Your Personal Bill of Rights
Rights are an entitlement, not a privilege.
Equally, however, rights come with responsibilities.
This balance is very important, otherwise behaviour can slip into aggression.
Listen to the 3.52 minute AUDIO.
Accepting personal responsibility includes:
1. Developing positive self talk, which then transposes to the language you use with others, be it about yourself, about others or about outside circumstances.
What you think about, you bring about.
Your predominant and constant thoughts eventually translate into the life you lead.
Is it not better to have thoughts that bring you a happy and fulfilling life, rather than one filled with abnormal challenges and negativity?
2. Acknowledging that you and only you are responsible for what you think, and for the choices that you make.
No one can make you think or do anything you do not want to.
No one can make you sad without your permission.
You don’t need anyone to make you happy, because happiness is a state or emotion that you can experience at will.
That is not to say that there are not circumstances which challenge, but it is how you decide to react to these that will determine your emotional state or mood.
3. Never taking part in blaming others or yourself but looking on situations as feedback mechanisms and opportunities for learning.
The word ‘’ blaming’ is a word that should only be delegated to works of fiction.
In real life blaming is just destructive, counterproductive, and absolutely useless.
4. Being who you really are and not wearing the various masks that you think each group of people you interact with want you to wear.
We all wear a mask at one time or another when we interact with people.
It is being aware of when we wear this mask that we can eventually rid ourselves of this habit altogether.
5. Letting go of past perceived hurts and acknowledging that these are very subjective and tainted by your ‘reality’ at that time – they were not really reality.
So what is your Personal Bill of Rights? Some include:
You have a right
• To be treated with respect
• To ask for clarifications
• To change your mind
• To make mistakes, which enable you to learn
• To say ‘no’ without feeling guilty
• To say how you feel, positively or negatively
• To express your views
• To be listened to
• To make requests
• To not assert yourself if you choose
• To be paid what you are worth
I am sure you can think of others that are individual to you.
The above are generic points.
The important thing is to remember that you do have a Personal Bill of Rights and to make sure, no one steps on any of these points.
Again, being aware of these and implementing these will make sure that they become a part of your daily life.
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