Intellectual Freedom: Assertiveness

Food For Thought

The word assertive means “to get fed, to get together with, to walk towards. Assertiveness is healthy, it is not agression and it is not passivity. It is learning to connect congruently between thought and feeling, feeling and word, and word and action.

Many cultures punish assertiveness as a way to maintain subservient participation in the clarity of hierarchy in the whole. If you voice your opinion or speak what’s on your mind, you may find yourself on the outside of the system, to learn for yourself just where your place is.

Assertiveness is actually a type of interaction that leads to heatlhy self-esteem and reduces pathology of individuals and cultures. In cultures where there is an imbalance of power between different subgroups, learned passivity through frowned upon assertiveness leads to sickness within cultures, behaviorally, spiritually, and physically. Communities, organziations, and families that value authenitic assertiveness thrive in healthy ways. This means encouraging give and take in communication equally as problem solving and solutions naturally transpire.

In family systems with a high prevalence of disease both mentally and physically look at the implicit communication patterns within the system. This is where lack of healthy assertive communication will prove deadly; especially with problems such as depression and anxiety and agression .

If we started to look at illness from the perspective of learned behavior and environmental contributions as much as biologically related we could rebuild healthy systems at every eco systemic level one strand at a time?

So find your voice and speak up loud and clear, most importantly to yourself and then confidently to others. Engage in conversation… listen and speak... listen and speak… listen and speak… with not to…

Be a co-creator of your health at every level!

You are important. Your voice is important. You matter.

-Mindful Moutain Wellness