…I often keep quiet when confronted, instead of speaking my mind. This might be a legitimate response, except that I don’t consciously make the choice. This is not responding, it’s reacting, giving up my self-respect out of fear and out of habit. ~ The Courage to Change, page 172

I have a right.
I am entitled.
I don’t have to accept abuse,
to set my needs on the floor
inviting all to stomp on them,
treading over them myself.
I have a right to my thoughts,
to my interests,
to my passions.
I may choose not to claim
my right, to respond,
to express an opinion,
to speak at all.
But I will respect my right
to do so and if I don’t
I will do it of my own will,
respecting me as well
as others whose rights
I so easily defend and honor.