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There are some personality traits that are easy to see in others.
Kindness.
Honesty.
Intelligence.
But then there are some traits that are harder to see or even understand what they mean. Traits like...
SELF-RESPECT
The dictionary says self-respect means "to have pride and confidence in yourself. To always behave with honor and dignity."
But what does that actually mean?
Think about it this way. If you get an A+ on a test at school, does it make you smile because you know you did your best? And if you accidently break your little brother's favorite toy, do you say you are sorry...and actually mean it?
Self-respect comes in different forms. Just look at the man in this story...
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THE PENCIL MAN
There is a story about a wealthy banker who always tossed a coin in the cup of a legless beggar who sat on the street outside his bank. But, unlike most people, the banker would always insist on getting one of the pencils the man had beside him.
“You are a merchant,” the banker would say, “and I always expect to receive good value from merchants I do business with.”
One day the legless man was not on the sidewalk. Time passed and the banker forgot about him, until he walked into a public building and there in the concessions stand sat the former beggar. He was obviously the owner of his own small business now.
“I have always hoped you might come by someday,” the man said. “You are largely responsible for me being here. You kept telling me that I was a ’merchant’. I started thinking of myself that way, instead of a beggar receiving gifts. I started selling pencils — lots of them. Now I am a businessman!"
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Here's the thing about self-respect. The more you have of it, the more confident you become. And the more confident you become, the more self-respect you will develop. Pretty soon you won't have to wonder if what it is or if you have it. You'll just know...
sponsored by KICKS Kids Club
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