Whose good opinion of you do you value most?

My husband’s, of course.

My mom’s, again of course.

My dissertation advisor’s, for obvious reasons.

First, wife, then my (adult) kids, relatives and finally friends.

Myself, of course and I’m not being facetious. Self-Respect means doing the right thing even when no one else is watching. Once you say that someone else’s opinion of you is more important than your own opinion of yourself, then you say that the most important thing is not getting caught.

The question is: Will you do something you know is wrong even if people whose good opinion you value don’t think it is wrong or will never find out?

If you don’t have the respect of the person you see in the mirror, then the respect of others is worthless.

Maybe the question should be: Whose good opinion do you value the most after your own?

My mother, grandfather and uncle.

My dog seems to occasionally respect me.

My partner. No one else’s opinion matters much.

Also my Wife. On some stuff, she is just spot on.

The guy I currently work for has been a real mentor for me in this latest career change (AOD counselor), so him.

My lovely wife’s opinion of me has stayed unrealistically high throughout our 19 years together, so I don’t think about it too much.

My spouse has the only opinions of me that matter to me. If I think I’ve said something that lessens me in her eyes, I feel physically ill. Happily, that’s a rare occurrence, as she thinks I’m wondrous. Poor, deluded woman. . .

My children. Their dad has been more of an example of what not to do, so that leaves me very little room to make any errors.

  1. My husband.
  2. My dogs.
  3. My father-in-law.
  4. My editor.
  5. My mother-in-law.

Thanks. Still mine, before anyone’s, but I’ll add my SO to the mix.

:smiley: My thoughts exactly!

Mine, of course - but beyond that, my sister’s. For some reason, she thinks well of me, and I would prefer that she continue to do so.

It varies. In different aspects of my life, different people’s opinions matter. Overall, though, my younger brother’s opinion is extremely important. He is intelligent, capable, responsible, ethical, and supremely reasonable. I know there are areas in my life (finances, anyone?) where he, at best, feels pity for me. There are other areas where I am the person he confers with, and that is deeply flattering.

My mom is another person who is amazingly capable. She has more work ethic in her pinkie than I do in my entire body. I know I don’t live up to her expectations as far as my weight, my health, or my career, but I am so built up when she mentions something about me that she admires.

Generally speaking, the people I respect are the ones whose opinions matter. It can even be a person I don’t particularly like, as I don’t expect to like everyone in existence, and there are some abilities and qualities that exist independent of personality type.