Do you honor and respect yourself?. How do you know?. If you’re not sure, think for a moment and ask yourself: How do you treat someone you respect?. How do you speak to that person?. Would you support them and do whatever you could to keep them feeling happy and valued?.

So now the question is: Do you do the same for yourself?. Many, many people don’t do it. People with low self-esteem tend to treat themselves just the opposite!. They hate themselves, they talk negatively to themselves and generally treat themselves like they are a terrible person and worth nothing.

The first thing you should do if you want to honor and respect yourself is to stop being your worst enemy.

Why a lot of people have a hard time honoring and respecting themselves?. Because they grow up believing that they should be selfless and considerate of others. But, we all know that in order to respect and love somebody else we must love and respect ourselves first. By neglecting ourselves we are not doing any favor to others.

So, stop treating yourself so poorly!. This is a key point if you want to improve your self-esteem. Let’s say that you catch yourself saying something wrong to another person or feeling guilty for something you did, stop and turn it around with more positive comments. For example: you caught yourself saying:” I can’t believe I am so stupid”. Immediately stop and say, “I’m not stupid just because I made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. I’ll learn from this mistake and do better next time.”

To Honor and respect yourself is a process; you won’t turn it around in one day. But at least you can make an effort to talk healthier to yourself and become aware of your negative thinking.

Begin now to respect yourself by treating yourself better, stop abusing yourself and change your inner dialog. Be forgiving toward yourself and begin to understand that you are a unique human being. Treat your body with respect. Having respect for others is difficult if you have no respect for yourself. When you start treating yourself with respect your self-esteem and confidence will improve.

“If you can’t love and respect yourself – no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are – completely; the good and the bad – and make changes as YOU see fit – not because you think someone else wants you to be different.” – Stacey Charter