Self-Respect: Why it’s important and how to build it

Unlock the significance of self-respect and embark on a journey to build it within yourself. Explore the why and how of self-respect in this insightful guide.

Self-respect is the respect you have for yourself. When you have self-respect, you truly love yourself. When you love yourself, you know that you are valuable. Self-respect means having pride and confidence in yourself, and without self-respect, it’s difficult to have confidence and integrity. When you respect yourself, you simply like yourself, and believe in yourself. A person without self-respect always feels the emotions of unworthy, guilt, anger, blame, and shame. If you can’t respect yourself, it will be more difficult for you to respect others. So it all begins with respecting yourself.

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals;
respect for others guides our manners.”
— Laurence Stone

10 Signs You Lack Self Respect

You can’t be easy enough to add your thoughts to a conversation because you think your opinions offer no value.
You are easily manipulated by anyone, and you feel overwhelmed and stressed out.
You’re unable to say “No”, and you let people walk all over you.
You doubt yourself and don’t want to take a risk to change or start something new. You love to stay stuck in your comfort zone.
You forget your values, feel unworthy, an inhibition works inside you, and you can’t express yourself clearly to others. You are controlled by others.
In a relationship, you completely forget who and what you are, and find yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do.
You are not sure about your goal, what you want in your life, and follow the way others have made for you.
You feel yourself worthless, get anxious, and compare yourself.
You can’t be easy or frank with somebody to be introduced. You always want to satisfy others, but they don’t care you.
You follow an image or symbol in order to gain attention, and sometimes do stupid and erratic things.

This Is Why Self-Respect Is Important

When you have self-respect, you truly love yourself. When you love yourself, you know that you are valuable.
When you have self-respect, you love yourself for who you are on the inside and not just because of what you do, or what you’re capable of. You take pride in who you are and you know that you’re important.
Self-respect means having pride and confidence in yourself, and without self-respect, it’s difficult to have confidence and integrity. When you respect yourself, you simply like yourself, and believe in yourself.
When you have self-respect, you will exhibit strong character with the willingness to accept responsibility for your own life.
If you have self-respect, you will fight for your beliefs and values. This will make others to admire your courage, and they will start to appreciate you more and take you more seriously.
When you have self-respect, you will believe you are a worthy individual. When you believe you are worthy, you believe you are deserving of love and respect.
When you respect yourself, you will never compare yourself to others, and you don’t feel jealous when others shine in their own way.
When you have self-respect, people love you because of what’s inside of you, and they respect you for who you really are.
On the flipside, a person without self-respect always feels the emotions of unworthy, guilt, anger, blame, and shame.
Beyond all, if you can’t respect yourself, it will be more difficult for you to respect others. And without self-respect, how can you respect others and how can others respect you? So it all begins with respecting yourself.

Ways to respect yourself more

Here’s how to gain self-respect in some simple steps.

1. Identify your beliefs and values

Identify your beliefs and values. It’s important. Your beliefs and values must reflect your authentic self. These beliefs and values shouldn’t be changed for anyone. It’s yours. If you don’t know your values, you’ll act against your values, and you’ll lose respect for yourself. All of your actions must be guided by your values, because these values are the foundation for every decision and action in your life.

2. Respect your confidence

The more confidence you attain, the more your self-respect will grow. But confidence isn’t always easy to gain; you have to work for it. Do things that you are good at. Don’t stay in a relationship that makes you sad. Don’t stay in your job if it makes you miserable. Don’t do something if it doesn’t feel right. And, as a result, you have more self-respect.

3. Identify your philosophy of life

What do you want out of life? Most people have trouble answering this question. Everybody needs a life philosophy. A life philosophy is an overall vision toward life and the purpose of it. Defining your purpose is important. Once you find your why, you will be closer to the thing you really want in life. Look forward and decide where you want to see yourself. Your daily actions will help you move closer to your vision.

4. Respect your body

Your body is the home of your mind and spirit. It’s the vessel transporting you around the world. It’s the only one you have. Take good care of your body. Loving your body is one of the ultimate ways to respect yourself. Live healthy and make exercise a lifestyle priority. Don’t think that you’re not attractive or you’re stupid. If your loved ones love you, they love you unconditionally. They respect you for who you really are and love you because of what’s inside of you.

5. Meet your needs first

Meeting your own needs first is an essential aspect of self-respect. We meet someone else’s needs before we took care of our own. Off course, helping others is your noble trait. But before doing that, it is also important to know when helping others is making you suffer. There’s nothing wrong with stepping up for others, but you need to meet your own physical and emotional needs first.

6. Respect your honesty

Being an honest person is a vital key to gaining self-respect. The most powerful tool to have is your honesty. So stay honest with yourself and with others. Being honest with yourself is actually pretty hard, but when you’re honest with yourself, you’ll see what’s good for you and what’s not.

7. Respect your failures

Your failures are the stepping stones to your ultimate destination. Failures and setbacks are part of your life. Find legitimate value in them, and learn from them. Once you learn from your setbacks, move on without looking back. Letting go of the past can be difficult, but In order to respect who you are now, you must let go of who you were then.

8. Learn from your mistakes

We learn from our mistakes. Our mistakes help define us. Whenever you’ll make a wrong turn, don’t criticize yourself, just analyze what you did wrong and how you could’ve made the situation better. So move on and learn from your mistakes.

9. Respect your goals

Set your goals and start with the easiest one. Accomplish it, and congratulate yourself that you did something for yourself. Each goal you attain, you’ll gain strength to challenge yourself and start to become confident in your abilities. The more goals you attain, the more your self-respect will grow.

10. Spend time with positive people

Spend more time with positive people who help you grow and make you feel happy. Positive people treat you the best way possible. Negative people or relationships are always holding you back. You should get rid of those toxic people who only drain your energy. Shut them out of your life.

Conclusion

So, in the end: identify your beliefs; find your why; respect your confidence; live healthy and make exercise; understand your limits and learn to say no; be honest with yourself and with others; learn from your failures and mistakes; set your goals and start to attain; and you will in the end respect yourself. Now that’s real power.