SELF-RESPECT

This year we focus on helping you develop self-respect and respect to others as one of our major concerns of helping you develop positive values. Let’s begin with self-respect. It refers to honouring yourself as being a person of dignity and valuing your existence as being worthy and important to the human race.

First of all, you need to have self-acceptance. Some people pay too much attention to their physical outlook and spend a lot of time and money to make them look more beautiful. They react slavishly to other people’s comments and lose their directions at the end. In reality, whether you are fat or thin, short or tall, ordinary or good looking, you are still what you are. To accept yourself, your mentality should be changed from thinking that you are not good enough into feeling good about yourself. Competing with yourself rather than with others help you bring about your very best and relieve the pressure of other people’s expectations. In this way, you will focus on your strengths and potentialities. The more you understand your good qualities and discover your talents, the more you will appreciate how uniquely you really are, the more joy you will get from your living and the more you will respect yourself.

Dignity is the cornerstone of all virtues and the spring of characters. To be a person of dignity, you need to have self-responsibility. You are responsible for your health, your behaviour and your actions. Needless to say, you have the duty to keep yourself in good health, physically and mentally. Do more physical exercises to keep your body fit. Stay away from drugs and addictions. Think positively. Spending a few minutes before you go to bed to reflect upon your daily good deeds, no matter how small they may be, can inspire more positive thoughts in your mind and help you mentally become stronger. Moreover, you should know that life is a matter of cause and effect. How you behave and what you do would expose what you are as a person. If you act irresponsibly, though you may escape punishments at times, the committed sin will haunt you sooner or later, in quiet moments of loneliness, unveiling the ugly truth about yourself to your abhorrence. In your context for instance, if you do not place the lunch boxes in the rubbish bin in the corridor but just leave them in the classroom or around your seats after lunch, you may suffer from a stinky smell or even illness since they may be contaminated. If you do not complete your assignments by yourself but copy them from your classmates, you learn nothing and gain no problem-solving skills. When you come to examinations, you will pay for your low scores or even failures. Resist temptations and be honest with yourself. Have courage to face your mistakes and correct them. Remember irresponsibility and denial would have a price-tag. Guide your behaviour by morals. Exercise self-discipline. Be assertive and do what you know is right.

Living purposely is fundamental to the worthiness and importance of your existence. The questions of who you are, why you are here, what would make you proud and what are your dreams for the future need to be answered. They are essential for you to search for the meaning of life, without which you only live with an empty soul. These questions can help you paint a picture of your promising future – the kind of living you love and are passionate about. Do some soul searching. Sometimes thinking out of the box and doing some voluntary work may help you move beyond your comfort zone and realize your potentials. Set your own goals. Explore and experiment various possible paths so as to achieve them. Those paths make you feel stressful and bored are the unlikely ones. That makes you feel enthusiastic and energetic will be the one for you to follow. Once determined, work with proactive attitude and have fun in this adventure. Encompass beliefs that you are competent even when you encounter difficulties. Have trust in yourself. Celebrate your triumphs and be proud of your contributions.

Showing self-respect shows your love for your own meaningful life. You understand your personality, recognize your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. You assure the true value of yourself by playing a proper role in society. You are proud of yourself and are confident in who you are.