Guard Your Heart - Part I

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I find myself always trying to please others not wanting to let them down. Have I become a people pleaser?
2. Do you struggle with simply saying No, or do I feel like I need to justify my "no"?
3. Are my relationships difficult, dramatic, and toxic?
4. Do I feel exhausted and lacking motivation most of the time?

~If you answered YES to these four questions you need BOUNDARIES in your life~

Not having boundaries is like building a beautiful home and forgetting to enclose it with a fence. Every week you have stray dogs that walk all over your precious lawn, people trampling over your flower beds and to make matters worse you experience consistent burglaries and you don’t understand why…

Well, had you put up a fence or physical boundary you would have eliminated over 90% of the issues causing most of your grief. 

Boundaries are the physical, emotional and mental limits we establish to protect ourselves from being manipulated, used, or violated by others. They allow us to separate who we are, and what we think and feel, from the thoughts and feelings of others. Proverbs 4:23 says “above all else guard your heart for it  is the wellspring of life” Listen, your heart is valuable, it is the source of everything you do, and it determines the course of your life”. Guard it! Protect it! Set boundaries.

Setting boundaries takes practice and determination. Don’t let anxiety, fear or guilt prevent you from taking care of yourself. When you feel anger or resentment or find yourself whining or complaining, you probably need to set a boundary.

Listen to yourself, determine what you need to do or say, then communicate assertively. Learning to set healthy boundaries takes time. It is a process. Set them in your own time frame, not when someone else tells you. Develop a support system of people who respect your right to set boundaries. Eliminate toxic persons from your life.

Elevate your self-worth. The value you place on yourself will be the value others will place on you and keep in mind that in life you get what you tolerate. I once heard someone say that you teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce. So ask yourself today “what am I allowing, what am I stopping, and what am I reinforcing in my relationships” If you are unwilling to set boundaries well then prepare for everyone including your neighbor’s dog to walk all over you. Keep in mind you get in life whatever you are willing to tolerate.