Having self-respect is the very first step on the journey of self-acceptance. It’s understanding our worth, acknowledging our values, our true nature and accepting ourselves just the way we are.
It all comes down to being the kind of person you truly wish to be without having a single care in the world what anybody says about it. It’s having the courage to stand up for yourself and speak up about things that bother you, or worse, harm you.
When you finally reach that stage, you become more aware of who you are, and so the process of transformation starts.
You realize that things were blurry for a long time, and you now know that it is finally the time to take matters into your hands!
Here are 20 things you’ve started doing because you have self-respect now:
1. You’ve started placing yourself on the top of the priority list. Not to sound selfish, but who else is going to take care of yourself if you won’t do it?
2. You’ve stopped accepting apologies and meaningless words that aren’t followed by real action. Words are shallow. Actions are what matter the most.
3. You finally understand that you have no responsibility to take care of other people’s problems. Their issues are theirs. Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong might only backfire in a nasty way.
4. No more idly nodding while people are draining your energy complaining about their problems in life that somehow magically always remain the same. Because, unlike them, you’ve decided to make the change within yourself.
5. Cutting all the toxic relationships that inflicted you pain for a long time. Nothing good can come off giving second chances to people who only take advantage of you.
6. No longer justifying your actions to others. Only you get to decide what you’re going to do with your life. No more explaining why you date someone, why you’ve changed your job.
7. Answering people’s texts when you feel like it. It’s not rude, nor selfish. It’s called self-care. It’s natural to need space for yourself.
8. Going home when you feel like it. Or not going out when you want to stay at home. You’ve finally come to the conclusion that you shouldn’t live your life according to some ignorant, socially-accepted rules.
9. You’ve realized that people’s expectations of you shouldn’t be keeping you away from all the things you want to achieve. You owe nothing to them. Every person out there is a perfectly unique combination of ideals and virtues, and we’re all very different. So, it is only natural to have a distinct perspective of everything around us.
10. Embracing change without being afraid of it. It’s one of the core principals of life. No matter how much we resist it, change is inevitable.
11. No more exposing your intimacy on social media, because the comment section and the likes will never portray your true life.
12. No longer engaging with people whose energy just doesn’t correspond with yours. There’s no need for forcing things that aren’t real.
13. Giving up the harmful coping mechanism of drinking yourself into oblivion whenever your spirits are low.
14. No longer worrying if people think your lifestyle or preferences are cool or not. What they think, and how they feel about it, is their issue, and nobody else’s.
15. Not feeling uncomfortable to say no, when it is the only thing your body and mind feel.
16. You’ve learned that nobody should and nobody will tolerate your insufferable behavior. So, no more bursting out in anger to people that don’t deserve to deal with your issues.
17. No more trying to convince everyone to like you, and no more molding yourself into a person they want to see.
19. Taking full responsibility for your life. No more carelessly sitting and waiting for the opportunities to come and find you.
20. No more playing the helpless victim.
21. No more prioritizing people who only see you as an option.
