To me, assertiveness is...

by Steve
(UK)

Well I wish I had a story about assertiveness but I just don't. Yet, anyway. (Got loads of stories about not being assertive, but that doesn't help here! Lol.)

So I thought I'd get things going here by looking at what I think assertiveness is all about.

And whilst assertiveness is all of the following words... absolute, assured, certain, confident, decided, decisive, emphatic, firm, positive, self-assured, self-confident, strong-willed, sure (at least according to thesaurus.com anyway lol) it's more than that, I think.

I think Gloria Hamilten summed it up in her article, actually when she said that it was nothing more than interacting with others in a direct, honest and respectful manner.

So it certainly isn't about winning at all costs, or always getting your way!

In fact, I think if you are self-aware and act out of love rather than fear then you'll pretty much be acting assertively.

Well, that's what I think. How about you?

Oh, I think that inspirational If poem, by Rudyard Kipling, does a good job of describing assertiveness too (as well as many other great character attributes).