Jennifer Lopez is a ''work in progress''.

The 'On The Floor' hitmaker - who has six-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony - is learning to appreciate how ''great'' she is and thinks it is important to love herself before embarking on another relationship.

She said: ''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.

''I have to know how great I am, you know--all of us need to know how great we are. That we're worth it...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.''

The 45-year-old beauty believes everyone should put themselves first and be the ''most important'' person in their own lives.

She continued to E! News: ''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.''

While she has millions of fans around the world, the 'American Idol' judge used to take her critics to heart and was convinced everyone ''hated'' her.

She added: ''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.''