I liked on the Oprah show how Lisa Nichols (from "The Secret") said that how we treat ourselves is the best example for how others to treat us, and until Lisa Nichols started to truly love herself for who she was, others didn't respect or love her either.  This is good advice, and it goes along with the Law of Attraction that like attracts like, so whatever we think about ourselves, we will attract others who think likewise about us.