Respect Yourself and Others

What Is Respect? Respect is a lot of things. It is an attitude, an action, and a way of life. It is showing appreciation for what is good in people, a positive response to living with ourselves and others. It is not hurtful, mean, cruel or destructive in any way. It is building up, rather than tearing down.

Write down three words you think best describes respect.

Respecting Yourself There are lots of ways in which we disrespect ourselves, not getting enough sleep, not eating healthy food, not exercising, drinking, smoking, doing drugs, etc. Most of these behaviors stem from not thinking well of ourselves. We think things like, "I'm too fat, too ugly or too dumb" to do the things we want to do.

Respecting Yourself To respect ourselves means to think good thoughts about ourselves like, "I am smart and capable of learning new things." Having healthy self-respect is not bragging or having to be better than someone else. It is affirming who we are, our strengths and our values.

Write down one affirmation, or positive statement, about yourself Write down one affirmation, or positive statement, about yourself. Try to think of a new one each day. The more we think positively about ourselves, the more we are likely to take better care of ourselves.

Respecting Others No one likes a bully. Mean words and cruel behaviors like name calling, pushing or shoving are aggressive acts that provoke fear, but also anger and resentment back. Once that cycle starts, it's hard to break.

Respecting Others Positive, respectful interaction like being courteous, patient or helpful is usually received with much better results. We usually get back what we give. If I smile and say, "Good morning," I am more likely to get a friendly response back, than if I had grumbled something mean as I passed by.

Think of a time that someone said something unkind or disrespectful to you Write down how that made you feel. What could they have done or said differently, so that you would not be hurt or mad? Likewise, think of a time that you did or said something hurtful. Write down how you could have handled it differently.

Respecting Our Differences Seeing our differences for what they are is important. We have different ethnicities, cultures, religions, family backgrounds, appearances, interests and abilities. But we all have similar thoughts, feelings, wants and dreams. We all need to be appreciated for who we are. And we need to feel connected, like we belong. Sometimes it is difficult to get beyond our differences. We are uncomfortable with them, maybe even afraid of them, so we tease or taunt, or worse, act superior to others who are different from us. This sets up division, barriers, prejudices and bad feelings that can lead to mistrust, even hatred.

Respecting Our Differences As a part of learning how to respect ourselves and others, we need to be willing to knock down these artificial and destructive barriers. We need to reach out beyond our differences and find common ground. It can be as simple as initiating pleasant conversation, playing a game or having lunch with someone different from you. Having an open mind and heart can help you learn more about yourself and expand your circle of friends.

Think about one thing you can do in the next week to reach out respectfully to someone different from you, write it down as a goal and really try to implement it.