9 Tips for Maintaining Healthy Boundaries

When it comes to the maintenance of one’s personal space, boundaries are something that is fundamental. Setting boundaries and maintaining them is a tedious process. However, the results are wondrous.

Here are 9 tips for setting healthy boundaries. 

1. Trust your gut - encroachment of one’s boundaries is something that anyone and everyone can experience. When trying to set these boundaries, it is important to ensure a talk is initiated as soon as any form of encroachment is felt. We are the best judge of our boundaries and limits and thus, the best when it comes to establishing them. Trust your gut and question any encroachment then and there.
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3. Prioritize Affirmative - One way of setting boundaries is to know them. Hence, it is recommended, when setting boundaries, to know what you want, and how you want it. Do not hesitate to prioritize your boundaries. The best way to establish them is to make sure that they are known, conveyed, and affirmed in everyday actions and interactions.
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5. Communicate clearly - when it comes to boundaries, clarity of communication is a must. Remember the other person cannot read your mind, so convey your limits and do not shy away from voicing your concern when it comes to taking your space and setting your boundaries.
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7. Plant yourself - Setting boundaries could be an uncomfortable conversation, however, it is the uncomfortable conversations that make for changes amounting to both a tolerable atmosphere and an accommodating niche. Therefore it is important to plant yourself firmly when it comes to your boundaries. Making sure that a foundation that has been laid is respected and accounted for.
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9. Take Space - in the immortal words of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, “I’m not impossible, I am improbable. I occupy mass and I take space.” You matter, so take your space. It is important for boundaries to know what they surround. So, TAKE YOUR SPACE.
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11. Boundaries can be flexible - just like our relationships, which are different with different individuals, our boundaries are also different in different relationships. Be flexible and adaptable. After all, in order to set boundaries, one has to respect the boundaries of others.
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13. Look forward to - As mentioned earlier, setting boundaries can be difficult, as it is not always convenient and neither is the talk when establishing it. For that look forward to when questions and speculations hit you. Be prepared to stick to your ground and take your stand. And answer questions with grace, or don’t, but be firm when it comes to your boundaries. It is your job to defend your mental well-being. It is your aim to establish a space for your peaceful existence. Hence, look the speculation in the eye and persist.
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15. Create Consequences - while it is important to set boundaries, it is also important to keep sticking up for them. One needs to not just establish them but also defend them. It is in this defense that consequences need to be created so that consciousness could be maintained.
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17. Respect other people’s boundaries - one important means to establishing and defending your boundaries is to make sure that you respect theirs. Everyone has limits they would like maintained thus, in this quid pro quo, make sure you respect their boundaries so that they would respect yours.

Limits aren’t built, boundaries are…therefore, it is important to stay conscious about them to ensure your safety and sensibilities. In this vast world, one needs security in both physical and mental aspects. Hence, respect boundaries and stay safe 🙂