OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 315 28th June 2018 | Page 6

OMG Digital Magazine | 315 | Thursday 28 June 2018 • PAGE 6
SoulFood
Why Self-Respect
is
Important
&
How
to
Gain
It
By Julianna Gauthier
It is important to have self-respect if you want to love
yourself fully and completely. Having self-respect gives
you the ability to love yourself for the real person you are
on the inside, and not just for your looks or what you do
for a living, or what you are able to do. When you have the
ability to be proud of you who are, and believe that you
have value as a human being, then you have self-respect.
When someone is lacking self-respect they experience
feelings of regret, shame, anger, guilt, and blame. They
often engage in abusive, self-destructive behaviors due
to feeling they have little value and are unworthy. These
emotions and behaviors conflict with the ones of honesty,
integrity, and self-confidence of a person who has self-
respect experiences. are not respecting yourself. You must be able to draw a
line between putting your emotional and physical needs
ahead of helping and serving others. to say then don’t say it all! Learn to love yourself for who
you are on the inside and what you have to offer and
contribute to the world.
Putting the needs of others before your own will
eventually take it’s toll on you. Not only is it physically and
emotionally draining, it can also be time consuming and
costly. In addition, you may be feeling taken advantage of
which will inevitably lead to feeling angry and resentful.
You cannot achieve self-respect by tending to everyone’s
needs and neglecting your own. It’s actually the opposite
that is true. The better you take care of yourself, and the
more you tend to your own needs, the more you have to
freely give to others. * If you find it hard to start respecting yourself, think of
how you talk to a small child or good friend. You use
gentle tones and kind words to show respect and love.
Respect your body by getting proper exercise, eating a
well-balanced diet, and getting the appropriate amount
of rest. Respect your mind by constantly improving your
intellect, practicing  personal development, and being
disciplined about what you watch and listen to. Respect
your spirit by engaging in religious practice, regular
mediation or breathing techniques.
People will give you as much respect as you give yourself.
If you cannot respect yourself, others will not respect you
either. How to Respect Yourself
Everyone is unique and born with their own set of great
talents and personal strengths. In order to respect yourself
you need to appreciate your mind, body, and spirit. Gaining self-respect is about loving yourself completely.
Once you achieve this you can then begin to reach out
and meet the needs of others.
Take Care of Yourself First
While it sometimes necessary to put others needs before
your own, if you continuously sacrifice your own needs
in order to serve others, it becomes damaging and you
This means not criticizing yourself either to yourself or in
front of others. Use the rule you learned from childhood
and apply it to yourself: if you don’t have anything nice