“Politeness is a sign of dignity, not subservience.” This is a self-explanatory quote from Theodore Roosevelt that needs no explanation.
The most crucial aspect of politeness is to maintain a sense of dignity and self-respect in many ways. This makes you a more interesting person to interact with, as it shows that you have a strong sense of who you are as an individual. In addition, by being polite and respectful, people will see you as a positive role model and will also feel more comfortable with you.
Accepting criticism gracefully is a vital part of being polite. However, being polite is not the same thing as being submissive. You can be polite without being timid or scared of others. Politeness can be interpreted as a sign of your dignity and self-respect by speaking and carrying yourself. Accepting criticism gracefully demonstrates that you can hear constructive criticism from others and not take offense at it.
Maintaining self-respect with politeness does not mean disregarding your feelings for other people's feelings at all times, either. Quite often, accepting criticism gracefully means doing something that you find uncomfortable but which you know will please someone else – such as giving someone a gift or going somewhere that is not particularly enjoyable for you – to make them feel good about themselves.
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