I've been doing some thinking about self-respect this morning.
In my opinion, there is way too much emphasis on self-esteem these days. Self-esteem ought to be a natural out-growth of self-respect instead of a cheap substitute for it. Self respect is far more valuble than self esteem.
Self esteem is artificial. It is the idea that you should feel confidence in yourself regardless of your behavior. It says you are special simply because you exist. It's a "don't judge me" concept.
Studies have shown that many of the criminals in our prison system have a very high level of self esteem. It's easy to have a high opinion of yourself if you don't see that your actions and level of responsibility are important.
Self-respect is like a fortress you build around your inner self, one block at a time! That fortress gives you strength and protection when the world throws challenges your way!
The building blocks of your fortress come from proving to yourself that you are a person worthy of your own respect!
That only comes from proving to yourself that you can make wise choices and take responsible action.
For instance, there is no way that you can respect yourself for choosing to do something that you know is wrong.
On the other hand, standing up and defending what is right and good even when it's unpopular takes strength and adds more blocks to your fortress quickly!
Your fortress doesn't have to be perfect to have value to you. All of us have weak spots in our character, they are just there to show us what more we need to work on!
Even if your fortress of self-respect is a shambles today, you can start rebuilding it right now one block at a time by starting to make one good decision at a time!
Self-respect comes from hundreds of little good decisions and acts of character and self-discipline all added together!
Have you ever had a hole blown in your fortress wall? I have! When you make a mistake of character in your life, what do you do?
Instead of walking away from your damaged fortress and giving up on it, start building again and focus on making your self-respect even stronger by fixing the problems that created the original weakness.
Think of the power that comes from being able to say, I had the courage to overcome a major obstacle in my life!
If you don't feel much respect for yourself, start today!
Go do something good, preferably for someone else, and lay the first block in your fortress of self-respect.
Figure out how to put another block in that wall every day!
You will find that other people can't take your self-respect from you if you have built it on the right principles.
That's far more valuable than the perceived picture of yourself that is self-esteem. This is real!
So do something today that adds value to the world!
Go make it an awesome day!
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