How you choose to handle yourself affects your state of mind. Being assertive allows you to communicate your feelings in a direct and honest manner.

Next time you are confronted with an uncomfortable or emotionally charged situation, try using the following techniques to express yourself assertively-see if it doesn’t make an enormous difference.

• “When this happened, I felt . . .”
  Instead of saying, “You obviously don’t care about your students!” try, “When you didn’t allow me to explain why I had a hard time with that procedure, I felt minimized.”
• Focus on “I” instead of “you.” Take ownership.
  Instead of saying, “You didn’t give me a second chance!” try, “I would like the opportunity to try this again so I can improve my technique.”
• Be specific.
  Instead of saying, “This assignment is too hard” try, “The instructions for completing this exercise are confusing to me. Can we go over it again briefly?”

Source: Stressed Out About Nursing School, HCPro Inc., 2006. For more information on our series of Stressed Out books, visit www.stressedoutnurses.com