Dignity: noun, plural -ties.
1. bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.
2. nobility or elevation of character; worthiness: dignity of sentiments.

Pride: noun
2. the state or feeling of being proud.
3. a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.

Decency: noun, plural -cies.
1. the state or quality of being decent.
2. conformity to the recognized standard of propriety, good taste, modesty, etc.

Compassion: noun
1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

All definitions found @: http://dictionary.reference.com/

---

I have dignity because I respect myself.
I have pride because I am aware of myself and the respect I deserve.
I have decency because I allow that OTHERS have dignity and pride in themselves. I have compassion because I understand that many do NOT and I wish to help them find themselves and their own self worth, self respect, dignity, pride, decency and compassion.
In this way we can help each other build ourselves better and stronger in order that SOMEDAY we will ALL have dignity, pride, decency and compassion.
I think then the world will be a better place.

To LOVE yourself does not mean to be conceited, selfish, or self-absorbed to the exclusion of all others. It means knowing and accepting yourself and that YOU are valuable. JUST as valuable as anyone else. It means that you do not subjugate your own needs and desires to please everyone else first but, rather that you take care of YOU when you need to in order to respect and honour yourself and build and maintain your OWN self-esteem and self worth. Other people cannot give these things to you. NO MATTER how much you do to try and please them all and receive accolades and rewards or esteem boosts from their compliments and appreciation in the end you will still carry that dark black hole around inside you and it can never get filled up by ANY OF THEM. YOU must find YOURSELF inside YOURSELF and feed your own needs and neurosis with your own knowledge, beliefs, understanding and acceptance of ALL that is beautiful and wonderful inside of you and about you! Beating yourself down won't do this. Berating yourself won't do it. Calling yourself an idiot or stupid or any other names to try and motivate yourself to be better is USELESS and will only squash you down further. YOU must find, see, recognize and BUILD UP anything you see inside yourself that is BEAUTIFUL, GOOD, POSITIVE, USEFUL, or CREATIVE. YOU must BELIEVE in the beauty and light that shines from within you and never let anyone else squash it down or try to blow it out! Maybe it is only a tiny spark of light but YOU can fan the flame and build it higher, bigger and brighter EVERY DAY. THAT is loving yourself FIRST. THAT is honouring and respecting the heart and soul that resides within you. When you can LOVE yourself then you will still LOVE to hear and receive appreciation from others and it will reaffirm what YOU already know...that YOU are wonderful, that other people DO recognize this, but, that YOU do NOT NEED them to tell you all this in order for you to KNOW this! When you know, accept and love yourself it is EASIER to do the same for other people because then you recognize that we are all equally valuable and important...to ourselves AND to each other!

EVERYONE makes mistakes. It is how we learn! Don't beat yourself up endlessly for them. Just accept that you made a mistake,let it go and move on. Carrying it around with you and pounding yourself into the ground every time you think of it just keeps you from acceptance and growth. Let it go! Forgive yourself for being human and fallible and then learn whatever thing it is you NEED to learn from it and try not to DO IT AGAIN. The purpose and point of a mistake is that we own and accept it, apologize for it if necessary, LEARN from it, FORGIVE ourselves for whatever part we played in it, and then LET IT GO and move on from it. It is a good thing to remember the lesson so that we don't repeat mistakes unnecessarily but it is not good to carry it around with you like a cancerous growth inside of us. It will eat away at our soul until we find letting go of it almost impossible. It will become such a part of us and we won't know or understand life without it. It can be debilitating. LET IT GO. Move FORWARD. GROW!

I find learning to care for myself difficult because I've spent the better part of my life taking care of others most specifically my husband and my children but, also being available for friends and family too.
I LOVE to do all of that. I am happy to take care of anyone who needs me to do so.
I am beginning to understand though that I deserve to be taken care of too.
By MYSELF!
Following is a list of some things that I am going to TRY very much to begin to do for myself. Some of them are things that I have done before but, many of them are things that I have never done and learning to do them is somewhat of a challenge for me. I'm not really sure why...
However, it is LONG OVERDUE time that I take better care of myself so that I may continue to take care of my people as well.
I WILL try to:

Wash my hair with my fave shampoos.

Buy special soap once in awhile.

Don't feel guilty for having to pay extra for a bubble bath!

Paint my fingers and toes.

Moisturize arms, legs, hands, feet and body.

Dress up to feel better.

Have a good and positive attitude.

Eat fruits and veggies.

Drink 8 glasses of water a day.

OR take the time to make a cup of tea.

Get enough sleep!

Keep busy with hobbies and exercise my mind!

Walk, ride exercise bike or DRUM for exercise!

Journal for health.

Plan healthy meal plans and stick with them.

Follow any or all of these things yourself if you want and learn to take care of YOU too!

Are YOU aware that you are beautiful?
I know that we all measure and weigh ourselves against the world's and society's standards of what beautiful is and many of us are found wanting on that score.
Are you AWARE that is your own perception of yourself?
Based on what? Whether or not you fit into a the world's sub standard view of what beautiful really is? I mean, we all know a beautiful woman when we see one. The kind that even turns other women's heads and causes envy and jealousy and for the rest of us to feel inferior and that we just don't measure up...if only we were thinner or taller or had blonde hair or pouty lips or long luxurious curly hair or WHATEVER it is about those other women that make us doubt ourselves.
STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!
YOU are beautiful just as you are!
You need to see all the wonderful, positive things about you as your OWN distinct beauty and love and accept YOURSELF!
When you do this all the love and acceptance and compassion you hold for yourself will shine through you and other people will see you as you truly are!
We are ALL beautiful in our own way and all we have to do is learn to recognize this self when we look at her in the mirror.
Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder but, it is also deeper inside you than can be seen with only a set of eyes so cherish well the people who see and know the truth of YOUR beauty and remind you of it regularly for they are TREASURES but, more importantly LEARN to see your own beauty well and cherish YOURSELF!

VALUE YOURSELF: #10
Appreciate nature.
Take time to smell the roses.
Taking time to appreciate nature allows you some peace and quiet for thinking, renewing your spirit and otherwise relieving any stresses you may be feeling. It's just another version of me time but, I've always found the beauty and feeling of nature can just put life in perspective quicker than many other things.
Try it! You may be surprised!

VALUE YOURSELF: #9 Keep a journal. Keep track of all the events and accomplishments you have achieved daily. No matter how small it is if it is positive and good it will add to the list and remind you that you DO have abilities and capabilities in life. You can also journal about the things you feel sad and bad about and look back at them later and remind yourself that it was only a small moment in a BIG and full life. Journalling allows you to vent and express emotions, needs and desires that maybe can't be spoken out loud to family or friends but written down at least gives you an outlet to express them.

VALUE YOURSELF: #8
Make ME time.
Whether it is a few minutes a day, a full day once a week, a weekend once a month or whatever other time frame works for you it is good to make time for yourself. Pamper yourself, have a relaxing bath, read a good book or whatever it is that allows you to feel relaxed and comfortable and recharge yourself to take on life again.
We all need time to ourselves to assess and even reassess what we are feeling, what we want, if we are on our right path or going in the right direction.
We need a place of peace and quiet for thinking. or whatever it is that allows us to spend time on and with ourselves and to realize both that we need this time and attention and that we DESERVE to have it. Many times we put our families, friends, children, jobs and other obligations before ourselves so that we get run down and exhausted and often forget why we even do all that.
If we always make sure to make ME time we will soon recall that we are just as important as everyone else and will then be able to re-prioritize all the elements of our lives into the appropriate sections and time allotments so EVERYONE gets a fair share and the things that are not so important can be given up for the betterment of all.

VALUE YOURSELF: #7
Remind yourself of your good points DAILY.
Whether you list a bunch of them to yourself every day or just one different one EVERY day it is good to remind yourself of all the things about you that are good and valuable and useful so you will NOT have any reason to feel poorly about yourself.
An added bonus that will come from this list is the sheer number of things you will find that are positive about YOU!