In one of Oliver Burkeman’s talks on the Waking Up app, he discusses the idea of being best friends with yourself.1
He explores why, for many people, this term is more powerful than self-compassion or self-love, which can evoke a certain kind of New Age narcissism or secular self-absorption.
Burkeman makes some important points about why this phrasing is useful:
Firstly, everyone has a model of friendship they can refer to. You know how you would treat your friends. If I ask you how you’d respond to a friend who’s just been through a break-up, or just completed a marathon, it’s no mystery.