INSPIRATION
ARTICLE
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Find Out What It
Means To You
Advice on your most important relationship from
psychologist Dr. Denee Jordan
We’ve all heard it: “You have to love
yourself before you love anyone
else.” Actually, this isn’t true. In
fact, most of us love other people
much more easily than we love
ourselves.
F
requently, we even love our pets
more easily. However, though we
can love others without loving ourselves, the truth is our relationships
are much healthier when we do. We
can’t feel true contentment unless
we learn to love, and even more
importantly, respect ourselves. When we do not
respect ourselves, it manifests in all of our relationships. It can manifest as irritability, hyper-sensitivity, or being overly critical of other people. All
of our interactions are distorted to a certain degree, but it is our own happiness that is impacted
the most.
Respect is considered a key element in any loving
relationship, including self-love. Self-respect, how-
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