Respect

Character Core of The Month

All humans crave respect. Respect is about dignity, about our worth as people.

The desire for respect is ingrained in us. No one likes feeling put down by other people or feeling that they have less worth than another person. This is why respect is so important. If you respect someone and they respect you, you will treat each other with dignity and kindness.

Before respecting others, we need to learn to respect ourselves. MarkTwain once said, “When people do not respect us we are sharply offended; yet in his private heart no man much respects himself.” It is hard to respect others if we do not feel like we have worth. 

But every single human has worth and is worthy of respect. No matter what we do or don’t do. If we would go by that, none of us would be worthy of respect because we all make mistakes; some small mistakes, some really big mistakes.  Yet even with making mistakes, we are all human and deserve respect. Start with recognizing your own worth, then you will be able to respect others better.

“If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.” – Maya Angelou

Respect can be shown in various ways. Simple common courtesies such as holding the door open for someone, saying please and thank you, making eye contact with people when you are talking to them, trying to remember people’s names, etc.

Listening well to others is a great way to show respect. You show them that you think they have something of value to say, and that it is worth your time to hear their ideas.

In a world where social media and the news love showing the cruel sides of people, change the world around you by respecting others.