Respecting yourself is the first step toward understanding you deserve love, consideration, and opportunities like everyone else. Show
“Our level of self-respect acts almost like a blueprint to instruct others how to engage with us,” says Jaime Zuckerman, a licensed clinical psychologist in Philadelphia. “When we develop healthy reciprocal relationships, we find ourselves surrounded by those who respect us, support us, and treat us how we want to be treated.” What is self-respect?Self-respect is loving yourself and treating yourself with care. It’s the result of staying true to your values and not being willing to compromise. The more you engage in behaviors consistent with your beliefs and values, the more you’ll feel fulfilled and confident. This, in turn, will improve your sense of well-being, says Zuckerman. Respecting yourself also prevents you from comparing yourself and your life with other people. This may be especially important in today’s digital world. “Self-comparison is rampant on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok,” says Zuckerman. “When we have a low level of self-respect, we tend to engage in more social comparison, which makes us feel worse about ourselves, not good enough, and minimize our achievements.” At its core, self-respect is a form of self-care. “When someone has self-respect, they have accepted themselves and believe that they are deserving of belonging in the world,” says Divya Robin, a psychotherapist in New York City. “We are wired to want connection and a sense of belonging, so self-belonging and acceptance is incredibly important for psychological health, too.” 5 Tips to develop and show self-respectIf you feel you need to work on caring more about yourself and showing more self-respect, these tips can help you take the first step. 1. Try to revisit your valuesIf self-respect means acting according to your values, the first step must be to clarify what your values are. Values are firm beliefs about what’s important or desirable to you in life. For example:
To define your core values, Zuckerman recommends asking yourself these two questions:
Once you do this first exercise, consider following up with the following reflections:
Try to work on these and similar questions by being honest with yourself. Consider leaving cultural or family expectations behind, so you can identify what matters to you. 2. Consider taking inventory of your relationshipsYou probably don’t live in isolation, even if you don’t have too many people around you. Self-respect starts with the people you choose to have in your life and heart. “Surround yourself with people who empower you to accept and embrace your authentic self,” says Robin. Consider these questions:
“If not, it’s helpful to set boundaries in your relationships. Boundaries are used to let others know what you’re willing to accept and tolerate,” Zuckerman states. 3. Try to focus on activities you enjoySelf-respect is also about life satisfaction, and that may start by spending time and effort on the things you’re passionate about. Although this isn’t always possible, try to include a few activities in your routine that make your heart happy. These activities can be related to your social life, school, or work. Some of them could include:
Doing things you’re good at, says Zuckerman, could also help you increase your sense of well-being. 4. Practicing self-care will helpRespecting yourself means taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically. Self-care activities can include:
5. Identify and nurture your needsIf self-respect is about taking care of yourself, it’s important that you identify what “care” means for you. What are your needs? What would make you feel fulfilled and satisfied? “Check in with your needs on a daily basis, and instead of shaming yourself for having needs, nurture your needs,” Robin suggests. It’s natural to feel apprehensive about spending too much time on yourself, especially if your responsibilities include taking care of others. But attending to your needs is essential to your well-being and can even prepare you to take better care of others if that’s a priority for you. What is the difference between self-respect and self-esteem?Self-esteem is about how much you love yourself. Self-respect is how you show that love to yourself. Usually, having strong self-esteem will motivate you to respect yourself more. But self-esteem also tends to depend on your interactions with the world. “Self-respect is not contingent on success or performance,” says Zuckerman. “It is more of an accepted, unchanging view of ourselves and our worth. Self-esteem, however, is based on our abilities and how well we think we can handle ourselves in a given situation.” Respect is about value and acceptance, and esteem is about evaluation (of skills and abilities). Let’s recapSelf-respect is understanding and honoring your own needs. It’s knowing your worth and acting accordingly. If you feel you can work more on your self-respect, consider identifying your values, setting boundaries, and nurturing your needs through self-care. What is the term for a measure of how much you value respect and feel confident about yourself?Self-esteem is a measure of how much you value, respect, and feel confident about yourself.
What term is used to refer to the way you feel about yourself?Self-esteem refers to the positive (high self-esteem) or negative (low self-esteem) feelings that we have about ourselves. We experience the positive feelings of high self-esteem when we believe that we are good and worthy and that others view us positively.
What is selfSelf-esteem is about how much you love yourself. Self-respect is how you show that love to yourself. Usually, having strong self-esteem will motivate you to respect yourself more. But self-esteem also tends to depend on your interactions with the world.
What are the 4 types of selfThere are 4 components that define the esteem you might feel for yourself: self-confidence, identity, feeling of belonging, and feeling of competence.
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