Why Self Respect is So Important for Happiness in Life ! Learn the Art of Gaining Self Respect!!

Abstract

Respect is the glue that holds your relationships together. Learn ways to be respectful and know what to do when somebody isn’t respectful toward you. Giving and receiving respect from others is important because it helps us to feel safe and to express ourselves.

Being respected by important people in our lives growing up teaches us how to be respectful toward others.

Respect means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they’re different from you or you don’t agree with them.

Respect in your relationships builds feelings of trust, safety, and wellbeing.

Respect doesn’t have to come naturally – it is something you learn.

Keywords

Respect, Self Respect, Relationship, Respecting Others, Politeness 

Learning Outcomes 

After undergoing this article you will be able to understand the following

1. What's exactly Self Respect?

2. Why self respect is important?

3. What's the signs of a disrespectful relationship?

4. How to gain Self Respect?5. How to show Respect to everyone ?

6. Strategies to develop self respect 

7. Conclusions

8. FAQs

1. What's exactly Self Respect?

Self-respect is an important part of identity because it affects how you see yourself and can impact every area of your life. It's a positive, internal sense of your own worth as a person that comes from knowing you've lived your life in a way you can be proud of. People with self-respect

• Take care of themselves: They understand and honor their own needs and wants, and practice self-care
• Have positive beliefs: They believe in themselves and deserve love just by existing 
• Set boundaries: They know how to set healthy bound
• Stick to their values: They can more easily stick to their personal values and beliefs when making decisions 
• Have confidence: They can live life with confidence and self-esteem 
• Accept themselves: They accept their originality and all parts of themselves
• Support mental health: Developing self-worth is a form of self-care, and a lack of self-respect can negatively impact mental health 

2. Why self respect is important?

Self-respect is essential for a person because it:

1. Boosts confidence: Self-respect gives you the courage to pursue your goals and dreams.

2. Encourages self-care: When you value yourself, you prioritize your well-being and make healthy choices.

3. Sets boundaries: Self-respect helps you establish and maintain healthy limits with others.

4. Fosters resilience: With self-respect, you're better equipped to handle challenges and bounce back from setbacks.

5. Promotes authenticity: Self-respect allows you to be true to yourself, without pretenses or apologies.

6. Enhances decision-making: When you respect yourself, you trust your judgment and make choices aligning with your values.

7. Supports personal growth: Self-respect motivates you to learn, improve, and become the best version of yourself.

8. Develops healthy relationships: Self-respect attracts positive relationships built on mutual respect and trust.

9. Increases self-awareness: Self-respect encourages self-reflection, helping you understand your strengths, weaknesses, and emotions.

10. Leads to happiness: Self-respect is a foundation for self-love, which is a key factor in overall happiness and life satisfaction.

Remember, self-respect is not selfish; it's essential for living a fulfilling life!

3. What's the signs of a disrespectful relationship?Unfortunately, not all friendships or relationships are mutually respectful. Sometimes, you might find yourself dealing with toxic behaviours from friends/family/intimate partners, or even experiencing emotional abuse.

Here’s what disrespect can look like: 

• Being ghosted, ignored or given the ‘silent treatment’ 
• Being criticised or insulted 
• Being humiliated, punished, blamed or threatened 
• They lie, make up rumours or do other actions designed to hurt you or your reputation 
• Your thoughts and feelings being dismissed or minimised 
• Weaponised insecurities – they bring up stuff or highlight stuff you’re uncomfortable/ embarrassed about or told them in secret 
• You feel like the stuff you say is always ‘wrong’ 
• They make everything about them 

4. How to gain Self Respect?

Sometimes you see that you are not respected. You always think I'm being disrespected... what can I do? Sometimes we find ourselves not feeling respected by other people, including our family or friends.

While it’s not always possible to change somebody and make them respect you, there are some things you can try:

Show people what respect looks like by being respectful yourself

Communicate clearly – they may not realise how you feel

Set some boundaries/stand up for yourself

Spend time with people who are respectful and make you feel safe

Tell the person what they are doing isn’t ok and be specific

Talk to somebody you trust like a parent, teacher, or counsellor

Try to understand their point of view

Give that person a chance to change their behaviour toward you

It’s ok to end friendships with people if they can’t be respectful and you don’t feel safe around them

5. How to show Respect to everyone ?

Only when you learn to truly embrace and respect yourself, can you give respect to someone else? When you respect others, you value and make them feel good about themselves. It is a feeling of self-worth that you give someone. Only when you give respect to other people and yourself, do you develop a better understanding of people around you. And there are 4 simple ways of respecting others:

1. Listen

Everyone wants someone who would listen to them! Whenever someone has something important to say, give them your time and listen. By giving your time to someone, we make them understand that they are important to us, in turn respecting them.

2. Support

When you go out and support someone, you make them realize that they matter. You make them feel valued. Simply notice the positives of a person and tell them about it. This will show that you support and respect them.

3. Be Kind

When you are kind to someone, you make them feel better instantly. Kindness is nothing but an expression of respect.

4. Be Polite

Being polite is a behavioral trait that is a must in everyone. When we are polite to others, it leaves us feeling positive and respected. It is in fact the easiest way to show someone respect.

But remember that it's okay to feel that not everyone deserves your respect. You may or may not respect someone depending on how they made you feel. Also, it's possible that you might respect someone more than others and that’s absolutely fine as well. Do what you feel is right and what makes you happy.

6. Strategies to develop self respect 

If you want to improve your self-respect, you can try: 

Recognizing what you're good at 

Building positive relationships 

Being kind to yourself 

Learning to be assertive 

Starting to say "no" 

Giving yourself a challenge 

Identifying your values 

Nurturing your needs through self-care 

Becoming more aware of negative thoughts 

Challenging negative thinking patterns 

Using positive self-talk 

Practicing self-compassion 

7. Conclusions

Self-respect can change your life because it teaches you to let go of your ego and live life with confidence and self-esteem. It allows you to accept your originality while giving you the motivation to self-improve. It gives you a direction to move on in life healthily by expressing yourself and understanding others in the process. With a greater sense of self-respect, you grow yourself and fuel growth in others.

Self-respect allows you to appreciate and respect others and you gain the wisdom to see life from a better perspective.

8. FAQs

What's the Skills to Cultivate Self-Respect and Strong Boundaries with Others?

Ans. 

Self-respect can be challenging to practice if you are a people-pleaser. The fear of saying no can keep you stuck in a cycle of neglecting your needs and giving into things that don’t serve you. When we let others take advantage of us, we chip away at our self-esteem, which leads to more anxiety, less interpersonal effectiveness and deteriorates our self-respect.

Develop Self-Respect in Four Steps

It’s likely that you are a helpful person by nature, and sometimes you allow people to take advantage of you because you’re nice and standing up for yourself can feel uncomfortable. When you stop this pattern and develop boundaries, you learn to value yourself and your time. Boundaries are beyond important in the development of self-respect. 

Here are four steps to develop a strong sense of self-worth and confidence.

Step 1: Reflect on the feeling.

Think of a time that you were treated unfairly. What did that feel like? Perhaps it was your friend cancelling on you at the last minute, the waiter bringing you the wrong food, or your mother calling and keeping you on the phone for an hour. Think about how this situation made you feel physically and emotionally. Did you want to fix it, but you just didn’t know what to say or were you afraid to say something in order to get what you deserved? Think about the feelings and thoughts that come up when you recognize someone is taking advantage of your time or kindness. This feeling is important, it will allow you to use a skill to change the outcome next time.

Step 2: Assess your values and your boundaries.

What’s important to you? Is it your free time, workouts, Netflix binges on the weekend? As a therapist, I have people emailing me at all hours of the day and calls that “need to be answered” at all hours of the night, but I can’t be available 24/7. That’s not fair to me and it isn’t fair to my clients. If I’m annoyed or frustrated, how am I going to be serving them? Instead, I decided to set hours, and let my clients know what these were. This helped me spend my time with family and friends

Step 3: Speak up for the small stuff.

Pay attention to the details. Did your cab driver keep the meter running or your friend keep you waiting for an hour? Notice the small things that take advantage of your time, kindness, or your money. If I wouldn’t have been paying attention, the checkout girl would have unknowingly taken advantage of me, and I would have been upset with myself and her if I noticed it later on. Be aware of your interactions and if people begin to make you feel like you are being taken advantage of, then you can act.

Step 4: Speak up for yourself.

It may just be a question to confirm that your needs are being met, but their answer will also give you insight into what else you need to feel better or allow you to get what you want. Be nice and polite when you are asking for what you want to be fixed or inquiring about it. 

Here are some examples:

• Nishi said ___ when I picked it up, I thought the price was lower; could you double check for me?
• I have other plans that I can’t change, I appreciate you thinking of me, unfortunately I won’t be able to help this time.
• I’d love to chat, and I only have a few minutes.