I have my own “Bill of Rights.” My therapist suggested it, making a list in response to the work I was doing to stop judging myself. I was tired of going to a place of shame, a place I lived way too long in my youth and many years of adulthood. My Bill of Rights continues to grow and contains many rights. It starts off something like this:
I have the right to be uncomfortable.
I have the right to take chances and fall on my face publicly.
I have the right to say no.
I have the right to love myself every day.
I have the right to not give to others when I feel I can’t.
I have the right to falter.
I have the right to not be perfect in anything!
I have the right to feel fear.
I have the right to be angry.
I have the right to follow my heart.
I have the right to be confident about my ideas.
I have the right to be wrong and move on.
I have the right to not like what I’m doing!!
I have the right to not know what I want to do.
I have the right not to judge myself or others.
I have the right to not like people.
I have the right to have fun.
And there are more. I keep adding to the list. While helping me feel more confident and loving, the list also helps disempower those unexamined or unconscious belief systems from childhood that helped us to survive in whatever situation we were in.
It’s been a self-empowering exercise, and I highly recommend it. It works! I rarely feel shame these days. It’s much simpler, addressing life’s challenges with a little less inner-struggle.
