The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘respect’ as due regard for the rights, wishes, or feelings of others brought on by admiration of their qualities or achievements.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that people are only respectable as they respect. If you have shown no respect for someone, they have no obligation to show respect for you; and vice versa.
Bryant H McGill said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say”.
You cannot claim to respect someone if you have no regard for what the person is saying. Even if you regard people as inferior to you, respect them enough to hear their ideas and their wishes; hear what they have to say.
If you start listening and respecting people enough to allow them to grow, they could exceed your expectations. Thomas S Monson said, “When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be.”
Give people space and the respect to allow them to grow, and they will, even if they don’t realise it. John W Gardner said, “If you have some respect for people as they are, you can be more effective in helping them to become better than they are”.
The most important factor in respect is to respect yourself first. If you cannot respect yourself, then how do you expect people to respect you? Confucius said, “Respect yourself and others will respect you”.
