---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if you love only yourself, you will…"
description: "\"And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself. And you will have only yourself.\" — Stephen Colbert"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png"
---

#  And if you love only yourself, you will serve only…

![“And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself. And you will have only yourself.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png)

> “And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself. And you will have only yourself.”

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Self‑love leads to selfishness, limiting service to others and isolating oneself.

**In simple terms:** Loving only yourself limits service.

Key Takeaway

Balance self‑care with caring for others.

Themes

self‑care altruism balance

Mood

thoughtful balanced

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- personal development
- community work
- relationship dynamics

Key Concepts

ethics psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you love yourself while serving others?
- What practices foster both self‑care and altruism?

A Different Perspective

Self‑love is necessary for healthy boundaries.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-yourself/)

## Related quotes

> [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Get to know the poor in your country. Love them. Serve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/get-to-know-the-poor-in-your-country-love-them-serve-them/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [Love and serve the world through your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/love-and-serve-the-world-through-your-work/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [I'd love to serve my country. I would love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-d-love-to-serve-my-country-i-would-love-it/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [We are sent into the world, like Jesus, to serve. For this is the natural expression of our love for our neighbors. We love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/we-are-sent-into-the-world-like-jesus-to-serve-for-this-is-the/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [Someone left me a note and said love love serve. I know that is a tennis term, but what is he trying to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shraddha/someone-left-me-a-note-and-said-love-love-serve-i-know-that-is-a/)

Shraddha

> [Business is a primary arrangement on God's part for people to love one another and serve one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/business-is-a-primary-arrangement-on-god-s-part-for-people-to-love/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [Love isn't as simple as you wish it would be. On the other hand, it's nowhere near as complicated as you fear it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/love-isn-t-as-simple-as-you-wish-it-would-be-on-the-other-hand-it-s/)

[Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/)

> [We love most those who we serve most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/we-love-most-those-who-we-serve-most/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Know what people love to eat, prepare it yourself with love and serve them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivaji-ganesan/know-what-people-love-to-eat-prepare-it-yourself-with-love-and-serve/)

Sivaji Ganesan

> [I'd love to serve on the Enterprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-payette/i-d-love-to-serve-on-the-enterprise/)

[Julie Payette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-payette/)

> [You must act in your friends' interests whether it pleases them or not; the object of love is to serve, not to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/you-must-act-in-your-friends-interests-whether-it-pleases-them-or-not/)

[Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/)

> [I believe that we don't need to worry about what happens after this life, as long as we do our duty here-to love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-believe-that-we-don-t-need-to-worry-about-what-happens-after-this/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [People love being around those who serve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/people-love-being-around-those-who-serve-them/)

[Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/)

> [Love will not serve those who do not live for her, and in her, and to whom she is not the breath of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-lee/love-will-not-serve-those-who-do-not-live-for-her-and-in-her-and-to/)

[Jeanette Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-lee/)

## More by Stephen Colbert

> [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

> [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/)

[Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

[Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/)

## More Love quotes

> [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/)

[John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/)

[Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/)

[Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/)

[Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/)

> [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/)

[Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

[Browse all 233,035 Love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself. And you will have only yourself.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen Colbert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-serve-only-yourself-and-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-serve-only-yourself-and-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28e/stephen-colbert-503_love_and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-s_1671819.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And if you love only yourself, you will serve only yourself. And you will have only yourself.” — Stephen Colbert",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Stephen Colbert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "And if you love only yourself,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-serve-only-yourself-and-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/and-if-you-love-only-yourself-you-will-serve-only-yourself-and-you/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
