14 Things People With Healthy Self-Respect Do

1. You speak highly of yourself

One of the biggest signs someone has no self-respect is when they are constantly doubting themselves and putting themselves down. Conversely, you likely have self-respect if you speak highly of yourself when interacting with others.

Don’t worry: this doesn’t mean you’re an arrogant egomaniac. It just means you are aware of your skills and contributions and you know what you have to offer. And you’re not afraid to let others know what you can do.

2. You’re comfortable spending time alone

It’s one thing to talk yourself up. But if you’re waiting for other people to validate you as a person, you still have some room to grow.

If you want self-respect, it’s important to be your own best friend. For example, you shouldn’t be afraid to do things you want to do even if you can’t find anybody else to do them with. In this way, you show the world you are a leader rather than a follower.

3. You prioritize yourself

Do you consider yourself a nice person? If so, you probably spend a lot of time putting others first. But if you really have self-respect, you’ll know that you need to prioritize yourself from time to time.

This means maybe saying “No” to the party invite when you’re really not feeling it. Sometimes, it means telling your partner you need them to do more work around the house for your emotional health. By sometimes putting yourself first, you make sure nobody (including you) ends up putting you last.

RELATED: 8 Ways To Become The Best You

4. You respect other people

One of the quieter signs of self-respect is respecting others. In short, it’s important for you to treat others as your equal.

This is true no matter what their rank or station is. If you treat the CEO and the janitor at your workplace with the same level of respect and courtesy, it shows the world how much you also respect yourself.

5. You turn failures into lessons

Failure happens to all of us from time to time. When it happens, people with no self-respect simply pout and wallow in their misery.

What about those who have self-respect? They turn those failures into lessons to learn from. By turning major obstacles into major opportunities for growth, you can turn even major setbacks into a chance to become a better person.

6. You show humility

On a long enough timeline, you’re going to say or do the wrong thing. When this happens, the self-respecting person has only one course of action: to apologize and try to make things right.

Along the way, many people decided that only weak people make apologies. In reality, it takes a lot of strength to know when you are wrong and a lot of humility to say so. At the end of the day, humility is a major part of having self-respect.

7. You set firm boundaries

Eventually, you’ll have someone who asks more of you than you can give them. When this happens, what do you do?

It’s easy to just say “Yes,” especially when it’s a friend or family member asking. But if you always drop whatever you are doing when someone asks, this doesn’t make you a nice person… it just makes you a doormat. Demonstrate self-respect by creating firm boundaries to protect your overall mental health.

8. You have a strong value system

Self-respecting people have a strong value system. Whether this is rooted in religion, ethics, or philosophy, a self-respecting person should know what they stand for.

If you stick to your values, you’re going to lose a few friends along the way. But the friends that remain will be true because they understand your value system. They also respect you enough not to let your values drive them away.

9. You embrace all of your emotions

It’s easy to feel like a victim of your emotions. Because of this, many of us fight with different emotional reactions from day to day.

If you want to be a truly self-respecting person, though, you need to learn how to embrace your emotions instead of fighting them.

Feeling sad? Nothing wrong with throwing on a depressing movie and having a good cry. By the time the credits roll, you’ll feel far better than if you spent the whole night fighting your emotions.

10. You love yourself

If they are being honest, most people are their own worst critics. It’s easy to look in a mirror and criticize ourselves for things like weight, fashion, and overall appearance. And it’s easy to regret things like not having a romantic partner and find ways to blame it on yourself.

To achieve self-respect, you need to learn how to love yourself. Take the time each day to write down things that made you feel good about yourself, compliments you receive, and actions you are proud of. Over time, this will teach you the power of self-love.

11. You focus on self-care

We get it: life is pretty busy, pretty much all of the time. No matter how hectic things get, though, self-respecting people find time to focus on self-care.

Self-care may include things like morning meditation routines or incorporating breathwork into your day-to-day activities. Sometimes, self-care may mean listening to your favorite podcast during an evening walk. Whatever brings you to your happy place, you should take the time to do it each and every day.

12. You surround yourself with the right squad

The internet is full of annoying aphorisms, and some are truer than others. One bit of wisdom that is surprisingly accurate is that your squad is a reflection of how you see yourself.

Are you surrounded by people who lift you up? Who support your goals and stand by you? That’s a sign that you have self-respect.

If you have “friends” who only really care about themselves, it may be time to cut them out of your life (more on that soon).

13. You aren’t afraid to speak your mind

Has anyone ever said that you “talk too much” or that you have “a lot of opinions?” Believe it or not, this probably means you respect yourself.

A self-respecting person isn’t afraid to let others have a piece of their mind from time to time. This means saying what you think needs to be said and sticking up for yourself as needed. If this annoys some people, that will just make it easier for you to avoid them from now on.

14. You let go of toxic friendships

Earlier, we talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with a solid crew. Eventually, that means you’ll need to proactively start cutting toxic friends from your life.

This doesn’t have to be an overnight process. You should tell your toxic friends what your issues with them are and how you’d like for things to change. If you’re lucky, such friends will turn their lives around and learn how to support you. But if they keep disrespecting you and being a toxic influence, then now is the perfect time to cut them out of your circle.