English Literature

What is self-respect Self respect and self-esteem are two elements that just about everyone struggles to understand and define for themselves. For teenagers, who deal with complex emotions, physical changes and interpersonal relationships all within a fast few years, understanding and grasping the meaning of self-respect can be difficult. It can be hard to understand what self respect represents, but even harder to decide what it means as an individual and to attain it within oneself.

Self respect is the acceptance of yourself as the person that you are and the recognition of the things that you accomplish, feel and are capable of that you are proud of. A person feels self respect when they recognize elements of themselves as being who they truly are and accept those elements enough to be satisfied and even proud of them. These elements might not be perfect. Maybe you love to sing, and you dont think youre bad at it, but you know youre not superstar material. Loving to sing, and loving your passion for it enough to belt out a tune whenever you want to in spite of knowing youre not pitch-perfect, is an example of self respect. You accept that youre not the worlds best singer, but you love yourself for doing it and you respect yourself for singing in spite of a few wrong notes.

Self respect is also recognition of the values that are important to oneself and the acknowledgement of oneself for adhering to them or being true to them. If a person believes strongly that honesty is the most important element of trust in a friendship or relationship, they gain self respect for themselves by never lying to their friends. Conversely, self respect can be lost by lying, for example, or not adhering to the principles held true by that person. Self respect is ultimately a deeply personal part of an individuals personality. Self respect can be gained by understanding who you are, sticking to what you believe in, and accepting the parts of you that make you who you are.