When does one need honor from others? When he lacks an internal sense of honor. So here it goes: Respect yourself and you won't need respect from others. You will become a person FILLED with respect. That will enable you to be the PROVIDER of honor and not its recipient. It is mostly fake anyway. I know people who show me great honor but when I ask them a small favor they pretend I don't exist. Meaning - as long as it doesn't require any effort on my part I will play the game, but you really don't count for anything on my list. But if you are filled with internal respect it WON'T MATTER what people say or think of you.
Wouldn't that be GREAT??! You are liberated from the slavery of having to try to impress and find favor in the eyes of others.
A mishna: איזהו מכובד? המכבד את הבריות. You want honor? We all do. The word כבוד means neshama [as in למען יזמרך כבוד and עורה כבודי]. Our neshama craves kavod. To "dis" someone is to kill him. המלבין פני חברו ברבים כאילו שופך דמיו. Embarrassing is tantamount to killing. So GIVE all of the honor you have in your soul to others and yours will grow exponentially. Those who have honor give to others and the more they give the more they have.
