It's hard not to starting singing Aretha Franklin when the word respect is mentioned; her lyrics make it easy to remember how to spell correctly, but also her song makes it clear that respect is a necessity to maintain a relationship. Increasing your awareness and suspending your judgment through mindfulness practices are directly related to increased self respect and respect for others.
How Does Respect Help You?
Effective leaders and team members treat others with respect - respecting diversity of opinions, respecting each other's time and space, and respecting individual needs. By increasing respect, you will improve your relationships and increase your emotional intelligence. The ability to show empathy and respect towards others, will help you reduce conflict and resolve conflicts with more mutually beneficial outcomes. Growing respect in your interactions with others can stem from growing respect for yourself, which will increase your confidence and self-esteem.
How To Practice Respect
You can practice increasing respect through your mindfulness practice and during your daily interactions. Here are some ways to increase your respect
Practice active listening
Recognize and release your bias
Avoid making judgments
Communicate clearly - this includes expectations, concerns, and providing regular updates if your work may impact someone else.
My Favorite Practice
Increasing respect for others begins with increasing respect for yourself. Mindfulness practices bring awareness to your default thought patterns, so you can intentionally create new neural pathways. When I notice that I am defaulting into a mindset of self-judgment, I find the space to choose how I react by releasing the judgment and choosing compassion and respect.
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