Dignity is yours to claim

There is no shortage of examples of dignity in war zones, poverty or drought stricken areas, or in the midst of heinous terrorist attacks.

Notice how some people, when faced with soul-destroying realities, are still dignified in how they rise above it?

If you wait for your aggressor or abuser to treat you with dignity before you find reason to respect yourself, you’re doing life back to front.

When we expect recognition of our humanness from the world, we’re expecting our tormentor to become our mentor.

It’s irrational.

Dignity is not bestowed, it is claimed!

It is undignified to ask to be treated with dignity because that means that your dignity is dependent on how others treat you.

We either tolerate being treated with indignity, or we challenge and reject it.

If we don’t challenge such behaviour from others, we enable them to treat others badly.

Self-worth is at the core of dignity.

But self-worth is an outcome of the value that we see in ourselves.

It’s about how much worth we place on ourselves despite how others may take us for granted.

When we connect with that value that we hold within, gratitude for who we are, and importantly, gratitude for what we are capable of contributing in good towards others, will establish dignity in our sense of self, and resilience in our response to the trials of life.

It always starts with you.

Don’t outsource your dignity to others. They’re not responsible for how you feel about yourself.

P.S. For the first time in a very long time, I used my own photo for my post, and not one from Adobe Stock. Taken in San Lameer, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

#hope #expectation #sincerity #selfworth #selfawareness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #lifecoaching #zaidismail #loveyourself #lifegoals #motivation #optimism #purpose #mindfulness #inspiration