Five Things to Try Tonight.

You clicked. I love that about you. Here are five dignity practices you can start tonight. Not tomorrow, not after the next staff meeting, but tonight. They're small, they're doable, and at least one of them is going to make you slightly uncomfortable. That's how you'll know it's working.

1. Name what you're feeling before you say anything out loud. Most dignity violations — the ones we commit and the ones we absorb — happen when we're reactive. Before you vent, gossip, or fire off that email, pause long enough to name what's actually going on inside you. Hurt? Overlooked? Disrespected? The name matters more than you think.

2. Find one thing you did well today and let yourself mean it. Not in a performative way. Just quietly, to yourself. If your sense of worth depends entirely on whether other people noticed your contributions today, you are outsourcing your dignity to people who are busy managing their own. Take it back.

3. Identify one conversation you've been avoiding. You don't have to have it tonight. Just name it. Write it down if you need to. Avoidance has a way of feeling like patience when it's actually just fear wearing a more professional outfit.

4. Notice the next time you're about to bond with someone at another person's expense. You don't have to be perfect. Just notice it in real time. Awareness is the whole game at the beginning.

5. Ask yourself: where did my dignity feel honored today, and where did it feel violated? Most of us never ask this question. It takes about two minutes before bed and it will change how you move through the next day.

That's it. Five things. Pick one and give it a try. And remember, growth happens when you’re uncomfortable.