Self-respect is a kind of character trait that helps us to have a life worth living. This trait is not always easy to achieve, but it is a very rewarding one when we do attain it.

What does self-respect mean to you? How does it apply to your life? Do you have any idea how important it is? Here are a few thoughts on how to gain self-respect.

Most people have some negative “tapes” they run about themselves be it from painful upbringing, teachers or peers and therefore can perceive that they are self-deficient. But you can “re frame” those stories and retell them to yourself in a more positive way. The more you become comfortable in respecting yourself, ironically the more others seem to respect you as well. Most of us care about our own well-being and success and re-framing negative beliefs, stories or perceptions about yourself can greatly improve your outlook. To read more on re-framing, try out this book,”Reframe Your Viewpoints: How to Gradually Redirect Anxiety Energy to Unlock Confidence” by Virginia Ritterbusch.

People with self-respect don’t succumb to doubt as much and even think of criticism as an opportunity in many cases. They believe in themselves and their abilities and fall more on the side of taking action, following others more advanced or knowledgeable than themselves and personal accountability. Learning to of love and accept both the positive and negative, go ahead and give yourself permission to move forward, forgive and pull out of the negativity.

An attitude of gratitude is also a great place to start! To improve your outlook, start from a place of admiration and ability to improve. Do not just accept status quo but challenge negativity. Practically, start by waking every morning and do the following 3 things;

Say gratitude prayers for every thing you can think of. Make a list of 20 things you are grateful for and meditate on them until you truly feel the emotion.
During the day, refer back to today’s top 3 items on your list with the intention of identifying those negative trigger thoughts, moments and combat them with a conscious choice of turning that moment into a compassionate self awareness and repeat what you are thankful for.
Every evening before bed, review mentally your day and think about what stands out, lessons learned and successes and failures.

As you can see, there are many different facets of self-respect. However, they all have one thing in common: they all help us to live more fully and have better relationships with other people. Do your mental exercises consistently and remember, this is a “practice”.

By having self-respect in our lives, we are better able to communicate with others and move beyond hurtful thoughts that turn into hurtful behavior as well as see things from other people’s perspectives more positively.

It is a journey to more self-respect and so here is to your growth and becoming more successful in life, self awareness and achieving your dreams.

Respect,
Garen