We all desire respect, but it can be hard to acquire and surprisingly easy to lose. Certain behaviors can quickly diminish how others view you, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. You only get one chance to make a good impression, so if you’re meeting someone for the first time, you’ll want to avoid any of the following.
Constant Lying
Even a small, seemingly harmless lie can accumulate and make people question everything you say. Sometimes, it’s a build-up of smaller lies that can create the greatest problems. Trust is the foundation of respect, and without it, relationships crumble. Nobody trusts a liar.
Being Unreliable
Everyone has to cancel a plan from time to time. It’s even part of modern culture to change our minds at the last minute. But if you consistently cancel plans or miss deadlines, people will see you as undependable. Reliability is important in maintaining both personal and professional relationships, and flakiness can be a problem.
Talking Behind Others' Backs
Gossiping not only hurts the person being talked about but also damages your reputation. If you’re willing to speak ill of others when they’re not around, people will wonder what you say about them in their absence. Keep your opinions close to your chest or speak to the person directly. It’s far more dignified.
Refusing to Admit Mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, and there’s nothing more respect-worthy than when someone raises their arms in surrender and owns it. Refusing to acknowledge mistakes makes you seem arrogant, insecure, and cunning. Owning up to your errors shows maturity and humility, both essential for gaining respect.
Taking Credit for Others' Work
Stealing the spotlight for someone else’s effort is a quick way to lose respect. Only crafty people do this, and they always get caught out in the end. It’s crafty, ruthless, and pretty unfair for the genuine achiever. Recognizing and celebrating others’ contributions shows integrity, especially if they’ve beaten you to the goalpost.
Interrupting Conversations
Constantly cutting people off when they’re speaking is rude and disrespectful to the speaker and the ones who are listening. It shows that you value your own opinions over others, which can quickly alienate you from colleagues and friends. Have patience and wait until they’ve finished talking. Let your ego have a breather for a few minutes.
Lack of Empathy
If the people of the world could unanimously feel anything, it would be for others to understand and value them. Surely, that’s what we all want, right? If you consistently show a lack of empathy or dismiss others’ feelings, it makes you seem cold and unapproachable, and your social circle will rapidly start to diminish.
Being Negative All the Time
We can all have our negative moments; that much is true. Constant negativity is draining. If you’re always complaining or pointing out the flaws in everything, people might start avoiding you to protect their own mental well-being. It’s a drain of their energy, so good on them.
Exaggerating or Boasting
If you constantly brag or exaggerate your stories, there’s every chance that it’s been noticed by those around you. You might think that tall stories strengthen your image, but they present as insecure and desperate for attention. Genuine confidence is quiet and self-assured, while excessive boasting can be off-putting.
Ignoring Boundaries
Whether it’s personal space, time, or emotional boundaries, consistently overstepping them shows a lack of respect for others. If someone you know chooses to opt out of a meet-up, they’re likely putting some space between you and them. Don’t push them, respect their boundaries.
Playing the Victim
It becomes tiresome when you’re around someone who constantly plays the victim. There comes a point when you need to take the lead in your own life and take responsibility for your actions. Always blaming others for your problems or playing the victim will only wear on people’s patience and sympathy, and it won’t earn you any respect.
Being Disrespectful to Service Workers
The unspoken rule is that we’re all respectful of those around us, regardless of their social status. How you treat people in service roles says a lot about your character. Rudeness to waiting staff or anyone providing a service will diminish any respect people have for you.
Overpromising and Underdelivering
Making grand promises and failing to deliver can make you seem unreliable and untrustworthy. If you have no intention of seeing something through, don’t commit. It’s that simple. While you might enjoy feeling useful at the start, that’ll quickly dissipate once you break your promise. It’s better to set realistic expectations and exceed them than to constantly fall short.
Being Overly Competitive
A little competition can be healthy and even fun, but being overly competitive can be detrimental. If you’re always trying to one-up others, it’s likely to create resentment and diminish respect. Not everything in life needs to be a competition.
Never Listening
If you’re always talking but never listening, it’s a sign that you don’t value others’ input. It also shows that you’ve got an inflated ego which no one will respect. Prove people wrong by practicing active listening. Your relationships will be stronger for it.
Being Disorganized
A little bit of disorganization here and there is harmless, but when it becomes chronic, it can lead to missed deadlines, forgotten commitments, and general chaos. This can be frustrating for others and make you seem unreliable and unprofessional.
Refusing to Help Others
If you’re always unwilling to lend a hand or offer support, people might see you as selfish. Being helpful and supportive strengthens relationships and earns respect. What’s the point of having relationships if you can’t make life easier for someone once in a while?
Being Hypocritical
Preaching one thing and doing another is a surefire way to lose respect, and it certainly won’t build trust within a relationship. You need to show consistency between your words and actions to build credibility. If you keep doing the opposite of what you say, no one knows where they stand, and that doesn’t make for a healthy relationship.
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