It is important to have self-respect if you want to love yourself fully and completely. Having self-respect gives you the ability to love yourself for the real person you are on the inside, and not just for your looks or what you do for a living, or what you are able to do. When you have the ability to be proud of you who are, and believe that you have value as a human being, then you have self-respect.

When someone is lacking self-respect they experience feelings of regret, shame, anger, guilt, and blame. They often engage in abusive, self-destructive behaviors due to feeling they have little value and are unworthy. These emotions and behaviors conflict with the ones of honesty, integrity, and self-confidence of a person who has self-respect experiences.

People will give you as much respect as you give yourself. If you cannot respect yourself, others will not respect you either.

Take Care of Yourself First

While it sometimes is necessary to put others needs before your own, if you continuously sacrifice your own needs in order to serve others, it becomes damaging and you are not respecting yourself. You must be able to draw a line between putting your emotional and physical needs ahead of helping and serving others.

Putting the needs of others before your own will eventually take it’s toll on you. Not only is it physically and emotionally draining, it can also be time consuming and costly. In addition, you may be feeling taken advantage of which will inevitably lead to feeling angry and resentful.

You cannot achieve self-respect by tending to everyone’s needs and neglecting your own. It’s actually the opposite that is true. The better you take care of yourself, and the more you tend to your own needs, the more you have to freely give to others.

How to Respect Yourself

Everyone is unique and born with their own set of great talents and personal strengths. In order to respect yourself you need to appreciate your mind, body, and spirit.

This means not criticizing yourself either to yourself or in front of others. Use the rule you learned from childhood and apply it to yourself: if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it all! Learn to love yourself for who you are on the inside and what you have to offer and contribute to the world.

• If you find it hard to start respecting yourself, think of how you talk to a small child or good friend. You use gentle tones and kind words to show respect and love.

Respect your body by getting proper exercise, eating a well-balanced diet, and getting the appropriate amount of rest. Respect your mind by constantly improving your intellect, practicing personal development, and being disciplined about what you watch and listen to. Respect your spirit by engaging in religious practice, regular mediation or breathing techniques.

Gaining self-respect is about loving yourself completely. Once you achieve this you can then begin to reach out and meet the needs of others.