Assertiveness is not only considered the Communication and Behavioral Style that generates the best personal and professional results, but it is also a Mindset – set of beliefs, values, and attitudes a person holds – that has the potential to assist both individual and social change.
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- The more a person activates and exercises the Assertive Principles in their everyday life, the more the Mindset will change into a predominantly Assertive one.
- A predominantly Assertive Mindset relies on the automation of thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors in the sense of low-effort implementation of assertive traits in real-life contexts.
- When a person acts, thinks, emotionally reacts, and acts in a predominantly assertive way without having to consciously control and direct their mental analysis and behaviors, then it means that the main values and methods associated with Assertiveness have been internally assimilated.
- The way we think, our ability to analyze and modify our thinking processes, allows us to gradually assimilate the Assertive Principles. In return, Assertive Principles shape our thinking patterns into ones that build a rather rational internal image of both the inner and external world.
- Thoughts that are an internal reflection of assertive principles help us regulate our emotions better. We will experience fewer negative emotions – since the irrational thinking patterns occur less and less, and when we do experience them, it is rather unlikely that their intensities will overwhelm us.
- Assertive thoughts lower the chances of severe inner conflicts and promote the optimal assessment of cognitive dissonance when it occurs.
- Assertiveness-driven thinking patterns assist decision-making processes in the sense of finding opportunities, alternatives, and new perspectives, for both individuals and society.
- When your mindset is not centered on conflict-generation, nor on defense even when no threats are present, you can focus on the goals that are truly significant for you.
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Assertive Thoughts guide the way in which we create our mental image about ourselves and the outside world, which in turn greatly influences our choices when it comes to goals, actions and our options for social interactions.
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The ultimate goal that can be linked to a Primarily Assertive Mindset is to be able to internally connect to a reality that is as close to being valid, supportive and authentic as human abilities allow.