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Self-respect has nothing to do with selfishness or arrogance. No, it’s rather the opposite. Self-respect is about a deep sense of self-worth and self-love through which you receive love and can give love.
We sometimes try to gain self-esteem by getting a lot of Facebook likes on your photo or by getting new clothes, a new house or a nice car. But these external factors will never give us the self-esteem we actually need.
Below you will find 9 ways to respect yourself more:
1 Investigate what makes you respect yourself
What makes you respect yourself? Maybe you will gain respect for yourself if you keep your word, if you keep your promise to other people. Or by exercising regularly, by having a good and healthy breakfast every morning or by meditating regularly. Take a moment to think about what makes you respect yourself.
2 Be honest about who you are and who you are not.
Once you figure out what makes you feel good (step 1), make sure you stay true to it. Don’t just think about it, actually do something with it. Do you like to have something planned every evening of the week?
Do this! But if you actually find it quite tiring to be away from home in the evenings for 3 days in a row, consider this. Show respect for yourself and next time make sure you don’t have to leave 3 nights in a row. Try to be clear about this, to yourself and to your friends.
Also Read: Self-love: 8 ways to make more time for yourself
3. Respect yourself by doing things you enjoy.
Doing new things remains exciting for most of us. You never know if you will like it or the outcome. But to move forward in life or to experience new fun things, you sometimes have to step out of your comfort zone.
4. Stop saying “act normal”
The only way to shine is to be yourself. And that’s easier said than done. But remember this: all those people you look up to, they’re probably doing what they want. They do what they like and they don’t care what others think. Because ‘others’ will always have an opinion, so if you have to take that into account you keep busy, because people are also very changeable, so one moment they don’t like it and the next moment they think something is the end.
5. Don’t let others determine your boundaries.
Many people have the best intentions and they are happy to give you advice. Advice that they think is good for you, advice that fits with their past. But we are not all the same. So ignore the people who give you advice that you actually know you know. Listen to yourself and you will be fine.
Also Read: Why self-love starts with recognizing your limits
6. Learn to say no
Letting others know that something is not okay does not make you a bad person, it makes you a strong person that people respect. When you stop saying yes to everything, you will see that you have more energy and creativity. And with more energy and creativity often comes more happiness.
7. Date Someone Who Is Sure Wants To Date You
You know when most of us throw our self-esteem out the window? The moment they start dating. There are so many people who have so much to offer their partner, but who wait paralyzed until their partner makes a choice about an important point in a relationship. Of course it takes a while for a couple to grow, but people who bend over backwards are often not happy themselves. So gather all your self-respect and stand up for yourself!
8. What you have done today is enough
Self-respect means that you are not terribly critical of yourself, that you judge yourself and are strict with yourself. Because it’s so easy to stick to a to-do list and let our self-esteem depend on how much of that list we’ve done. But that’s not so nice at all, that’s actually quite unkind to yourself. Maybe it’s good to look at your list and ask yourself if you’ve done one task, whether the next task is really necessary. Maybe you can just do nothing, read a book on the couch. Be kind to yourself.
9. Be willing to accept
You must be willing to see things and people as they are. It can be painful to acknowledge that there is a problem with ourselves, our loved ones, or a situation. But if you don’t deal with the problem with curiosity and an open heart, the situation won’t get better anytime soon.
And remember, treat yourself the way you want others to treat you. Because by only focusing on your shortcomings we almost give our approval to the rest of the world to focus on these shortcomings as well.
Also Read: This is what self-love really means, because it’s not just about a hot bath and chocolate…
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