Boundaries. Ooof. This word used to fill me with uncertainty and terror, tbh. I am a people pleaser by nature, its probably why I am so good with my guests behind the chair. I am aways overly concerned with their happiness, at times to the detriment of my own. I used to think what I was doing was “good customer service” and over time I’ve realized how wrong I truly was. Now, I will always be the first to say that I am by no means perfect, and I believe that maintaining healthy boundaries in your business is a daily practice.
Some things to have boundaries around may be: work hours, ways your clients can contact you, the appropriate hours for them to do so, products you work with, companies you work with, how much time you spend on social media. A lot to think about, huh. But, if we aren’t clear about the way we want or do not want to feel within our business, we will continue to feel drained and walked on. Clear boundaries will allow you to call in your dream clients who love what you do, trust your creative and professional ideas and respect your valuable time. To top it all off, since boundaries help you clearly define what you want from your business you may actually even ward off the dreaded burnout, often described as; increased exhaustion, cynicism, and decreased self efficacy. Burnout is a psychological syndrome that involves a prolonged response to chronic stressors on the job. Stressors often resulting from unclear boundaries.
So, how ’bout it? Do you have clear boundaries in your business? I highly suggest if you don’t already, to sit down and make a list of not only the things you WANT from your business but how you want to FEEL in your business. If this is something that is hard for you, I suggest journaling it out. Sit down, create a tranquil space and sit with yourself while you work through how you want your business to make you feel. Some questions that may help you find clarity are; 1. What is draining my energy? 2. What do I want to learn more about? 3. Who are 3 people I admire? why? 4. How can I be more like those I admire 5. How am I already demonstrating traits I admire? 6. How do I define success? 7. What would make me happy right now. 8. One short term goal I want to complete. 9. One long term goal I want to complete. Simply going within and discovering what is important to you can help you eliminate unnecessary stressors that would never aid you in reaching your vision of a successful and joyful life.
Now that you’ve journaled it out and discovered what your dream business looks and feels like let’s get to work in creating your boundary practice.
Step one- set a boundary, what do you not want to see, hear or do.
Step two- decide limits, what you will and will not tolerate.
Step three- pay attention to peoples reactions, if your boundaries make someone mad, they are abusing you. Cut them out + make room for those people who will love and respect you.
Put your boundary practice in place and then come back to me in one month and tell me how you feel. It may be tough at first, at least that’s how I felt. I went from practically zero boundaries in my business, to burnout, to placing boundaries in place out of necessity. And you know what?! I work at them every day + my business is better because of it. I truly believe yours will be too.
B Holistically Wealthy 