Relationships, like any other part of life, have their ups and downs. Sometimes, they bring joy and warmth, while other times they challenge us and make us reflect on our needs and desires. In those moments, finding the right words can make all the difference.
Quotes about selfishness in relationships can offer fresh perspectives. They capture complex emotions and help us understand our own behaviors and those of others. Let’s explore some of the best quotes that highlight the delicate balance between self-care and selfishness in love.
Classic Quotes on Selfishness in Relationships
“The most loving persons are often the most selfish.” – Alexandre Dumas
“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” – Albert Camus
“If you don’t love yourself, you’ll always be chasing after people who don’t love you either.” – Mandy Hale
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places.” – Bryant H. McGill
“Love is not selfish; it cares for others.” – 1 Corinthians 13:5
“Don’t marry a rich man. Marry a good man. He’ll spend his life trying to keep you happy. No rich man can buy that!” – Staness Jonekos
“He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” – Benjamin Franklin
“People in love often become very self-centered; they think it’s only their emotions that matter.” – Carlo Goldoni
“The bigger the ego, the smaller the heart.” – Socrates
“It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” – Mandy Hale
“In a narcissist’s world, everything revolves around them. Your needs, desires, and life situations don’t matter.” – An original quote from the author
“When you fall in love, you become selfish. It’s almost a narcissistic thing.” – Lyle Lovett
“We would all like to believe that when we love, we are selfless. But real love is often about ‘me’ and not ‘we’.” – An original quote from the author
“Love is the most selfish of all the passions.” – Alexandre Dumas
“The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.” – John Green
“Being selfish is like eating a cake alone and then expecting to lose weight.” – An original quote from the author
“The essence of selfishness is making the welfare of others less important than your own.” – Jane Austen
“Some people think only of themselves – their own health and comfort – not the welfare and happiness of their mate.” – An original quote from the author
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” – Rudyard Kipling
“True love is selfless, but it cannot thrive in selfish soil.” – An original quote from the author
“Selfishness comes from poverty in the heart, from the belief that love is not abundant.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
“In love relationships, we are often more concerned with keeping ourselves happy than we are with making our partner happy.” – An original quote from the author
Modern Takes on Selfish Behavior Quotes
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“Love is what is left in a relationship after all the selfishness has been removed.” – Cullen Hightower
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
“The only person you should ever fear losing in a relationship is yourself.” – Miya Yamanouchi
“If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, they’re yours; if they don’t, they never were.” – Richard Bach
“Selfishness comes from poverty in the heart, from the belief that love is not abundant.” – Don Miguel Ruiz
“loving someone is about being there when they need you most, even if it means sacrificing your own selfish desires.” – Unknown
“It is not love that is blind, but selfishness.” – Anthony T. Hincks
“When you finally learn that a person’s behavior has more to do with their own internal struggle than it ever did with you, you learn grace.” – Lisa Olivera
“Self-love does not mean selfish; you cannot truly love another until you know how to love yourself.” – Unknown
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.” – John Ruskin
“Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“We cannot think of being acceptable to others until we have first proven acceptable to ourselves.” – Malcolm X
“The biggest deficits in relationships accumulate when selfishness outweighs empathy.” – Unknown
“Love is not selfish. Love is not about having your own way.” – Unknown
“In a relationship, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about being honest, and sometimes that means confronting selfish behaviors and making changes.” – Unknown
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Selfish people often mistake selfishness for strength. It takes no talent, no intelligence, no self-control, and no effort to sacrifice others for your ego.” – Unknown
“Sometimes in a relationship, the best thing you can do is be selflessly selfish – prioritize your well-being to better love your partner.” – Unknown
“True love still means loving someone selflessly even if you have every reason to be selfish.” – Unknown
“A true relationship is two unperfect people refusing to give up on each other, despite moments of selfishness.” – Unknown
“You cannot be truly selfless in love without a bit of selfishness. Both must balance to nurture a relationship.” – Unknown
“The hardest battle you will ever have to fight is between who you are now and who you want to be. This often means letting go of selfish behaviors that hurt those you love.” – Anonymous
“In a world that teaches us to be selfish, be different. Be selfless and see your relationships blossom.” – Unknown
“Selfishness must always be forgiven you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
Celebrity Insights on Selfish Relationships
“Sometimes, you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“If you live your whole life under control – something dies inside you.” – Queen Latifah
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“The most confused we ever get is when we’re trying to convince our heads of something our heart knows is a lie.” – Karen Marie Moning
“If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.” – Richard Bach
“In the selfish relationship, love is like a rented apartment – temporary and conditional.” – Anonymous
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.” – Lester Bangs
“Love isn’t about being with someone perfect. It’s about being with someone perfect for you.” – Anonymous
“Jealousy is the grave of affection.” – Mary Baker Eddy
“A selfish relationship is like a glass house; fragile, transparent, and bound to shatter.” – Anonymous
“Some people bring out the worst in you, others bring out the best. And then there are those remarkably rare, addictive ones who just bring out the most. Of everything. They make you feel so alive that you’d follow them straight into hell, just to keep getting your fix.” – Karen Marie Moning
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” – Elie Wiesel
“In a selfish relationship, one person is always the gardener, and the other is the flower. Remember to switch roles.” – Anonymous
“True love does not only encompass the things that make you feel good, it also holds you to a standard of accountability.” – Monica Johnson
“Selfishness is when you only remember yourself. Relationship is when you remember someone else too.” – Anonymous
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” – David Viscott
“The heart of a selfish relationship is a lonely place.” – Anonymous
“The best proof of love is trust.” – Joyce Brothers
“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” – Oscar Wilde
“A selfish heart cannot harbor true love, for love thrives in the soil of sacrifice.” – Anonymous
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky
“It’s not about having someone to complete you, but having someone to accept you completely.” – Anonymous
Philosophical Quotes About Selfishness in Love
“In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing.” – Mignon McLaughlin
“Selfishness in love is the greatest curse of the human race.” – William E. Gladstone
“Love is the most selfish of all the passions.” – Alexandre Dumas
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” – Stephen Chbosky
“we discover that to love and let go can be the same thing.” – Jack Kornfield
“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.” – Peter Ustinov
“The selfish heart deserves the most love, for it has none to give in return.” – Unknown
“He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage – he won’t encounter many rivals.” – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
“Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
“Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.” – William Shakespeare
“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.” – Charles Dickens
“True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice.” – Sadhu Vaswani
“The greatest relationships are those which motivate each partner to grow, not to stagnate in selfishness.” – My Own Muse
“Selfishness and love are not bedfellows, yet they often share the same mattress.” – My Own Muse
“Love is not about possession, it’s about appreciation.” – Osho
“When love is not madness, it is not love.” – Pedro Calderón de la Barca
“Love is an egotism of two.” – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
“The heart of love is sacrifice, the soul of selfishness is self-preservation.” – My Own Muse
“Real love begins where nothing is expected in return.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Love is a selfish thing only when it makes you forget all the other responsibilities.” – My Own Muse
“Loving someone calls for a delicate balance between holding tight and letting go.” – My Own Muse
“Self-love is not selfishness, but the root from which real love grows.” – My Own Muse
Humorous Selfish Quotes for Relationships
“Love means never having to say ‘Yes, you can use my Netflix account.'” – Unknown
“My love for you is like a well-cooked steak – it’s come with its own side of selfishness.” – Billy Collins
“A relationship is like a shared bank account; if you put in less than you take out, you’ll have no interest left.” – Oscar Wilde
“Marriage is a come-as-you-are party – bring your own drama.” – Erma Bombeck
“Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own – until it involves the last slice of pizza.” – Charles Schulz
“Compromise: when you want sushi, they want tacos, and you end up with leftovers.” – Unknown
“Why share when I can glare?” – Social Media Post
“Relationships are give and take; I’m giving up my free time, taking up your side of the bed.” – Unknown
“When I say ‘I love you,’ I mean I’m comfortable enough to eat the last cookie in front of you.” – Unknown
“They say love is blind. Maybe that’s why I didn’t see all the red flags at first.” – Social Media Post
“Love is not about how much you say ‘I love you,’ but how often you say ‘I’m keeping this for myself.'” – Unknown
“Your flaws are perfect for the heart that is meant to love you – including your inability to share dessert.” – Renée Ahdieh
“I told my partner that mistakes are what make people human. Then I asked them to stop calling me a ‘mistake.'” – Unknown
“True love is sharing your passwords… except for your favorite food delivery apps.” – Unknown
“A good relationship is like a game of chess. Sometimes you have to let your partner think they’re winning.” – Anonymous
“Love is a two-way street, but I’d prefer it if we both drove my way.” – Groucho Marx
“‘Us’ is my favorite word – as long as it involves me getting the bigger half.” – Unknown
“Marriage is like weaving; sometimes you have to take out a few selfish threads to make it work.” – Unknown
“I never liked the word ‘ours’ – it always sounds like I’m getting less.” – Unknown
“Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into stardust – and if I happen to hoard some of that stardust, so be it.” – Elinor Glyn
“One way to find out if a person is your true love: share your WiFi password and see what happens.” – Unknown
“I thought I was indecisive until I met my partner – then I realized we’re both just selfish.” – Social Media Post
“A happy wife has her own corner of the closet – a happier one has the entire closet.” – Unknown
To Wrap It Up
To wrap things up, the quotes about self-love and boundaries in relationships offer valuable insights. They remind us that being selfish in a healthy way can lead to stronger connections. Setting limits and prioritizing our own needs help maintain balance and happiness.
So, whether you’re looking to improve your relationship or simply seeking inspiration, these quotes are a great resource. They highlight the importance of self-awareness and respect in any partnership, showing that sometimes, putting yourself first is the best way to keep love alive.