NOTES FROM THE AWARENESS: 1011

Respect your own boundaries.

We all have heard of the need for healthy boundaries. They help us make sure our interactions with others occur in a mutually beneficial way.

Overly strong boundaries will make us prickly to deal with and may make us more isolated. Lax boundaries can leave us honoring the well-being of others more than our own, draining our energy and our self-esteem.

Only we have the ability to set our own boundaries. We also own the responsibility for enforcing them.

In order for healthy boundaries to work, they must be honored by both parties. If someone disrespects our boundaries, we can reinforce our limits or may eventually choose to discontinue interaction with the person.

We will find there are occasional exceptions to the boundaries we set. And that’s okay; they’re meant to be helpful and not totally inflexible. But if we drop our boundaries on a regular basis, they are no longer boundaries but merely suggestions.

If we feel we’ve set boundaries that aren’t being honored, in order to decide our best course of action, we need to ensure that we aren’t telegraphing an exception to the other individual. If yes, we’ll need to reset the boundary. If no, we’ll want to carefully ponder our further choices.

Today’s message reminds me that the healthy boundaries I set need to be nurtured by me. No one else will do that for me. When I am aware of them on an ongoing basis, I tend to my well-being.

Please reflect and share. Do you respect your own boundaries?