Do you get what you want? Do you have control over your life? There is I think a fine line between being assertive and being a bully or a control freak. The biggest thing that one needs to learn here to be really good at asserting your right is communication.
According to Wikipedia ” Assertiveness is a behavioral skill taught by many personal development experts and behavior therapists as well as cognitive behavior therapists. It is linked to self-esteem and considered an important communication skill. It was originally explored by Joseph Wolpe in his book on treating nuerosis. It is commonly employed as an intervention in behavior therapy. The belief was that a person could not be both assertive and anxious at the same time and thus being assertive would inhibit anxiety.
As a communication style and strategy, assertiveness is distinguished from aggression and passivity. How people deal with personal boundaries, their own and those of other people, helps to distinguish between these three concepts. Passive communicators do not defend their own personal boundaries and thus allow aggressive people to abuse or manipulate them. Passive communicators are also typically not likely to risk trying to influence anyone else. Aggressive people do not respect the personal boundaries of others and thus are liable to harm others while trying to influence them. A person communicates assertively by overcoming fear to speak his or her mind or trying to influence others, but doing so in a way that respects the personal boundaries of others. Assertive people are also willing to defend themselves against aggressive incursions.”
Quiet a mouthful I know, but there is a video that I found that easily can tell us how it is to be assertive. I think its very practical and easy to understand. I hope it is helpful.
Main Image Source – Assertive
Communication Skills:
How To Be Assertive
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