How to set boundaries for your self-care practice

The word 'boundaries' has been a buzzword in the wellness space for the past few years, and you may still be wondering how to actually apply the idea of boundaries in your life. This article walks you through the 3 essential steps to set your own boundaries for self-care!

What are boundaries?

Let's define what boundaries actually are. I know that this word sounds like a scary sanction that you’re putting on the people in your life but its quite the opposite. Boundaries are simply creating space for yourself and sometimes even letting people know that you’ve carved out NON-NEGOTIABLE time for you.

It's important to distinguish the difference between boundaries, versus telling everyone around you to leave you the f*ck alone. The idea of a boundary is simply protecting your 'me time' and creating space for something that you really wanna do.

For most of us, the act of setting boundaries can feel uncomfortable. So, the big question is... how can we set boundaries in a way that doesn’t feel like we’re shutting people out or telling them to f*ck off?

1. Recognize the need for boundaries

Recognize that you want to take time for yourself and look at a calendar, your to-do list, or however you organize your life. Then, find a time or day that is ideal for you.

2. Get specific

Next, let’s get more specific about what you wanna do for your self care. Maybe you want to take a day off and explore your city? Or something smaller like adding a 5 minute practice to your mornings. Maybe you just want to get to bed an hour earlier.

Pick what you want to do and decide how you want it to feel. Is it going to feel good, will it make you feel happier or calmer or just more connected to your self?

3. Communicate

You need to communicate with others to set a boundary. Tell the people in your life that you are going to be trying something out that will make you feel happier, or feel more calm, whatever emotion you tied to this experience.

In this step you might run into conflict and if you get anything from this podcast its this key takeaway: You can still be a good person if you say no to people’s requests.

You can still be a good person if you prioritize your wellness.

It is absolute NOT selfish to take care of yourself cause taking care of yourself is literally necessary to be capable of taking care of others.

So if all you're doing is taking 5 minutes to stretch in the morning before making everyone breakfast… let them know that its your time to feel good and maybe they’ll feel inspired by you and practice their own self care when they wake up.

Remember, you got this!