3 Essential Boundaries You Need in Your Life

I once had a life coach who liked to use funny metaphors to illustrate her points.

One of her favorite nuggets of wisdom was to say that “your life is like a dog park.”

If you let your dog run loose in the neighborhood, then she could get lost or hit by a car. A safer way to help her burn off some energy is to take her to a dog park. That’s where dogs can run off-leash in a fenced in area that’s specifically made for them.

I love taking my dog Skyla to the dog park because she can run and jump and play without any fear. She can be her true doggie self when she’s safe within the fenced park.

Boundaries lead to freedom, and it’s the same for your life.

If you want to feel a sense of personal freedom, then you need build a fence around the dangers you encounter. This is Step 2 of the Life Editing Process.

So where do you get started?

In today’s video, you’ll learn 3 essential boundaries you need in your life.

The video transcript is below for your convenience.

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Video Transcript

If you’re feeling a little burned out, it’s probably because you don’t have enough restrictions in your life.

What? How are you supposed to feel better when you’re limiting yourself?

It’s sounds funny, but creating more boundaries and limits can take the stress out of your life. We say yes to far too many things that deplete our precious energy. By creating boundaries, you’ll be able to take back your power and give the best of yourself to the things that truly matter.

Today, you’ll learn the 3 essential boundaries you need in your life. Let’s go!

Hey there! I’m Sage Grayson, a former book editor turned life coach. I help ambitious career women edit their habits, routines, and mindsets to balance their happiness at work and home. I’m a Life Editor and so are you!

I once had a life coach who liked to use funny metaphors to illustrate her points. One of her favorite nuggets of wisdom was to say that “your life is like a dog park.”

If you let your dog run loose in the neighborhood, then she could get lost or hit by a car. A safer way to help her burn off some energy is to take her to a dog park. That’s where dogs can run off-leash in a fenced in area that’s specifically made for them.

I love taking my dog Skyla to the dog park because she can run and jump and play without any fear. She can be her true doggie self when she’s safe within the fenced park.

Boundaries lead to freedom, and it’s the same for your life.

If you want to feel a sense of personal freedom, then you need build a fence around the dangers you encounter. This is Step 2 of the Life Editing Process.

So where do you get started?

Here are 3 essential boundaries you need in your life.

1. Boundaries with your time.

Time is a limited resource, and you can’t make more time no matter how hard you try. Sorry, I don’t have a Time Turner or a Delorean for you.

So create a boundary to protect your minutes. I’ve mentioned before how I used to take client calls any day of the week at any time, and it drove me nuts!

Instead, I made a boundary by only taking calls Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and only between 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. It took the stress out of my life and made me a happy coach.

Where can you put a boundary around your time?

Maybe you’ll leave the office at exactly 5:00 pm, no excuses! Or maybe you’ll go to only 1 meeting per week for any committees or clubs you’re a member of.

2. Boundaries with your money.

I’m not a financial expert, but I see a lot of my clients making silly purchases for things they don’t need. We get distracted by bright, shiny objects we see online or in stores, and it’s so easy to just swipe your card and get it.

Instead of reacting impulsively when you see something you want, take a step back and breathe.

Is this thing really worth it? You might create a boundary where you’ll only buy a new item of clothing if you have 5 things at home that go with it.

Another popular boundary is to save up for whatever it is instead of putting it on a credit card. Save a little bit of your paycheck every week until you have enough to pay for your purchase in cash.

Sometimes you might not want it by then. But if you do buy it, you’ll feel that sense of satisfaction that you put in the effort and earned it.

3. Boundaries with your health.

Here’s where I get a lot of pushback from my clients.

Don’t worry! I’m not trying to make you a vegan or sign you up to run a marathon. But if you’re not happy with your health, you might need some boundaries to care for yourself better.

For your physical health, you might set a boundary where you don’t bring ice cream into your house. If you want to eat that junk food, then you’ll make it a special treat outside of your home.

For your mental health, you might set a boundary around how much time you spend with someone who annoys you. Is there someone in your life who drains your energy, or worse, makes you feel bad about yourself? You don’t need that aggravation, so put up a wall to protect your mental health.

That’s it! This week define a new boundary in your life whether it’s for your time, money, or health.

Boundaries lead to freedom, so this week try thinking inside the box for a change.

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Thanks for watching. I’ll see you soon.

This post focuses on Step 2 of the Life Editing Process, Delete Bad Influences. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.