EVERYONE'S BILL OF RIGHTS

I Hold These To Be Self-Evident

• The right to be human (not perfect)
• The right to be who I am
• The right to exist
• The right to accept myself as I am right now
• The right to assert myself
• The right to choose not to assert myself
• The right to choose to pursue a personal right
• The right to choose not to pursue a personal right
• The right to feel the way I feel
• The right to feel that feelings are neither right nor wrong
• The right to feel my own innate goodness
• The right to change the way I feel, if I want to
• The right to learn how to assert my rights
• The right to make mistakes
• The right to have and express my own feelings and opinions
• The right to have my own beliefs
• The right to ask for what I want
• The right to ask for information from professionals
• The right to want what I want
• The right to change my mind
• The right to get what I pay for
• The right to make and refuse requests without feeling guilty
• The right to make my own decisions, to take my own consequences for them, and to judge my own actions
• The right to set my own priorities
• The right to say "no" without feeling guilty
• The right to say "I don't know"
• The right to pursue a healthy boundary
• The right to express unconditional love
• The right to express conditional love
• The right to express annoyance, displeasure, and anger with integrity
• The right to express positively
• The right to express negatively
• The right to go at my own pace
• The right to be responsible only to myself 
• The right to control my own life

...without hurting others.

It is important to note that, of course, others may have a different frame of mind or approach. Self-assertion does not make others do what we want; it only helps us feel satisfied that we have made known who we are and what we need.

(Thanks to the Community Mental Health Center in Canton Illinois for the emphasis on RIGHTS, and to various inspirational teachers.)

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