The foundation to a happy life is a good strong dose of self respect. When you respect yourself, you care for yourself in every way and you are less tolerant of negative disrespectful behaviour from others. You nurture your body and mind and develop opinions that are in line with your values and ethics. You feed your body well and like who you are – not for the things that you achieve but for who you fundamentally are.
You notice and appreciate the goodwill and energy you put into things, your talents and what you give to others. With healthy self respect you don’t need the approval of others for  a sense of well being. You like and approve of yourself and enjoy your own company. Your relationships with others will be more satisfying because you aren’t looking to others to make you feel good about yourself or feel a whole. complete person. You can do that on your own.
When you possess self respect you never let yourself be treated badly or put down. You speak up for yourself and walk away from those who don’t value you or don’t behave well towards you.
If you are low on self respect, it is important to develop this crucial characteristic. Analyse beliefs that keep you feeling bad about yourself. Toss them out and replace them with positive, self serving beliefs. Repeat them to yourself regularly until they become true for you. If you don’t cherish yourself, who else is going to do it? It starts with you…
Explore your childhood for possible causes of negative beliefs and realise that you do not have to believe these statements. You are an adult now with many more choices.
With health self respect, you will flourish and will be more likely to achieve your true potential. See yourself as the wonderful unique human being that you are
Mandy X
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
