I was fairly sure that I had a good understanding of what respect was until I asked the question. “What is respect?” I had to think about it for a while before answering the question. Below is what I’ve come up with.
To acknowledge that people and things have an inherent value and understanding that you no right to devalue them is the fundamental aspect of respect.
Even with that definition, we’re not close to understanding respect, so let’s look at a few examples to get a better understanding of the word.
Respect is understanding that people are entitled to an opinion you disagree with.
Respect is the ability to listen to people without interrupting them.
Respect is understanding that you don’t insult other people’s physical appearance.
Respect is understanding that if you agree to meet someone at a particular time, you turn up on time.
Respect is understanding that you need to remain silent while they’re working on an important project. (Sorry, I mean every project, even snooker and golf.)
Respect is understanding that people are entitled to personal space that you don’t encroach without being invited.
Respect is understanding that please and thanks are a fundamental part of asking or receiving anything.
Respect is understanding that people from different backgrounds will have different values and beliefs.
Respect is understanding that people’s possessions are not yours to dislike out loud, and they’re definitely not yours to damage.
In essence, it means that you don’t just respect your elders. You respect everyone.
That’s where we’re going to leave respect and concentrate on self-respect. We don’t have to spend much time on that because it’s basically expecting the same respect that you give everyone else.
Self-respect is understanding that you have an inherent value. If you have enough of it, nobody can devalue you.
