Treat others with respect, no matter what their job is or if they don’t have a job, if they volunteer, are homeless, mentally ill, have an addiction, different spiritual preferences, political thoughts, ethnicity, music preference or anything else that comes to mind. WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALISTS with tens of thousands of thoughts every day. Trust me when I say that none of us think the same exact thought. Even if you say yes to a simple question, your mind is already thinking of the reasons you said “yes” and they will not all be the same reasons as another individual who said “yes.”

This is how I view the word R-E-S-P-E-C-T

R = Respect = Having pride in yourself to hold your tongue when you don’t agree with what someone says. If you feel the need to say something…do it with respect. Respect is having pride in yourself for trying to understand someone’s point of view. Respect is also having pride in yourself for keeping your cool when your don’t agree with someone and move on without being rude. Respect is being kind.

E = Empathy = Respecting ideas and feelings regarding other’s ideas and thoughts. You can have empathy when you are in disagreement with someone’s views. Life is an adventure and we learn from other’s perspectives. We may never ever agree with someone’s point of view, but we can have empathy by putting ourselves in that individuals thought process and try to understand his or her feelings pertaining to the topic of disagreement. With empathy, you are showing respect to understand. Respect is being kind.

S = Soul Searching = Respecting yourself in any situation is very important. Soul searching allows an individual to take something they may not understand and seek deeply into the meaning of why they feel so strongly about something. Soul searching, in my thought process, means to take time alone and ask yourself, “what can I take away from my disagreement with someone today, What can I teach to others regarding my thoughts and did I grow from today’s events.” Respect yourself with kindness and growth.

P = Praise = Respecting a behavior showing honor and admiration is the same as the word “Praise” represents. Praise displays respect. When we praise ourselves or someone else we are showing much respect, which is an admiration in its fullest.

E = Esteem = There is nothing worse than feeling a passion about something and having someone come along and burst your bubble. For some…this affects their self-esteem. Esteem means “respect and admiration, typically for a person” (Oxford Languages.) I love this definition because…This is RESPECT. I have mentioned this in prior posts…When someone is excited about ANYTHING, and they are telling you about it….PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not try and bring up a past story about how you did the same thing, this it taking away from “their” story.

I have done this in the past and I understand how this bursts the individuals bubble, excitement and esteem. This might not happen for everyone, but out of respect, please do not try to “one up” the story. This leads me to…….

C = Compliment = Giving a compliment is admiration. Complimenting someone is a sign of respect. I believe our world needs everyone to compliment one person a day…every single day. Could you imagine how wonderful it would be for someone to tell us how awesome we are about something we have done or just a compliment on how they look. I do this daily and not only does it bring a smile to someone, but also fills my heart to see how happy a compliment brightens someone’s day.

T = Tactful = Remember when I said the importance of having respect when you talk to someone if you do not agree with them about a topic? Please do it with respect and be tactful. You all know the saying, “If you can’t say something nice (and tactful) don’t say anything at all.” Some people are proud to say, “I tell it like it is.” I love honest people, but tell it like it is tactfully and respectfully, if you know what I mean. Take the higher road if you have a disagreement and learn to discuss with respect and tact.

Trust the Journey and Life Lessons,

Alexis Life Coach Inner Abilities LLC

Alexis BSc(Psyc), MILC

Holistic Life Coach & Counselor

#lifecoach, #blogger, #Respect, #positivity