Self-respect is one of the key elements in a relationship. It’s either the reason why people fall in love with you or the reason why they stay with you. Yes, I am talking about constructive relationships, not the ones that drain your energy and make you insecure and miserable.
If you have started doing some of the things I am about to list below, or you are considering doing them, there is a chance you’ve climbed that crazy steel roller-coaster called a self-respect boost.
1. Your voice started being heard because you have told your friends that you should do something you like too, say, you have your Pilates training at 5 and you actually go to it, even though your friends want to have coffee at 5. You can now say no and do your thing.
2. You no longer reply to texts ASAP. If you are busy working and your partner gets mad because you didn’t text back right away, you say to them something like, “Honey, I have things to do and we’re not kids anymore.”
3. Worrying whether people like you or whether you have enough likes on your new Instagram pic – sorry, what’s that again? Likes, who even cares?
4. Not arguing with people online over different opinions because you know you cannot save world problems on the internet.
5. Not wasting your energy on toxic people. You have now learned how to block their toxic behavior and not let it get to you.
6. You value your time by focusing on your own priorities and goals in life.
7. You value yourself. You know you have put yourself on a higher pedestal when you no longer allow someone to mistreat you or criticize you, your work, your actions or choices in life in order to feed their condescending complex kind of thing.
8. You treat problems soberly – you no longer need the help of alcohol or pills to reduce your stress or anxiety. You fight that by facing the problem because hey, you are mature and fully capable of taking things under control.
9. No is no, right? You haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep and you need rest. You cancel your plans because you now respect your body and you do not disregard the signs it is sending you. That is perfectly sound and understandable.
10. Have you ever heard of ghosting? Yeah, you did. And you know what else you did? You used it. Well, in that case, that just proves you no longer explain your actions or give excuses; you are accountable for your own actions.
11. No explanations. No justifying. This speaks for itself.
12. Apologizing just for the sake of it – this no longer has a pass with you. Apologizing should be followed by action the same way adjectives are followed by nouns. Maybe I took it too far with the comparison, but you get my point.
13. You are no longer the mediator. Solving other people’s conflicts, polishing friendships, or compromising just because others’ egos are too huge to deal with is not something that’s on the top of your list. Not anymore.
14. I changed my mind – you started using this sentence quite more often. If so, you are on the right track. You are allowed to change your mind because you are the leader of your life. You, you, and always you. Keep that in mind.
