As my life has gotten busier and busier (by choice as I love being busy and learning new things!) it has been so important to evolve my boundaries in a healthy way and COMMUNICATE them. This in itself has sometimes been harder than navigating a CIC and gaining accreditation!
So why should you be looking at your boundaries? These are key to preserving your mental and emotional health. But sometimes they are hard to define and change over time. If you are a people pleaser it will be harder for you to say no. No has never been part of your vocabulary because you may be afraid people in your life may leave you if you do not please them. Creating boundaries encourages you to look at your self-worth and how your life deserves to look like…
Top Tips for Creating Healthy Boundaries
Identify your limits
What areas of your life do you feel drained? What commitments do you feel obligated to, yet exhaust you? What is causing you unnecessary dread?
Clearly communicate your boundaries
Once you have an understanding of what you would like to set up in your life, you need to communicate these clearly to your friends, family, partner. It is a common mistake that you assume those closest to you will know automatically.
Practice what you say
It is so easy to fall back into patterns that are easy for a quiet life. If you want to avoid work at night then do not respond to clients texts. If you want to create more time for yourself, keep on saying no thank you when you are tired or want to protect that space for yourself. The more you do this the more it becomes habit.
Avoid over-explaining or over-apologising
In an effort to be polite or not seem rude it is so easy to fall into the trap of profusely apologising for the reason you are saying no. You do not need to explain saying no.
Be consistent
Keep on looking at your boundaries. What is working? What is not improving? Once you begin and start seeing the difference you will want to look at every area of your life.
