Self-Respect

Self respect which means that  feeling of respect  for yourself that shows that you value yourself. Self-respect comes from what you do.

Self-respect is essential to every human being. When a person is born, throughout his life he develops a certain degree of self-respect for himself. No one can teach him self-respect. Self-respect comes from within a person. He has to learn it for himself.

According to Alfred Whitney “Self respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is not for sale. It can never be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth, we have spoken it.”
If a person does not have any self-respect they cannot make any decisions for themselves. They will people pushed into situations they either do or don’t want to do. People will also take advantage of them and eventually that person will end up being cheated. In life a person needs to develop a sense of self-respect for themselves in order to make decisions for themselves and be able to survive in this world. 

Most of the time self-respect has a positive effect on a person but in some cases it can have a negative effect on an individual. For instance when a person keeps putting himself down and always thinks he cannot do something he develops a lower sense of self-respect. Eventually that person will think so low of himself he won’t be able to function in life properly because he will be so depressed all the time. He will also be taken advantage of because he will not have enough respect for himself to say no to someone. He will start believing what he thinks is true even though it is not and often at sometimes hate himself and the world around him.

Another way when a person loss self respect for himself is by listening to what other people have to say about him. If someone degrades a person who already has a low self-esteem that person might believe what that person says about him. Then that person will develop a low self of respect for himself.

In the times when murders and slavery were casual things, when laws were not good enough to protect citizens, people had much greater self-respect than today. When a man understands that he can be killed for his home, and that there is nobody accept himself to protect his family and the home (no police, no guard) then he had to be much more rigid, tough, harsh, and demandable than men of today. He then would possess much stronger self-esteem and self-respect because without these, he simply would not be able to protect his family and home. If he did not possess self-respect, anybody could come and take his possessions, occupy his home, or anything else of the same kind. 

Every religion has its own rules & regulations and one has to implement these rules on himself/herself in order to fulfill the requirements of his religion. Islam is a Holy and well-organized religion to master self-respect on yourself. It also has got rules, disciplines, requirements & one has to change himself totally in that point of view. Each and every person is responsible for himself. Allah says in the Holy Quran;”Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves” [Al-Ra d 13:11]

Islam obliges strict discipline of good behavior and respect for other human beings. A disciplined and well managed life has a strong effect. Islam tells us to present ourselves in a way as great example in manners, discipline and self respect. There are numerous ways in which a Muslim can discipline himself. 

The first is worshiping Allah and the belief that he is the only one. Reading  Holy Quran and understating its meaning is the second most important thing. Every one also has to educate himself by reading the religious books and the biographies of our prophets and their sacrifices and then spreading this knowledge amongst others. Keep in touch with the right people and show a way towards the religion to those who are not following or illiterate. One must develop strong faith and belief in himself. Praying five times a day also make your life well-disciplined. 
Indeed, the life style of our Prophet Muhammad PBUH is a true example of well-disciplined life; if we simply follow the life style of our Prophet, I bet it’s worthy enough that anyone can consider himself as a well-disciplined and self-respected human being on the earth. 

Giving respect to someone doesn’t means that you are devaluing yourself. When anyone greets you in a respected manner, let your greetings be better that or at least return the same OR if you value someone then as a result he / she must will value you.

We must improve self respect by every single day in order to survive in respected zone. In this way we must be optimistic in nature. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.  According to Bill Gates “Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world, if you do so, you are insulting yourself. Don't beat yourself up when you make a mistake. Just focus on the things that you can change. Always celebrate small stuff. Start spending time with respectful peoples. Release people from your life who don’t honor your boundaries. Actively seek out people who treat you the way you want to be treated.