Personal Bill of Rights by Mark Sichel, LCSW Many of us are brought up without a sense of rights or entitlement. Whether as a result of our upbringing or our harsh inner critic, we lack a sense of what we are entitled to as human beings: our basic inalienable human rights. Check off the rights that you want included in your Personal Bill of Rights, click submit, and voila, your Bill of Rights will be ratified! The right to purchase a luxury item I can afford. The right to feel good about who I am. The freedom to say what I please - the wisdom to know when to say it. The freedom to protect myself in a responsible and mature manner. The right to ask for what I want, and the wisdom to know where and whom to ask. The right to exercise my innate creative abilities. The freedom to say no when a situation is not good for me. The right to be asked to be treated with respect and dignity. The right to know who I am. The freedom to know what I want. The right to choose the life I want. The right to assert my likes and dislikes. The right to accept myself for who I am. The freedom to regulate my thoughts and feelings without the input of another person. The freedom to cultivate interests and points of view. The right to tolerate points of view that differ from mine. The ability to accommodate another person without losing my own identity. The freedom to assert my rights without fear of loss of love. The freedom to assert my rights without fear of rejection and abandonment. The freedom to assert my rights without fear of physical or mental punishment. The right to say no. The right to feel alive. The right to be liked. The right to make choices in my life. The freedom to choose my own friends. The right to be given space when I need it. The right to follow my own interests.                    RECOMMENDED READING FROM THE PSYSTORE: Your Perfect Right: A Guide to Assertive Living by Robert E. Alberti, Michael L. Emmons Our Price: $10.36 "5-stars. Highly Recommended rating in the national survey... Some mental health professionals call [it] 'the assertiveness bible,' they think so highly of it... this is an excellent self-help book" -- The Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Books For a selection of books on this topic, visit the Psystore. ** All prices subject to change without notice