Part of what makes the Good Shepherd so good is that He was willing to come after His lost sheep—us.  He was thinking of us and had us on His heart.  He loved us and gave Himself for us!  Now, if we are to follow Him, that means we are to be like Him in the ways that we think about others before ourselves.  The Gospel transforms us so that our self-love moves into its humbly proper, third position behind a love for God and for our neighbor.