When asked which is more important, Happiness or self-respect, that is a tough decision. If asked which is going to be better at the moment it would be happiness, if in the long run self-respect would be the answer. Happiness is defined as the state of well being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy, a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Self-respect is defined as a proper respect for oneself as a human being, regard for one's own standing or position.
For me personally I think that self-respect is more important than happiness. If you do not have respect for yourself how can you ever be happy? To me happy is a temporary feeling. Self-respect is a lifestyle. To gain true happiness I think you have to love and respect yourself. If you do not respect yourself then all you will find is false happiness.
I see so many girls who want that happiness in a boyfriend and that lifestyle that they lose respect for themselves settle for whatever and are happy, for now. They are happy until they realize that the boy was just using them or only wanted one thing. They then are not happy and have lost all self-respect.
Personally I have had to make this decision whether I want to be happy or keep respect for myself. As most girls, I want that someone who is going to make me special. That would make me happy. Like I think every girl should have, I have standards. I have respect for myself and feel like I should not settle for anything less. I am not going to go out there and lose respect for myself just to be happy. I am not going to settle for happiness when it is not guaranteed to last forever. I have seen so many people who lose respect for themselves for somebody else (specifically a boy) because they are happy. Then when they are left and heartbroken, they are not happy. This is because they gave away their self-respect to someone and no they are left with nothing. To where if you respect yourself when you do not have happiness at least you have the respect for yourself to lean on.
So as I sit here with respect for myself, I may not be happy now. I keep in mind that I am not happy now but I have respect for myself and wait and I know that one day I will be able to be genuinely happy because I have respect for myself and I am not willing to lose that. I also feel like if you cannot respect yourself how can you respect anyone else. I keep my head high and remember that Happiness is only temporary. It comes and goes. One day you could be happy and another you could be sad. Self-respect lasts a lifetime.
In conclusion, I have come to find that you cannot truly experience happiness if you do not respect yourself. I have respect for myself and that makes me happy. So to answer the question I feel like respect for yourself is way more important than happiness but why not have both?
I do agree with you that we should have both self-respect and happiness but for the sake of the blog I said pure happiness. I noticed that the reason you chose self-respect was mainly due to the part the men make girls unhappy most of the times and happy only sometimes. But, I sort of saw the idea of happiness further. You mentioned that “I am not going to go out there and lose respect for myself to be happy,” but personally, I do not think that you have to lose your self-respect to be happy. Happiness does not only come when you lose your self-respect happiness can come from enjoying a sunrise every morning, reading beautiful prose, or even being around the people you love. I think that by being happy you can then find your respect.
ReplyDeleteAs for the guy that only temporarily makes girls happy, I would use that as a stepping stone to find greater happiness. I would rather find happiness than be considered as an uptight prude for not enjoying what life has to offer; and like I said, this does not necessarily mean that you have to give up your self-respect. I do respect your opinion but my opinion still stands that with happiness, you will later find your respect. Life should be lived to the fullest and with self-respect alone, I do not feel you can do that. You have a great personal perspective though!