You Have the Right to be Yourself

Are you allowing others to deprive you of rights you deserve to have? Every human being is entitled to certain rights, but non-assertive people often have their rights ignored by the pushy, demanders in life.

If your one of them, you probably bottle up your feelings. You’d do better to learn to release those negative feelings in a constructive way, rather than let them fester and turn into resentments toward others and dislike and disrespect for yourself.

The longer you hold bad feelings in, the more you increase your frustration and the possibility of blurting them out in a self-destructive way. When you learn to release those feelings, you put yourself in control of your environment, instead of letting your environment control you.

First of all, consider which rights you deserve, which you currently have, and which you don’t have. For instance, every human being has a right to make mistakes. If someone in your life is putting you down every time you’re not perfect – and if you’re allowing that to happen – you’re being deprived of that right to be human.

Analyze your other rights. Are you exercising your right to have opinions and have them seriously considered when you voice them to others? Are you exercising your right to make your individual needs as important as your family’s needs? You have a right to independence too, but if you’re living your life for someone else rather than yourself, you’ve forfeited that right. Are “they” more valuable than you?

You have a right to express your emotions. If you get angry, you have a right to say so. If you feel unappreciated, you have a right to withhold your services. You have a right to pursue your talents, to fulfill your potential, to be your own person. You have a right to achieve, a right to compete – when necessary – to get what you want out of life.

You have a right to be treated with courtesy, to be listened to, to be treated as a competent adult. You have a right to displease others without feeling selfish or guilty, a right to refuse requests if you want to say “no,” and not always “yes” to buy approval.

Spend some time thinking carefully about your rights. If you are being deprived of them, decide today to become more assertive and to prevent that from happening.

Assertiveness is understanding what you want, having the ability to tell others what it is and the fortitude to take action for yourself to get it. Take control of your life, and make whatever changes are necessary for you to exercise the human rights you deserve to have for the life you want to lead.

Tranz Talkz puts positive emotional power in your life.

This week:

Practice assertiveness: Speak out when you feel wronged.

Practice insight: List emotions you don’t normally express – then try to.

Practice observation: Notice who ignores your rights and expects to take advantage of you.