We all want to be liked. Yet at work it may matter even more to be respected. How do you earn it?

Doing well at work takes far more than being capable and clever. To be seen as valuable, you need to be someone people respect. And you do not have to be at the top of an organisation to be treated with respect.

Do your work as well as you can

Nothing earns the respect of the people around you like work of real quality. Whatever the size of your role, give it your best and make sure the result is first rate. As colleagues see you deliver excellent work again and again, their respect will follow.

Balance kindness with honesty

Being kind is never a bad thing. But sometimes you will need to say honestly what you think, even when it makes you uncomfortable. Whether it is questioning how something is being done or giving feedback on a colleague’s presentation, there are times when you simply have to speak your mind. If you are in charge of others, always make your criticism constructive. Habits like these make everyone you work with respect you more.

Stay patient, even when it is hard

Patience goes a long way towards earning the respect you hope for. If your workplace is tense and full of provocations, show others the calm you would like to see from them. Stay patient and calm, and treat everyone around you with respect.

Handle conflict wisely

No workplace runs smoothly all the time. With heavy workloads and people choosing different paths to a shared target, friction is certain. That is your chance to show real maturity and be seen as someone who solves problems, not someone who causes them. Help make the place healthier, and deal with conflict calmly.

The qualities that earn respect at work are the same ones that make a good friend: conduct others admire, and the freedom to be fully yourself.

Money can buy almost anything, and every month we make full use of that fact. As if the big weekend splurges were not enough, there are small daily purchases that burn a hole in our pockets without our even noticing. Here are some to stop wasting money on straight away.

Very expensive coffee

Low-fat, decaffeinated, or a tall chocolate coffee topped with whipped cream: coffee choices are endless. As the menu keeps growing and we keep sampling, we end up paying steep prices for what is simply a cup of coffee.

Bottled water

Spending money on one of the most freely available things on earth is a strange idea when you think about it. It looks like small change at first, but by the end of the week it can add up to the price of a dinner.

Expensive home loans

Monthly home loan payments can take a large slice of what you earn. A high interest rate means you hand over more than necessary. If you did not shop around enough when you took the loan, it is worth asking a trusted adviser whether moving it to a lender with a lower rate would help you save more.

Last-minute lunches

Weekdays keep us busy, and making your own lunch takes planning. No wonder ordering food online has become the norm at work. Offers may tempt you to order more at a lower price, but in the long run the habit hurts both your health and your bank balance.

Self-confidence is something we all want, yet for a great many of us it is a struggle in everyday life. Here are three points worth keeping in mind.

Confidence shapes how far you go

Self-confidence matters greatly to how we learn and what we are able to do. It can affect your performance and your relationships with others, and it is a far stronger sign of future success than self-esteem alone.

Act confident until you feel it

If your confidence is low, the familiar advice to “just be yourself” can actually hold you back. This is where acting with confidence before you fully feel it can help you move forward. Paying attention to how you want to come across to others gives you a clear picture to aim for as you practise behaving that way.

Every gesture counts

Body language is one of the main ways we show confidence. When confidence is low, it shows in the way you hold yourself. Standing up straight, and even deliberately taking a strong, open posture, can shift your thinking towards confidence. Try it and notice the difference.

Make up your mind that whatever comes your way, however hard or unfair it is, you will do more than simply get through it. You will grow in spite of it.

Usually somewhere between the ages of nine and twelve, the cuddly little child who once climbed into your lap and shared every secret suddenly wants little or nothing to do with you. It hurts. These ideas can help you keep communication open with your pre-teen and make the move into the teenage years smoother for both of you.

Keep the door open

Do not interrogate; just show interest. Share a few small stories from your own day and ask about theirs. How was the concert? How was the outing? How was your day? Another good line is: “You may not feel like talking about what happened right now. I know what that is like. But if you want to talk about it later, come to me.”

Do not take it as rejection

It is normal for children of this age to start turning away from their parents and leaning more on friends. Yet parents often read this withdrawal as rejection. All too often they take the growing distance personally and mistake it for deliberate refusal or defiance.

Try the indirect approach

In earlier years, straight questions worked. How was school? How did the test go? Now, firing a volley of questions about school and their day does not work. It suddenly feels overwhelming and intrusive, and it will backfire. Simply sit down and listen, and the information will come.

Support them

Stand by them, whatever happens. This is the age when they need you most, and it is your responsibility to look after them without conditions.

Take a back seat

The teenage years are when the main influence on a child shifts from parents to friends. It is a rather discouraging fact for parents that much research shows the peer group has far more influence than parents in shaping behaviour and personality. During these years, parents must learn for the first time to take a back seat.

Do not feel bad

Of course you should be there for your children, especially if you are one of those rare adults who can listen to what is said, and what is left unsaid, with sensitivity and understanding, and then respond in a way that lets a teenager take your advice without feeling humiliated. Do not feel bad about their behaviour. Simply accept the situation.

Things to keep in mind

Be a good friend to your child. Give them responsibility. Stop feeling helpless. Do not try to own them; include them. And do something about yourself as well.

Quiet people are at last receiving the regard they deserve, as people become more accommodating of quieter ways. Yet the more the truth about introverts is accepted, the more assumptions seem to pile up about extroverts. Researchers say several common beliefs about them are simply wrong. Much of what looks like overconfidence actually comes from the way extroverts process information.

They always want to make plans and go out

Extroverts are quite at home in busy, stimulating places. That does not mean they constantly need a social calendar. They are not hungry for attention; they simply handle it more easily than introverts do. Extroverts enjoy time alone too. They are just less attached to it.

They are not just talking, they are thinking out loud

Extroverts do tend to talk more, but that is because talking is how they work through certain information. They often arrive at an answer by talking a situation over, while their more introverted friends look inward to think it through. So when it seems that an extrovert is going on and on, what you are usually watching is a person working out a situation, a decision or a problem.

They are poor listeners

Because extroverts are so chatty, some people assume they must be bad at listening. That could hardly be further from the truth. For the most part, extroverts want to hear your opinion, because that is how they learn, and it is often why they started the conversation with you in the first place. They are also always ready to pick the conversation back up to save everyone from awkward silences.

Nobody enjoys being around an arrogant person, because arrogance repels people. Several other traits work the same way, and many of us carry one or two of them without noticing. Here is a reality check on the traits that may be making you less liked than you realise.

We all have bad days, and most of us slip into a negative trait now and then, however good we are at heart. But if you find yourself showing any of these every day, it may be time to seek help before they start harming your relationships at home and at work.

Moodiness

Some people are so changeable that others hardly dare approach them, never knowing which side they will meet. Cheerful one day, gloomy and miserable the next, often for no clear reason, they are uncomfortable company. They can be set off by the smallest thing. Try to stay calm with others, whatever the situation.

Meanness

Nobody wants to be around people who are always angry at everything around them. If you have ever worked with a mean person, you will know the knot in your stomach before you walk in each morning. One bad seed is enough to spoil a whole environment. Mean people will always exist, so counter them by being as kind as you can to everyone around you.

Arrogance

A superior attitude gets you nowhere. Showing the world that you think you are better than everyone else only reveals how short-sighted and narrow-minded you are. The smartest and most successful people got where they are because they know there is always someone better, and they keep working to improve. Stay humble and keep looking for ways to grow.

Rudeness

Rudeness is a weak person’s imitation of strength. Rude people have no filter and pay little attention to social norms. They ignore other people’s feelings and act as if the world exists only for them. They push others away and often end up deeply lonely. Who knows what friendships might grow if you open up to people instead of shutting them out. Politeness almost always leads to bigger and better things.

Unreliability

Not offering help is one thing. Offering it and then failing to follow through is quite another. Friends and colleagues who say they will do something and then keep putting it off until the last minute, if they do it at all, show that they cannot be trusted. When you promise someone help, completing it should come before anything else. Showing that you can be counted on is one of the most important traits for building any relationship.

Controlling behaviour

Controlling people do not trust others to know how to live their lives or do their jobs. Overbearing parents, bosses and spouses leave those around them feeling unworthy and less willing to try harder. Such people frequently turn harsh and overbearing, and those close to them feel they are always walking on eggshells for fear of setting them off. Giving people the freedom to do things their own way leads to much better relationships all round.

Dishonesty

Dishonest people try to wriggle out of trouble rather than own up to the truth and their errors. Liars cannot be trusted, and if they keep living a lie, they will lose friends and relationships.

A few more to watch for

Judging others too quickly; pull back and try to understand why someone is the way they are. Foul language; the dictionary holds plenty of good words, so use them. Lack of motivation; find something you care about and pursue it. Fakeness; worry less about the image you project and more about who you really are. Boasting; leave your achievements for others to measure.

These are the study habits that the most successful students rely on. If you want to do well, do not lose heart and do not give up. Simply work on building each habit below, and you will see your marks rise and your ability to learn and absorb information improve.

Get organised

Plan what you are going to do and when you are going to do it. That alone keeps you ahead of the curve.

Break it up

Split your work into manageable pieces and reward yourself each time you finish one. Studying becomes a lot more enjoyable that way.

Sleep well

A good night’s rest sharpens your focus and improves your working memory.

Keep a schedule

Are you sharper in 90-minute sessions or in half-hour bursts? Find your rhythm and keep to it.

Write things down

Making notes keeps you more engaged during class, and it also helps you narrow down what you actually need to study.

Join a study group

Working with classmates who are covering the same ground helps you untangle confusing topics and get ready for an important exam. Test one another, take turns explaining, and check that nobody is left behind. Explaining something to another person is the surest way to master it yourself.

Ask when you are unsure

Seeking help, whether from a teacher, a tutor or your friends, is a sure way to make certain you truly understand the material.

When you use conversation in a meaningful way, it can bring real results. Yet most people hold a few mistaken beliefs about it. Here are four common ones.

Conversation is only small talk

Chatting about the weather or about coffee is part of conversation, but that is not all conversation is. A good conversation spends as much time as it can on meaningful and truly engaging subjects.

Small talk is pointless

Small talk is still part of conversation. The fact that it deals with everyday topics does not make it worthless. It is often the doorway into deeper talk.

Conversation means being fake

Some people certainly do put on an act when they talk, pretending to like things they do not and trying to be someone they are not, just to please whoever they are talking to. Not everyone is like that, because a real conversation is not an exercise in pleasing people.

Most people are too dull to talk to

To find people who are good at talking, you will have to get through some who are not good at it at all. And very often, the same person who seemed dim and dull turns out to be quite intelligent once you get the chance to know them properly. Not everyone who falls short of your first expectations is foolish or not worth your time.

You are already good enough to be a world-class human being without pretending to be someone else. So accept your own qualities and offer them freely to others. Here are a few rules that people of real character live by.

Always do the right thing

People of this kind see no reason to lie or to stretch the truth. Truth needs no memory; a lie needs a good one. Most people lie out of insecurity or fear, and then must keep checking that every later word supports the first falsehood. One lie keeps feeding the next.

Live by your standards, principles and values

Such people do not let their standards slip to suit their surroundings. It is easier to bend, or to wear a mask, simply to dodge confrontation. Over time, though, people will respect you for standing by your values, even when those values differ from theirs. Remember that most people make decisions from their emotions, their feelings or their fears. People of character base everything on their values and principles.

Value your word above all else

Simply by doing what you say you will do, you are already ahead of most people in a society that does not value its word. Be dependable, and trust, respect and goodwill follow on their own. You will also reach more of your own goals, because you no longer accept excuses or easy ways out.

Be authentic

People of character do not try to be someone or something they are not. Sadly, authenticity grows rarer by the day. The good side of that is that real authenticity now shines like a beacon in the night. So always be your own unique self instead of trying to live up to what others expect of you.

All of us overthink at times. Too much of it, though, is bad for our health. Here are four ways to quiet a mind that will not stop turning things over.

Spend time alone with your thoughts

Overthinking tends to flare up when outside drama and other people’s noise crowd in on us. Once our own thoughts are mixed in with everyone else’s opinions, it becomes hard to tell where ours stop and theirs start. Time on your own lets you hear what you actually think.

Stop chasing approval

Very often it is the hunger for approval that is quietly damaging our lives. We turn over and over what it will take to belong, to win affection and to be accepted. Wanting everyone to like us makes us miss new opportunities, shy away from risks and avoid new connections, all out of fear of being judged.

Change the way you talk to yourself

Start noticing the messages you give yourself, because self-talk sits at the root of all overthinking. We keep justifying what we do, playing down what we achieve and explaining away our own hard work. Doing that belittles both the value of our work and our sense of self-worth.

Think bigger

At first it may seem that thinking bigger would only make overthinking worse. In fact the opposite is true. Thinking big keeps your attention on big things, and when your mind is busy with what really matters, there is no room left for petty irritations to creep in and take over.