Dignity Defined

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Exploring what it means to live and lead with dignity at work, in our families, in our communities, and in the world.

What is dignity? How can we honor the dignity of others? And how can we repair and reclaim our dignity after harm? Tune in to hear stories about violations of dignity and ways in which we heal, forgive, and make choices about how we show up in a chaotic and fractured world.

Hosted by physician and coach Jennifer Griggs.

Episode Summary

In this episode, Vanessa Aron and Jennifer Griggs discuss the concept of dignity and its importance in our lives. Jennifer explains that dignity is our inherent worth or value and that it is honored through acceptance, inclusion, safety, acknowledgement, recognition, understanding, fairness, autonomy, and accountability. These are the elements of dignity identified by Donna Hicks, PhD through multiple interviews around the world. 

Jennifer has organized these elements into three categories: belonging, being seen and heard, and justice. She also explores the relationship between dignity and other values, the barriers to understanding dignity, and how we can violate our own dignity and the dignity of others. Finally, she shares how understanding dignity has transformed her life and leadership.

Takeaways

• Dignity is our inherent worth or value, and it is recognized when we are treated with acceptance, inclusion, safety, acknowledgement, recognition, understanding, fairness, autonomy, and accountability.
• Dignity can be organized into three categories: belonging, being seen and heard, and justice.
• Barriers to understanding dignity include forgetting our own worth, forgetting the worth of others, and reacting without mindfulness.
• We can violate our own dignity by mistreating our bodies or seeking excessive validation from others.
• Violations of dignity can lead to trauma, and it is important to understand and heal from these experiences.
• Living and leading with dignity involves recognizing and honoring the dignity of ourselves and others.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dignity
01:08 The Elements of Dignity
04:44 Being Seen and Heard
05:10 Justice
06:31 Dignity in Relation to Other Values
07:26 Barriers to Understanding Dignity
08:24 Violating Our Own Dignity
09:46 Violating the Dignity of Others
10:41 Dignity and Trauma
11:10 Living and Leading with Dignity
12:32

Exploring what it means to live and lead with dignity at work, in our families, in our communities, and in the world. What is dignity? How can we honor the dignity of others? And how can we repair and reclaim our dignity after harm? Tune in to hear stories about violations of dignity and ways in which we heal, forgive, and make choices about how we show up in a chaotic and fractured world. Hosted by physician and coach Jennifer Griggs.

For more information on the podcast, please visit www.thedignitylab.com.
For more information on podcast host Dr. Jennifer Griggs, please visit https://jennifergriggs.com/.
For additional free resources, including the periodic table of dignity elements, please visit https://jennifergriggs.com/resources/.

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