Your Own Personal Bill of Rights

What do you think you are worth? Do you think you deserve to be treated fairly? Do you believe that other people deserve to be treated better than you do?

Actually…………….We all possess the same basic rights! Many people seem to have forgotten or may have never been told that these basic rights exist. If you are working at achieving assertiveness in your life, your own personal Bill of Rights is a useful tool to refer to. It will help you validate your own needs, opinions, and boundaries with other people effectively. This will also help you stand up for yourself without violating the rights of other people. So…where do we start?

MY PERSONAL BILL OF RIGHTS

1) I have the right to say what is on my mind
2) I have the right to be happy or sad
3) I have the right to express my own opinions and beliefs
4) I have the right to change my mind
5) I have the right not to make a decision until I am ready to do so
6) I have the right to say ‘ I don’t understand’
7) I have the right to say ‘ yes’ or ‘ no’ without explaining myself
8) I have the right to feel ALL my emotions
9) I have the right to accept or decline help without undue shame, anxiety or guilt
10) I have the right to decline responsibility for other peoples problems
11) I have the right to change my mind if I feel like it
12) I have the right to be illogical in making decisions
13) I have the right to my own time
14) I have the right to say ‘ I don’t care’
15) I have the right to set my own rules and priorities
16) I have the right to be listened to, and taken seriously
17) I have the right to make mistakes
18) I have the right to my own friends and acquaintances and how and when to spend time with them. I may, but don’t have to, justify these choices to others
19) I have the right to choose if, when and how to respectfully tell others how their actions are affecting me and to take responsibility for doing so
20) I have the right to take all the time I need to evaluate and make important life decisions. If this stresses other people, they are responsible for asserting their needs and I am responsible for balancing them with mine
21) I have the right to distinguish between who other people SAY I AM, and WHO I REALLY AM
22) I have the right to choose how and when to fill my needs, even if my choices conflict with other people’s values or wishes.
23) I have the right to decide if and when, I choose to forgive my mistakes or anyone else’s mistakes.

I suggest that you get yourself a large sheet of paper and right down this list. Rewrite parts or this entire sample and make it YOURS. Read each statement out loud. Feel it in your heart.

Refer to this Bill any time you feel conflicts or upset in your life. This will help you clarify each persons basic rights and work together for a win-win situation.