Don’t Underestimate Me! I Know More Than I Say, I Think More Than I Speak, And I Notice More Than You Realize!
People may think I am kind, and some may even think that I am stupid! And they think they can walk all over me.
And sometimes they do, so… there is definitely something about me that leads others to think they can take advantage of me, walk (barge) into my house whenever they feel like it, and totally not respect me, behave nasty or mean and totally disregard me and my feelings.
So why does this happen to me? Because I have yet to learn that everyone must learn to set their own boundaries, so that those people who feel that they are entitled to take advantage of you, know that you have limits, know what your limits are, and realize they are not welcome to cross the barriers you create.
It is healthy to have a good sense of where your feelings and opinions start and stop, and where the other person’s feeling start and stop! It is especially important to set boundaries with difficult people, particularly those individuals who are critical, controlling, manipulative, demanding or aggressive.
It is time to set boundaries when:
You feel taken advantage of
Your space or your privacy is being interrupted
You feel UNCOMFORTABLE or ANGRY at something someone did
You are being blamed for something you are not responsible for doing
You feel others are pushing ideas, actions, or feelings onto you
You feel disrespected insulted or hurt
You want to share how you want and do not want to be treated
You feel bullied, abused, or someone is being aggressive
You see someone trying to compete with you
Set that inevitable ” barrier”between you and these disrespectful, opinionated, agressive, critical, controlling and manipulative individuals. Limit beyond which you will not go, and beyond which others can not enter.
And, learn to say no without feeling guilty. Teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop and what you reinforce.
Communicate your boundaries to others by:
stating that :
“I have a problem with that”
“I don’t want to”
“I’ve decided not to”
“This is what I need”
“This is hard for me to say, but…”
“I understand your point of view, but…”
“I feel uncomfortable about…”
“I’d rather not”
“Yes, I do mind”
“I’d prefer not to”
“It’s important to me”
“I’ll think about it”
“That’s unacceptable”
“I guess we see it differently”
Own your reaction- own the way you react to other people. Take care of YOURSELF!
You Are Awesome!
xoxo
Sookie
