Respect Yourself
Friday, August 27th, 2010
My housemate likes to leave the door open for airflow. But at night, and on chilly evenings, I really don’t like being alone in the room with the door wide open. So I close it. Then he walks through to let the dog out, and when they come back into the house, he carefully props the door back open, and goes back into his office.
Respect comes in many forms. Respecting one’s basic needs like food, shelter and safety. Respecting one’s dislikes such as too much meat on my dinner plate. Respecting one’s opinions, such as “Please don’t use that word around me. I find it really disrespectful to women. That includes me.” And respect for the differences between people. When my housemate spends time in the room, I’m fine with him keeping the door open. And now that I’ve pointed out that i INTENTIONALLY close that door, he’s trying to pay more attention to leaving it the way he found it when he’s not going to be in the room.
The thing is– we have to respect ourselves before we can ask anyone else to respect us. And it’s through active (non-aggressive) self respect that we show others how we expect to be treated, and what behaviors are acceptable/unacceptable if they want to be a part of our lives. If I didn’t tell him I wanted the door shut, he would never have noticed or cared that he was opening it. If I don’t make time for my projects and goals, nobody will. If I don’t take good care of myself, who will?
Basic respect is a two-way street. Respect everyone you love, including yourself.
Be Well.
Category : Staci Says...
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