In order to have respect for others, you must first have self-respect, which means to possess a sense of self-esteem or self-worth. In short, you have a positive regard of yourself. How important is self-respect? Self-respect can help create a healthy, responsible outlook towards life. That's because, when we are secure about ourselves, we are less likely to be self-absorbed and more likely to focus on the needs of others. Our feelings don't explode inward - they radiate outward.
When you are comfortable with yourself, you don't need to do all sorts of things to gain attention. Your self-worth is not based on the people you are with, what you wear, or what kind of work you do. Instead, it is based on how you regard yourself and how you can use your abilities to benefit yourself and others. Self-respect also makes you more humble, so that your ego doesn't rule your feelings.
The bottom line is that, when you have self-respect, you are comfortable and confident. And because you are confident, you naturally see the good in others, because you know that your goodness can be reciprocated with their good feelings, too.
Here are ways to develop self-respect:
MAKE A LIST OF THE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
Write down all your positive qualities. As you jot down your entries, you will begin to acknowledge your own unique and wonderful qualities and eventually feel better about yourself. What's more, you will become more creative, more energetic, more upbeat, and happier!
HAVE A PERSONAL CREED
Your personal creed is a statement in which you highlight your positive aspects and your aspirations. It is different from your list of goals in that it is a general description of you and your qualities. It can be just one short sentence or a four-sentence paragraph. Like a mantra, recite it when you wake up or keep a copy of it in your wallet.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
Willingness and ability to care for, love, and nurture yourself create a feeling of increased self-worth. Sleeping early, eating the right kinds of food, watching inspiring programs, always smiling, these little things all contribute to a glow in your countenance.
BE ASSERTIVE
Assertiveness is an attitude and a way of acting in any situation where you can express your feelings, ask for what you want, or say no to something you don't want. You give yourself and your needs the same respect and dignity you give anyone else's. This is not the same as stubbornness, which is being unreasonably insistent, or being demanding, which is aggressively using the emotions and intellect to ask for something that cannot be given sincerely and freely.
MAINTAIN A JOURNAL
When you write down your thoughts and feelings about yourself, you surely wouldn't want them to be always negative, do you? Keep a diary or a journal. Always include something positive in your entries. It may be therapeutic to write the bad things that happened - go ahead and do that - but make sure to always balance it with the good things. You will feel a lot better!