ONE IS AS GOOD AS ONE THINKS

ONE IS AS GOOD AS ONE THINKS

Shakespeare had said, „Nothing is good or bad; only thinking makes it so‟. Ones‟ thoughts mould ones‟ personality. In general, two types of thought processes are:
(1) Positive thought
These are:
 Positive self-recognition
 Identifying relationships with self and others
 Self-confidence
(2) Negative thoughts
These include:
 Negative self-recognition
 Crisis of relationship with self and others
 Non-assertive (submissive or aggressive) behaviour

Communication skills when measured along the dimension of negative thought, can become non-assertive in nature. Negative behaviours lead to low morale and lower inputs of employees on the one hand and low work output and low efficiency on the other.
It is thus of critical value to budding managers / leaders to ascertain their style of communication behaviour and to adapt more positive style.

 ASSERTIVE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALES

Every citizen of the world has two types of rights:
(1) Fundamental rights
These are guaranteed by the constitutions of the respective countries. They have the legal back up of the country to which the persons belong.
(2) Assertive rights
These are not guaranteed by legal framework but in the emerging world, these are being recognized as „Everyone‟s Bill of Rights‟. These rights stand for freedom from bondage and represent the spirit of individuals as they wish to be treated by society. These are:
(i) Right of self respect and respect for others
It signifies confidence in self‟s abilities and also respecting others as a reciprocal behaviour.
(ii) Right to have and express own feelings and opinions
It represents the innate desire in each one of us for being recognized as a useful member of the society.
(iii) Right to be listened to and taken seriously
It implies the innate urge to have self-esteem as it promotes positive attitude.
(iv) Right to set own priorities
It represents individualistic approach and highlights the freedom to change own ideas and opinions without having to explain to anyone.
(v) Right to say „no‟ without feeling guilty
It means unwillingness to accept ideas of others if they do not match with own understanding or perception.
(vi) Right to ask for what one wants
It again talks of the individualistic needs, wants and desires.
(vii) Right to get what one pays for
It upholds the right of consumers that has now become well-established norm in society.
(viii) Right to ask for information from professionals
With the right to information from Government and other agencies becoming a law in India, this right to be informed by professionals is not far away.
(ix) Right to make mistakes
It stands for accepting responsibility for errors and omissions by individuals. It reinforces the age-old concept that „To err is human‟. At the same time, it implies that making mistakes is an essential part of learning and growing.
(x) Right to choose not to assert oneself
It recognizes individuals‟ need to renounce, resign and abdicate