When you value and respect yourself, other people naturally follow suit and are respectful of you too. Self-respecting women don’t put up with being treated inappropriately, they set healthy, firm boundaries and they take care of their needs. Here are five surprising things secure women value.
Alone time
If you respect yourself, you make your needs a priority. This includes taking time apart to just be with yourself and do something that brings you pleasure. Being alone also gives you the space to get clear on who you really are and what you really want, which is an integral part of honoring yourself.
Integrity
Self-respecting women place tremendous value on being moral and honest, and they expect the same from others. If someone lies to you, it’s not OK. You make it clear that you have high standards of integrity in all your relationships.
Your body
Our bodies are an inherent part of us. To truly respect yourself, you must also respect your body. This means treating your body as the wonderful gift it is, appreciating how it moves through the world and all the joy it brings you. Respecting your body also means feeding it food that deeply nourishes you, not overly abusing it with drugs or alcohol, and getting plenty of rest.
Kindness
Self-respecting women are kind to themselves and to others. They do not treat people with hostility, contempt or cruelty, and they don’t accept this disrespectful behavior from anyone else. This also includes the voice in your own head, if you constantly berate and criticize yourself in your own mind, it’s hard to feel a lot of self-respect. Kindness starts on the inside.
Honoring agreements
If you say you’re going to do something, or show up at a certain time, you do. If you cannot make it, you clearly communicate that. And you expect the same from others. Self-respecting women honor their agreements, and they also have the courage to change or make new agreements if the old ones aren’t working. If you feel over-committed by volunteering for a project, it’s perfectly OK to say you can no longer meet the obligation and need to make a new agreement. When you can’t fulfill an obligation, you face it head on and those around you are required to do the same.
These insights are the opinion of the author based on her experience.
