Standing up for yourself means so many things.
It means being confident in exploring and sharing your identity.
It means standing up to the pressures of society to look and act a certain way.
With friends, it may mean standing up to a bully and using “I feel…when you…” statements to express their emotions.
In school, it may mean speaking up in class when you are discussing a topic you are passionate about or advocating for yourself with a teacher.
At home, it may mean setting physical and emotional boundaries or seeking help when tired of handling everything by yourself.
At office, it may mean asking for the promotion you deserve.
As parent, it means being a role model and teaching your child in using your voice in a respectful manner.
The possibilities are endless.
The starting point to learn for standing up for yourself is childhood. Most of us were never taught what it means and how it feels when standing for things that we feel are right. And those who did were labelled arrogant, rude or aggressive.
We were told to keep our heads down to avoid trouble.
As kids, we were scared to stand for our rights and that led to suffocation.
As adults, it’s time to teach our kids to stand up for themselves by role modelling.