Self respect: it all starts with how you treat your self!

This month, we've been diving deep into the idea of self-respect—what it means, why it matters, and how we practice it every day. One of my favorite ways to help my students understand this concept is by talking about their personal possessions—their rooms, their beds, their spaces. Because self-respect doesn’t start with grand gestures. It starts with something as simple as making your bed.

This isn’t just about doing chores. It’s about establishing a baseline—a standard of care for your life. When you take care of your space, you’re sending a message to yourself and to others: “I matter. This is my space, and it reflects the respect I have for myself.”

Here’s the thing: taking care of things should be easy. But in reality, we only tend to care for the things that bring us joy. Think about someone who really loves their car. That car is spotless—inside and out. It's detailed, vacuumed, polished like it’s about to be on display. That kind of care comes naturally when we’re emotionally invested in something.

But what about the things we overlook? The cluttered desk, the disorganized garage, the unmade bed? These are often ignored, not because they’re unimportant, but because they don’t bring instant joy. Yet these are the very spaces that quietly reflect our level of self-respect. Keeping them clean is a simple but powerful act of self-discipline and self-care.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about priority.

Once you’ve set the foundation by respecting your space, it’s easier to extend that same care to other parts of your life—like your appearance, your tools, and your health. Some people avoid this because they confuse self-care with vanity. But there’s a big difference between being vain and being intentional.

Take a shower. Brush your teeth. Wear clean clothes. Not because someone else told you to, but because you deserve it. Think about how good it feels to shower after a long camping trip, or how refreshed you feel after a haircut. These aren’t luxuries—they’re the building blocks of self-confidence.

As Zig Ziglar once said, “If you look good, you’ll feel good. And if you feel good, you’ll sell good.” I may be paraphrasing, but the point stands. When you treat yourself with respect, the world takes notice. Confidence isn’t just a side effect of self-respect—it’s the natural result.

And let’s be real: self-confidence is the best self-defense. You can be strong, intelligent, and capable—but if you don’t respect yourself, you’ll struggle to take the leap, land that job, close that deal, or start that dream project. It all begins with how you see—and treat—yourself.

At the end of the day, the world reflects back what you project. When you raise the bar for yourself, others will rise to meet it. Respect yourself first, and that respect will echo in your relationships, your work, and your future.