Loving someone and enjoying their company are separate achievements. Families are full of people who manage the first and quietly dread the second.
Liking yourself is the quieter and more useful one: finding your own jokes funny, not minding a long train journey alone with your own thoughts, being interested in what interests you without first checking whether it's respectable.
The becoming half means the liking has to survive change. You'll be somewhat different in five years — other opinions, probably other work. Liking a moving target takes a broader affection than approving of a fixed set of traits.