Respect—one simple word, but holds so much weight. It’s the bedrock of everything good: relationships, communities, and even the world at large. Without respect, it’s hard to find peace in ourselves and harmony with others.
Think about this: how good does it feel when someone treats you with respect? It makes you feel valued, seen, and heard. And when we give respect, we not only lift others but also build bridges and create a more positive environment for everyone.
This article brings together some of the best quotes on respect. They highlight the many ways we can think about and practice respect in different areas of our lives.
Table of Contents
Best Quotes About Respect
- “Respect is earned, honesty is appreciated, trust is gained, loyalty is returned.” — Zig Ziglar
- “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” — Confucius
- “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” — Albert Einstein
- “Respect is how you treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.” — Richard Branson
- “Respect commands itself and it can neither be given nor withheld when it is due.” — Eldridge Cleaver
- “Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you’ve got to give it.” — R.G. Risch
- “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” — Bryant H. McGill
- “Treat people with respect on your way up because you will meet them on your way down.” — Wilson Mizner
- “Life is short, and we should respect every moment of it.” — Orhan Pamuk
- “You can demand courtesy, but you have to earn respect.” — Lawrence Goldstone
- “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Knowledge will give you power, but character, respect.” — Bruce Lee
- “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be.” — Thomas S. Monson
- “I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.” — Julius Erving
- “Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.” — Laurence Sterne
- “Life is too short to waste your time on people who don’t respect, appreciate, and value you.” — Roy T. Bennett
- “Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?” — Confucius
- I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment. I’m here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I’m at, then I go forward to the next place.” — Maya Angelou
Quotes About Self-Respect
- “Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.” — Robert Tew
- “If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky
- “Deeply respecting yourself is the first step toward having a deep respect for others.” — Amy Leigh Mercree
- “Self-respect knows no considerations.” — Mahatma Gandhi
- “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” — Clint Eastwood
- “The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” — Michel de Montaigne
- “Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue.” — John Herschel
- “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” — Lucille Ball
- “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” — Buddha
- “Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters.” — Dan Coppersmith
- “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” — Harvey Fierstein
- “Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.” — Aberjhani
- “One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.” — Michael J. Fox
- “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” — Mark Twain
- “Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel
- “Self-respect permeates every aspect of your life.” — Joe Clark
- “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” — Brené Brown
- “The only thing that matters in life, is your own opinion about yourself.” — Osho
- “Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price.” — Joan Didion
- “One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself.” — Shannon L. Alder
- “Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” — Robert Holden
- “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.” — Jack Kornfield
- “There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self.” — Henri Frederic Amiel
Quotes About Respect for Others
- “Respect other people’s feelings. It might mean nothing to you, but it could mean everything to them.” — Roy T. Bennett
- “Respect begins with this attitude: I acknowledge that you are a creature of extreme worth.” — Gary Chapman
- “Kindness and respect go hand and hand. Try to leave people better than you found them.” — Marvin J. Ashton
- “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” — John F. Kennedy
- “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” — Ernest Hemingway
- “One of the most basic signs of respect is giving someone your full attention.” — Unknown
- “You don’t have to agree with someone to be respectful.” — Unknown
- “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” — Plato
- “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage or honor.” —Theodore Roosevelt
- “The small courtesies sweeten life; the greater ennoble it.” — Christian Nestell Bovee
- “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” — Dorothy Nevill
- “Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to. Respect is earned, not given.” — Hussein Nishah
- “Respecting others’ opinions, beliefs, and choices means understanding that we may not all see the world through the same lens.” — Doe Zantamata
- “It’s not so much the journey that’s important; as is the way that we treat those we encounter and those around us, along the way.” ― Jeremy Aldana
- “Respect for the rights of others means peace.” — Benito Juárez
- “The idea of respect is more than just being polite or considerate. It’s recognizing and valuing the humanity in others.” — Unknown
- “We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.” — Taylor Swift
- “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.” — Bono
- “Nothing of real worth can ever be bought. Love, friendship, honour, valour, respect. All these things have to be earned.” — David Gemmell
- “I have no right, by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matter is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man’s self-respect is a sin.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- When we respect someone, we are acknowledging and appreciating their role in society or in our life.” — Jennifer Freed
Quotes About Respect in Relationships
- “Respect is one of the greatest expressions of love.” — Miguel Angel Ruiz
- “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” — Richard Bach
- “Love and respect are the most important aspects of parenting, and of all relationships.” — Jodie Foster
- “The greatest marriages are built on teamwork. A mutual respect, a healthy dose of admiration, and a never-ending portion of love and grace.” — Fawn Weaver
- “A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.” ― Dave Meurer
- “A great relationship is about two things: First, appreciating the similarities, and second, respecting the differences.” — Unknown
- “Respect is love in plain clothes.” — Frankie Byrne
- “Respect each other in private, it will show how you love each other in public.” — Unknown
- “In a healthy relationship, both partners should feel respected, cherished, and valued.” — Unknown
- “Respect people who trust you. It takes a lot for people to trust you, so treat their trust like precious porcelain.” — Brandon Cox
- Respect…is the appreciation of the separateness of the other person, of the ways in which he or she is unique.” — Annie Gottlieb
Quotes About Respect in the Workplace
- “Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal, and help one another achieve it.” — Bill Bradley
- “I believe that working with good people matters because then the work environment is good. If there is a sense of respect and belief among the people you work with, that is when good work is done.” — Ranbir Kapoor
- “Treat employees like they make a difference and they will.” — Jim Goodnight
- “A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” — Mary Kay Ash
- “You manage things, you lead people.” — Grace Hopper
- “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” — Sybil F. Stershic
- “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” — Doug Conant
- “Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” — Stephen R. Covey
- “Authority without respect is tyranny; respect without authority is anarchy.” ― Amit Kalantri
- “Your reputation is in the hands of others. That’s what the reputation is. You can’t control that. The only thing you can control is your character.” — Wayne Dyer
- “I hope that everyone has the opportunity, whatever their work environment may be, to be surrounded by people that they respect and are inspired by.” — Janet Varney
Quotes About Respect for Nature
- “I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.” — Paulo Coelho
- “The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth.” — Chief Seattle
- “The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” — Lady Bird Johnson
- “When we recognize the virtues, the talent, the beauty of Mother Earth, something is born in us, some kind of connection; love is born.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- “The proper use of science is not to conquer nature but to live in it.” — Barry Commoner
- “One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” — William Shakespeare
- “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” — Chief Seattle
Quotes About Respect for Differences
- “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” — Baha’u’llah
- “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” — Stephen Covey
- “Respect… is the appreciation of the separateness of the other person, of the ways in which he or she is unique.” — Annie Gottlieb
- “If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” — John F. Kennedy
- “I have a dream that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
- “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” — Audre Lorde
- “We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.” — Anne Frank
- “Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.” — Ola Joseph
- “Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” — Verna Myers
- “Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.” — Mikhail Gorbachev
- “Our differences are our strength as a species and as a world community.” — Nelson Mandela
Final Thoughts
Respect is the foundation of a kind and just world. When we show respect, we acknowledge the worth of ourselves and the people around us. It’s a small act that can make a big difference in our daily lives and communities.
I hope these quotes have inspired you and helped you think more deeply about respect. It’s something we can all practice every day, in every situation. Let these quotes inspire you to treat others—and yourself—with the respect we all deserve.
