R-E-S-P-E-C-T…how do You Define Respect?

How do you define respect? This is something everyone wants, and everyone defines differently!

Here are some definitions we found:

• Respect is a way of treating or thinking about something or someone.
• Respect is positively treating someone because of who they are.
• Respect is to show regard or consideration for someone else.

Quotes for Reflection on Respect:

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

“If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.”
– Fyodor Dostoyevsky

When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be.
– Thomas S. Monson

“Tolerance only for those who agree with you is no tolerance at all.”
– Ray Davis

One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.
– Bryant H. McGill

“As all human beings are, in my view, creatures of God’s design, we must respect all other human beings. That does not mean I have to agree with their choices or agree with their opinions, but indeed I respect them as human beings.”
– Stockwell Day, Jr.


To influence others, your must first respect their opinion. This does not mean you agree with them. There are times when it means you agree to disagree. And there are times when it means you are wise enough to understand that every coin has two sides and you can’t see them both at the same time.

We frequently forget the importance of respecting others. Relationships fall apart when people refuse to respect each other’s opinions, perspectives and points of view. Respect goes both ways. You cannot get what you do not give.