When you are content to be simply yourself, and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you. (Tao Te Ching)
Ironically, you don’t earn the respect or approval of others by pretending to be the person you imagine others want you to be. How could they respect someone who demonstrates so little confidence and self-worth?
When you encounter someone, don’t you want to know the real person? Wouldn’t you rather interact in truth? Wouldn’t role-playing insult both you and the actor by attempting to put you both into a box?
Be yourself. Don’t compare don’t compete. Not only will you effortlessly earn respect, you will give others permission to do the same. You will also form the most solid, deepest relationships.
What’s great about you is not how well you fit in; rather, how you don’t.