June 7, 2007
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Respect
The first thing that you have to do is get right with yourself. You can’t give respect if you don’t have self-respect. Do your words and actions match a person that has self respect?
It doesn’t matter if anyone calls you any name in the book, is disrepectful, is abusive…whatever it is…if you have self-respect, you have to tell yourself that you are not going to engage in that type of behavior with them. That’s their choice. It is a life decision. What’s yours?
Comments (2)
I’m still working on the concept of self-respect. I was taught as a child by my abusive parents not to respect myself, that I was scum and not worthy of love or proper care. That lack of self-respect and self-esteem made it all the easier for them to perpetute the cycle of abuse unchecked.
It’s hard to learn how to stop listening to the antiquated tapes that play over and over again, to acknowlegdge that they were WRONG and I am a good person who is worthy of proper treatment, and that I am capable of cutting out negative influences in favor of positive ones, but I am trying my hardest.
True. Most things in life start with you. Sure, we all have bad breaks from time to time, but I’ve found the good and the bad all balances out if we keep ourselves right.