Adult Ways to Show Respect

By | April 11, 2022

[April 11, 2022]  Growing up, we learned some simple ways of showing respect.  Some were basic, like saying “please” and “thank you.”  Others took a little longer to learn, such as good table manners, listening properly to what others have to say, keeping your promises, offering to assist others, and apologizing when we are wrong.

“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” – Malcolm S. Forbes

It wasn’t easy learning how to be respectful, but, over time, for most of us, we came to realize these methods benefit us too.  Why do we show respect?  The simple reason is that doing so reaffirms that we are valuable human beings and that our presence has intrinsic value.  Showing respect builds trust and confidence.  This is the core building block of human existence.

Furthermore, as adults, we learned that showing respect reflects our character; our interaction with others helps everyone, including our friends and family.  Maturity and cool-headedness are traits that we strive for; for practical reasons.  There are, in addition, ways to show the respect that we did not learn as children.  These are more difficult forms or respect that require a greater degree of intellectual development.

Here are 26 ways a young adult can show respect:

  1. Compliment the achievements of others
  2. Call out disrespectful behavior
  3. When disagreeing with others, acknowledge the value of their opinion
  4. Respond to requests from others in a timely and proper fashion
  5. Use humor appropriately to enliven relationships but do not tease or use sharp barbs
  6. Do not release confidential information; never gossip
  7. Politely accept criticism as positive feedback
  8. Learn how to stop showing negative body language
  9. Accept the mistakes of others
  10. Use the ideas of others and publically give them credit for their contribution
  11. Praise in public, criticize in private
  12. Look people directly in the eye and speak clearly
  13. Ask good questions, especially in a way that shows you are listening
  14. Don’t waste people’s time
  15. Be uplifting
  16. Know who you are talking to; know the audience
  17. Show extreme patience
  18. Be brutally honest, but also remember that silence is golden
  19. Never insult, use name-calling, disparage, or belittle folks or their thoughts
  20. Respect people, even if they don’t deserve it
  21. Address people by name (and remember their names)
  22. Never use excuses, whine, or beat around the bush
  23. Share the excitement of people’s wins
  24. Allow yourself to be easily accessible to talk to
  25. Remember the small things; birthdays, major life events, spouses’ names
  26. Listen first to what others have to say before expressing your ideas

When I was a new Second Lieutenant, my company commander (experienced, educated, and intelligent) told us how angry he was at our unit’s poor performance in a recent GI inspection.  Our unit’s First Sergeant (the most senior NCO) had to step in and say that it was not our company that had performed poorly but that the evaluators had mixed up the performance reviews.  I find it best to check with those knowledgeable before you criticize, or you could get egg on your face.  The company commander was telling us that he did not trust us.  Not good.

There are many forms of respect that I did not cover here that are valuable but deserve individual attention.  I’ll address those later.

—————

Please read my new book, “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).

 

Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

29 thoughts on “Adult Ways to Show Respect

  1. Lady Hawk

    I only wish our politicians and Hollywood elites would read this.

    Reply
  2. Eye Cat

    Gen. Satterfield, your comment that showing respect is more about the person showing respect than the one receiving it, is spot on. Great article today. I would like to read more in the future about the details of each of these. Maybe an article in the next few weeks. would be helpful.

    Reply
  3. old warrior

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading your list this morning, as I was having my coffee and with my dog sitting at my feet. Next, I read the newspaper and start reading my latest book on my list, “World War II”. And, I do have to point out that there was nothing here that said you should ‘kick butt’ when someone does something stupid. Oh, that’s just me.

    Reply
    1. KenFBrown

      You are always the first to come up with something to say that makes me smile. I do think that Gen. Satterfield has kicked a few butts in his time. Remember that one of his jobs as an enlisted Infantry Sergeant was drill sergeant. These guys really do kick butt.

      Reply
  4. New Girl #1

    Best article on what it takes to be a responsible, respectable, guardian of others. Responsibiliity is at the heart of what Gen. Satterfield is telling us today. Great ideas.

    Reply
  5. Eric Coda

    Gen. Satterfield recommends humor. But there is an anti-humor movement among the millenial class of wannabe tyrants. “The Death Of Humor & The Rise Of “Activist Comedy” https://boundingintocomics.com/2022/03/28/the-death-of-humor-the-rise-of-activist-comedy/
    One of the biggest symptoms of a broken society is the inability to laugh. Not because we, the people, have lost the ability, it’s because the people in charge of the genre now dictate what is and isn’t funny.

    Reply
    1. Scotty Bush

      Activist comedy has been very successful. It gives the Hollywood types a “safe” way to virtue signal their moral superiority to us “flyover people.”

      Reply
  6. Bryan Z. Lee

    Another great article. I see that over the past few days that Gen. Satterfield is developing a few ideas and consolidating them. What’s up with that? Good luck, sir! I wish you well in your endeavor. Oh, for those who are not reading the “daily favorites,” I highly recommend Victor Davis Hanson article to you.
    https://www.theleadermaker.com/daily-favorites-new/

    Reply
    1. Fred Weber

      I always read these article. I wish there was an easy way to access them all.

      Reply
    2. Tom Bushmaster

      Good point Bryan. Right now, I’m just enjoying them each day. I only wish that Gen. Satterfield would produce two or three articles per day instead of one. That would be great.

      Reply
  7. Willie Strumburger

    No. 25, “Remember the small things; birthdays, major life events, spouses’ names” A small point, these are not ‘small things’ to them.

    Reply
  8. Anya B.

    Here is the opposite of being a liberal, “Never use excuses, whine, or beat around the bush.” Whine, that is the middle name of liberals. They whine, complain, and then blame everything they failed at (which is everything) on somebody else that has no responsibility for it and probably advised them not to do it. Failure is their last name. He He He He He …. 😊

    Reply
    1. Shawn C. Stolarz

      Boy, you sure nailed that one, Anya! One thing I’ve learned, if anything from reading this leadership blog by Gen. Doug Satterfield, is that you must take responsibility for your actions – good and bad. That is the way of the world. And, as Gen. S. has repeatedly said, “that is the way of the world, always has been, always will be.”

      Reply
  9. Frank Graham

    “There are many forms of respect that I did not cover here that are valuable but deserve individual attention. I’ll address those later.” Looking forward to reading more.

    Reply
  10. Veronica Stillman

    #18 my favorite …. Be brutally honest, but also remember that silence is golden
    Of course, I love the whole list.
    More of this kind of article would be appreciated, Gen. Satterfield. Thank you!!

    Reply
      1. Rides Alone

        Yes, and if you didn’t get his book, then you are surely missing out. There is rumor that Gen. Satterfield is writing a new book on leaderhsip. I can’t wait until it is out. Maybe, Gen. Satterfield, could confirm the book? Gen. S?

        Reply
  11. Wesley Brown

    As always, Gen. Satterfield’s articles shine a bright spot on “adult” responsibilities.

    Reply
    1. Commie Red

      The state must have the responsibility and the people should enjoy the fruits of government money.

      Reply
      1. Frankie Boy

        Commie Red, are you being sarcastic or are you serious? If you are serious, then you need to get a life and realize that there is no such thing as government money. All that money comes from the taxes from real people who work. Come on man!

        Reply
      2. JT Patterson

        Whistling Dixie? To progressive Democrats, the government is their religion and that is where their daddy is to help them with every problem they have. Democrat liberals/progressives haven’t yet grown up and probably never will. Too easy to have no responsibility.

        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.