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Introduction:
“I speak to everyone
in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the
university.” The famous German theoretical physicist, also known as the father
of modern physics, Albert Einstein once said regarding his treatment for the
others. Likewise, Harper Lee, the author of one of my favourite books, To Kill
a Mockingbird, also understood the importance of respects for all humankind
when he wrote, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every
day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it –
whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he
is, or how fine a family he comes from, he is a trash.”
A very good morning
to my dear lecturer, Ms Praveena, and all my fellow classmates. Today, I would
like to bring to your attention the topic, Respect. First, I would talk about
self-respect, then, the respect for others. Personally I think the virtue of
respect is slowly disregarded in our society today. That’s why we have so many
relationship problems – between parents and children, employers and employees,
and etc. Hence, I’d like to make this speech a reminder for myself and also for
all of you, to bring Respect back into your daily life.
Body:
Self-respect:
First and foremost,
self-respect. Self-respect simply means respect for oneself. Ah you don’t say?
Definition always bores me out so instead of giving you a long list of how
respect is defined, I’m going to give you some hints on how to respect others.
Think, what it means
to respect someone. The qualities we respect vary from person to person. Some
respect people with great integrity, some maybe people with more achievements,
and others, act of kindness. However, there is also a basic level of respect
that most people will agree is a right and does not need to be earned. Here are
some widely agreed upon signals of respect:
·
You
don’t steal from, harm, or insult them.
·
You
are honest with them.
·
You
listen to what they say, consider their opinion and avoid interrupting them.
·
You
dress appropriately in front of them.
I have come across a
quote that sounds, “If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is
to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others
to respect you.” Whatever you believe to be respect, apply it to yourself. Don’t
do things you’d never do to someone you care about to yourself. For instances,
you don’t discourage yourself from following your own dreams and you don’t
insult yourself. Instead of looking in the mirror saying, “Urgh I am so ugly.”
Tell yourself, “Hey, I’m beautiful.” Be completely honest with yourself,
develop your own opinions and don’t be afraid to stand by them. You also must
take good care of yourself. I believe you don’t want your best friend to fall
ill. Similarly, you should not neglect your own health. Getting fit and healthy
is one way of respecting your own body.
I’d also advise you
to get to know yourself better. Discover your principles, personality, and
talents. The more you understand about yourself, the more you’ll see and appreciate
how uniquely you are made, and the more you will respect yourself. One thing
you should stop doing is to pandering to other people’s approval. Develop your
own standards and live up to it.
Be very careful to
recognise when people disrespect you. Never allow others to treat you badly.
Not your family, not your lover, and not even yourself. If you are a
self-respecting individual, chances are you want others to treat you with
respect too. You know what, age isn’t a prerequisite nor is it a magic key to
gaining respect. I’ve seen plenty of people who are young be highly respected
from their elders and I’ve also come across older people who I’d never respect
due to their actions that are so out of line. It is about how you conduct
yourself, your attitudes towards others and your actions. Therefore, take steps
to stop it. Believe that you deserve better and tell those who disrespect you,
“You just disrespected me and that’s not acceptable to me. If you don’t respect
me, I won’t spend time with you anymore.” Make it clear that you would rather
live with dignity and without them instead of being trampled by them.
Regardless of your age and position, you can be well respected by the others.
Respect for others
Laurence Sterne once said, “Respect for ourselves
guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.” Now, let’s move on
to the respect for others. Imagine, how would your life be different if you
stopped making negative judgemental assumptions about people you encounter?
I
have heard people who would deliberately use insulting words to mock and make
fun of the obsessed, the poor, the uneducated, the disabled and people with
special needs e.g. down-syndrome, autism. (Picture 4) Every times, I tell you,
I could feel the anger arousing when I hear words as such. Forget not those who
say that are often of better educated backgrounds. No one gets to choose the
way they are born and nobody have not gone through other people’s lives, so no
one can possibly empathise with whatever hardships and torments others have to
push through in order to survive. People did not persevere to be held in scorn.
Rather, they deserve every bit of your respect. I strongly agree with Thomas
Monson when he said, “When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain
as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will
become what they should be.” The power is in your hand. You choose how you are
going to treat them. Hereby I would like to challenge every one of you, to look for the good in everyone you meet and to respect
their journey.
Conclusion:
Respect is perhaps
the most important element in any successful long-tern relationship other than
trust. And that is what we want to develop with our clients and colleagues,
family and friends. I like what Fred Rogers has commented regarding the issue,
“It’s very dramatic when two people come together to work something out. It’s
easy to take a gun and annihilate your opposition, but what is really exciting
to me is to see people with differing views come together and finally respect
each other.” My dear friends, don’t take respect from others for granted
because it cannot be demanded but is earned. Thank you.
***
He took away my stage fright and put in me the still-growing confidence. A little bit of nervousness is inevitable but I'm sure each next time would be so much better than the last time.
Thank you, Lord!
***
He took away my stage fright and put in me the still-growing confidence. A little bit of nervousness is inevitable but I'm sure each next time would be so much better than the last time.
Thank you, Lord!
1 comment:
nice one! :):)
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