What Are Healthy Boundaries?
Let's define healthy boundaries. Put simply: "Healthy boundaries help you prioritize your time, energy, and resources so that you can take care of yourself first. Respect for both yours and other's boundaries is essential for having a balanced life".
Setting healthy boundaries is an important part of self-care. When you set boundaries, you’re making a conscious decision to protect your energy, time and space. But how do you actually go about setting healthy boundaries? Read on as we break down the process.
Understand Your Needs:
Taking the time to understand your needs can help you set healthy boundaries that help preserve your mental health and wellbeing.
Reflecting on what causes you stress and which behaviors have a negative impact on you can give you greater clarity of what boundaries are necessary to take care of yourself better.
Setting clear boundaries also gives you permission to prioritize yourself, which is essential for any self-care practice.
Set Reasonable Boundaries:
When setting boundaries, make sure they are reasonable and realistic. Consider the circumstances before making a decision on what expectations should be set.
For instance, if someone asks something that would require more effort than necessary or too much of your personal time, then it might not be feasible to agree upon their request without compromising your own wellbeing in the process.
Be Mindful Of Exceptions:
Boundaries are like elastic bands: they're meant to stretch, but only so far. It's important to have personal boundaries that you stick to – setting limits on how much time you're willing to dedicate to something, setting expectations for how people should interact with you and setting restrictions on what types of topics or behaviors are acceptable in your presence.
Of course, it's all good and well until someone's situation changes or they desperately need your help - that’s when it's alright to give the elastic band a little more stretch and make an exception here and there.
Flexibility shows respect for yourself as well as others’ situations – so don't be afraid to stray from code once in awhile, just as long as it does more good than harm!
A Take-Home Message
Setting healthy boundaries is all about ensuring that everyone involved feels comfortable, respected and heard. By taking time to understand our own needs and then communicating those needs clearly with others we can create relationships based on mutual respect which will only benefit us all in the long run! Whether it's at home or work setting healthy boundaries can help us reclaim our energy, time and space so we can focus on living our best lives!