As the Staple Singers said in their famous song,
“…If you don't respect yourself Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot ... respect yourself!”
We are living in a time when authenticity is highly valued, a time when we are being encouraged to be ourselves and not listen to what other people say about us. And I have certainly encouraged you to bring your highest and best selves everywhere you go and to everything you take on.
You honour your highest and best self by respecting yourself, by gracefully acknowledging your mistakes, by taking pride in your accomplishments, by showing up as your highest and best self! Expect others to honour you, to treat you with respect, to be compassionate, to be kind in their feedback and generous in the praise offered, and you are more likely to receive this treatment.
We teach other people how to treat us. We do it overtly in many ways as we have reviewed in previous discussions about the Platinum Rule®. We also teach them how to treat us by what we accept; for example, if we allow others to speak to us rudely or disrespectfully, they will think it is OK to keep treating us that way.
Another way we teach people how to treat us is in how we speak about ourselves. Negative self-talk such as “I am so stupid,” "I'm so fat," or “I cannot get this right” or other comments about yourself that are negative, gives others permission to speak to us in negative ways.
How we dress, and whether we are well-groomed, also tells people whether we respect and care about ourselves. When we do not care for ourselves, do not eat well, sleep well, keep ourselves clean, or wear clean clothes, we are sending a message to ourselves and to others.
How we show up tells the world that we are worthy of respect or that we are not.
Respect yourself!
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