A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.

The comparison is doing the real work. An animal’s regard does not depend on your output, your appearance, or the running assessment you keep of yourself, which is why it reaches people at hours when nothing else does. It also exposes how harsh that internal assessment usually is, since a creature with no standards at all manages more warmth toward you than you manage.

That second part is the useful one. When you catch yourself being contemptuous about your own day, notice the gap between how you speak to yourself and how anyone who loves you speaks to you. Closing that gap a little is worth more than most self-improvement.