than merely giving what’s left of yourself after you’ve run out of energy attempting to care for others. Taking care of yourself is not selfish; rather, it is essential if you want to be at your best for those around you.

6. “It’s the airplane oxygen-mask theory: If you don’t put on your mask first, you won’t be able to save anyone else.” – Oprah Winfrey

Prioritizing yourself first to help others is the very main point of this quote. This means that it is important to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being first before you can be in a position to support and help someone else.

7. “Self-care is an extension of self-love and you must love ‘you’ first.” – Sabrina Williams

Loving yourself before anyone else is a form of self-care. As a result, you come to care and love others as well. Furthermore, actually, you don’t need anyone else to love you other than yourself. Through self-care, you strongly demonstrate love for yourself. And you can share this love with the people around you.

8. “You only have one life to live. Make sure it’s yours.” – Eleanor Brown

We only live once, so why not live it to the fullest?  However, this doesn’t mean that you are being selfish, it just means you want to value yourself more than anything and anyone else for you to give what you have that benefits you and the people around you.  Caring for others doesn’t exclude yourself.  Your life and their life is precious. Every one is precious. There is no difference.

9. “Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly.” – Unknown

Self-care is very powerful as it even allows us to explore and know our capabilities and be the best version of ourselves. Self-care makes us thrive and shine bright in our lives. In essence, this quote emphasizes the importance of self-care as a means of nurturing our inner self by allowing us to shine as an individual.

10. “Nourishing yourself in a way that helps you blossom in the direction you want to go is attainable, and you are worth the effort.” – Deborah Day

This quote emphasizes that taking care of ourselves is a way for us to achieve our goals and aspirations in life. Through this, we come to understand that self-care is not just about providing your basic needs, but it is also about being able to provide different aspects to gain personal growth and development. This quote encourages us to believe in our abilities by prioritizing self-care to reach our dreams in life. 

11. “Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” – Lucille Ball

Self-care and self-love are pre-requisite for every achievement we want to have.  This means that success is only attainable if and only if we cared for ourselves the most. Because when we care and love ourselves we become more confident, self-assured, and resilient which is by far one of the key aspects of success. Everything will happen the way we want it to if we focus first on ourselves before anyone else. 

12. “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 others.” – Marianne Williamson

This quote talks about the importance of self-care and how it is never selfish to take of yourself first. This serves as a reminder that if we are not physically and emotionally fit, we cannot offer help and support to others even if we eagerly want to. Self-care is one of the best ways to ensure that we can give our best to the people around us. 

13. “Love yourself enough to take the actions necessary for your happiness.” – Joy Bell Cursie

Self-care is one of the keys to a happy life. Secure your own happiness by taking care of yourself. And let me remind you again, do not feel guilty for being happy. It is very important to know the love we deserve, for us to give the love that people deserve as well. Setting boundaries to protect your inner peace and self is not selfish but a way to bring joy and fulfillment to your life. We deserve to be happy and feel loved. 

14. “It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” -Mandy Hale

This quote highlights the idea that we cannot pour anything from an empty cup. This means that without self-care being our top priority we cannot give anything to the people around us.  This quote also defeats the idea that if we take care of ourselves first, we are selfish because self-care goes beyond just the facade of letting ourselves be the best among the rest. Instead, self-care is about taking in-charge of your life by taking care of your overall well-being. 

15. “Knowing and caring for yourself is the most fundamental act of your humanity.” – Unknown

Self-care is one of the essential aspects of a human being.  By knowing and taking care of ourselves we come to know our important and basic needs. This means that if we disregard self-care, we also fail to protect our right of being a human. Indeed, self-care is an essential element of being human.

Through these 15 quotes, we are provided with undeniable proof that self-care is not being selfish. Self-care is what makes us what we are right now. It is not selfish or a rude to take care of ourselves first before others. 

We hope that you will be inspired to serve yourself, to give yourself the care and love you deserve. Be happy, be the source of happiness and joy to the people around you. But before that, start with yourself first. As they say, “Love yourself.”

Author

Castnoble Editors published fact-based inspirations and empowering contents for Castnoble.