Respect Yourself

You matter. You are valuable. You are worthy of respect.

Can you look yourself in the eye and tell yourself, “I respect you?”

Here are three ways to show yourself the respect you deserve:  

1. Keep Your Word to Yourself. This is so simple and yet so often we let ourselves slip. When you tell yourself that you are going to bed early and getting up early enough to work out, and then you don’t, you are disrespecting yourself. Maybe you say you are going to leave work on time to be with your family, and then you don’t. Each time you break your word to yourself, you are tearing down your self confidence. Keep your word, build your self-respect and your confidence.
    
2. Set Boundaries. As our mentor said, “you teach people how to treat you.” According to Wikipedia, personal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits. You know what you need. You’re the only one who can set limits, manage your time, make choices and determine who is part of your life. Decide your boundaries and respect yourself by honoring them. 
    
3. Take Care of Yourself. You know what to do; eat well, exercise, and sleep enough. You are in charge of making the choices to take care of yourself. If respect is shown by how you treat someone; how do you treat yourself? What information (media, music, etc) do you invite into your mind? Is it respectful of who you are and who you aspire to be? Respect yourself by managing your intake. Another way that you care for yourself is talking to yourself respectfully. Would you let someone else talk to you the way that you talk to yourself? Respect yourself by taking care of your body, your mind and your soul. 

Self-respect is foundational for great leaders. Keep your word to yourself, set thoughtful boundaries and take care of yourself. You cannot get what you do not give and it starts with you respecting yourself.