Bill of Rights
- I do not have to feel guilty just because someone else does not like what I do, say, think, or feel.
- It is okay for me to feel angry and to express it in responsible ways.
- I do not have to assume full responsibility for making decisions, particularly when others share responsibility for making the decision.
- I have the right to say, “I don’t understand” without feeling stupid or guilty.
- I have the right to say, “I don’t know”.
- I have the right to say, “no” without feeling guilty.
- I do not have to apologize or give reasons when I say “no”.
- I have the right to ask others to do things for me.
- I have the right to refuse requests which others make of me.
- I have the right to tell others when I think they are manipulating, conning, or treating me unfairly.
- I have the right to refuse additional responsibilities without feeling guilty.
- I have the right to tell others when their behavior annoys me.
- I do not have to compromise my personal integrity.
- I have the right to make mistakes and to be responsible for them. I have the right to be wrong.
- I do not have to be liked, admired, or respected by everyone for everything I do.
- I have the right to evaluate my own behavior, thoughts, and emotions, and to take responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon myself.
- I have the right to offer no reasons or excuses for justifying my behavior.
- I have the right to decide if I am responsible for ending solutions to other people’s problems.
- I have the right to change my mind.
- I have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others before coping with them.
- I have the right to think about myself, my life, and my goals and leave others to God.
- I have the right to actively pursue people, places, and situations that will help me in achieving a good life.
- I have the right to leave the company of people who deliberately or inadvertently put me down, lay a guilt trip on me, manipulate or humiliate me. That includes my alcoholic parent, my non# alcoholic parent, or any other member of my family.
- I have a right to a mentally healthy, sane way of existence, though it will deviate in part, or all, from my parents prescribed philosophy of life.
- I have the right to laugh and play and have fun. I have the right to enjoy this life, right here, right now. I have the right to carve out my own place in this world.
Remember, I am learning how to give to myself, and that is not bad. I need to change old feelings of being victimized to new feelings of being about to meet challenges successfully.
I don’t have to take care of everyone else. I have choices about how I respond to people.
Some situations can be resolved without my being involved. Others can lend support to those who need it when I am not willing to be available. It is okay to put my own wellbeing first. I am important, too.
I will read my Bill of Rights out loud, every day to myself. I will feel some of the old guilt for a while, but it will be mixed with a new sensation… that of excitement along with a sense of aliveness. I will discover that I am intuitively handling situations which used to baffle me.
Disclaimer: This literature is not conference approved literature. It is solely the product of the ACA group that created it. The ACA WSO is not responsible for and has no opinion about the content of this document.
