Reese Witherspoon's kids saved her from self obsession

Reese Witherspoon thinks having children stopped her from being self-obsessed.

The 34-year-old actress - who has two children, 11-year-old daughter Ava and seven-year-old son Deacon, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe - believes being a young mother changed her perspective and made her less focused on her career.

She said: "My children are the best part of my day. I used to be very competitive and aggressive but when I had my first child at 22, it put my whole life in perspective and helped me get out of my very narrow-minded focus on my career. Having kids stops the endless cycle of self-obsession."

The 'Water for Elephants' star recently got engaged to Hollywood agent Jim Toth - who she met just months after ending her two-year relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal in late 2009 and Reese feels "lucky" to have got another chance at love.

She told Closer magazine: "I am lucky I've had a few shots getting second chances. That's nice. I thought I knew everything about love and relationships in my 20s - the ignorance of youth is bliss.

"As you get older, you start to realise that you don't really know anything and life is a great travelling journey. Life is unexpected - you just never know what's going to happen. I would love to have more kids."

The Oscar-winning actress also admitted she would rather people praised her sense of humour rather than her looks.

She said: "I always say funny doesn't sag, which seems like a good rule of thumb. People should be more interested in your personality than how you look in a bikini. As an actress, you think about longevity, probably more than men. You hope to have a long lasting career."