Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez describes herself as a `work in progress`! She says she's learning to appreciate herself before going on to find love with someone else.

`I would describe the woman I am today as a work in progress, a 'WIP'! And this was the beginning of what I think is going to be a life-long journey of being content and happy with myself,` the 45-year-old told E! News, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

The singer said she has to know `how great` she is and believes everyone needs to know how great they are.

`All of the things I'm involved with, have the same message and it's that you must love yourself first, that the love that you're looking for is inside you," she said.

Lopez believes that everybody should be their own `most-important` person in their lives and put themselves before others.

`That sounds like a weird thing sometimes but it's so real, and when you can really appreciate the person you are -- not what you've accomplished, not the money that you have -- none of that, just the girl you are--that person is just a good, funny, generous loving person.

`You always have to be the most important (person in your life). That's what love is,` she added.

At one point, Lopez felt everyone "hated" her.

`We have a tendency to focus on the negative and I let that work on my self-esteem. I was always thinking that people didn't like me, they just hated me. It's such a ridiculous notion, we tend to do this to ourselves,` she said.