One critical key to a happy and successful life is paying due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of both yourself and others.

Obviously a very real and significant part of everything we do is about us but that should not be at the expense of others, nor should we gratify the needs of others at our own expense.

Two Way Street

The most important aspect of behaving in a respectful way is all about universality.  Paying respect to others is not all-encompassing and single-focused.

Treating everyone, including yourself, with sensitivity and fairness and recognizing everyone is important is self-fulfilling.  That is beneficial to both you and those you interact with.

We all desire to be treated respectfully by others but sometimes we act in ways that are self disrespectful.  Not only should we treat others in ways we would like to be treated but also, closer to home, we should treat ourselves that way.

A World of Respect

Fair and equitable treatment applied universally is a utopian concept.  It can seem unattainable.  Partly that is because respectful behaviour has a subjective component and the definition and expectations can vary person to person.

Notwithstanding the various finer and more detailed  interpretations of respect, holistically, the principles are common and in a broad sense, the difference between disrespect and respect is usually obvious.

Check Yourself

A simple way to determine if you are behaving in a respectful way is to check how you feel and watch others to see how they feel.  Evidence of discomfort, your own or others is a good sign you might no be being as respectful as you need to be.