Establishing boundaries – 6 intentional strategies

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With so many of us spending more time at home due to the pandemic, and with the corresponding shifts in how we operate in the world, our need to set and maintain healthy boundaries is even more important.

In addition to being able to set strong external boundaries, we need to also be able to set clear internal limits so that support our health and well being. Boundaries can serve to ground us and also provide the structure that helps with navigating life in a purposeful and intentional way.

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Strong boundaries help with strengthening self trust and increase our level of self awareness and the inner knowledge of our own capabilities. They can give us the strong foundation we need to accomplish our goals and the self confidence that comes from knowing that we can come through for ourselves any time we need to.

Here are 6 strategies to consider if you’ve been working on setting and keeping healthy boundaries:

• Listen to your intuition, your personal opinions and feelings and your inner voice. Don’t push yourself beyond what is right for you
  • Have clear rules that you enforce the moment you realize that you are being pushed to the limit of what is right for you. Remove yourself from that situation if you need to or be specific and firm about saying no. Don’t bend over backwards for others just to be nice. You can be polite and kind yet firm about saying no all at the same time.
• Listen to your internal physical cues
  • If you find yourself getting exhausted, get some extra sleep or take a break. Build internal trust within yourself so you know you’ll be there for yourself.
• Listen to your emotions in the role of an observer instead of allowing them to instantly take over
  • Acknowledge your feelings and then let them go instead of reacting immediately. Give yourself a time to process a given situation and then choose to make decisions from a place of calm, clarity and inner strength.
• Don’t allow toxic input into your mind space
  • Set firm limits on what you allow yourself to read or watch so you don’t have overwhelming negativity coming in from different sources. Consume what helps you maintain an elevated, growth-oriented and positive mindset.
• Let go of toxic relationships
  • Maintain a distance from people who continually bring you down in different ways. Spend time with people who lift you up and innately respect your boundaries.
• Figure out what helps you with staying energetic, strong and enthusiastic throughout your day
  • Continually do more of that so you can support and empower yourself. Choose to step away from situations and environments that feel toxic.

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What are some of your strategies for establishing healthy boundaries?