My favorite boundaries (and why they matter)
Nov 26, 2021
They say when you first bring home a puppy that you need to establish boundaries so it knows where it’s allowed to go and where it’s not. This helps keep your new pup out of trouble while it grows & learns in its new home. And hopefully keeps your shoes safe from little puppy teeth.
Just like puppies, we need boundaries too. Boundaries make everything better and easier. “But Lisa,” you might be saying, “I have no intention of chewing someone’s shoes!”
I believe you, but hear me out.
When you have boundaries, you have structure. When you have structure, you don’t have to figure it out every day. You don’t have to make new decisions and choices constantly in order to establish how you show up in the world.
When you don’t have them, everything goes sideways:
- you feel frazzled because you say yes when you mean no
- you feel frustrated because you’re working more than you want
- you’re constantly reinventing the wheel when you start a project
- your calendar is packed with stuff and there’s no space to breathe
- the gremlin voices in your head get louder and louder
- and so on . . .
Boundaries aren’t limiting - they’re absolutely freeing! Because they help create the structure you want to operate from, once you’ve established them, all you have to do is play full out inside that structure.
Have you seen puppies play inside a fenced-off area? They’re having a blast because they don’t have to figure out where they’re going. They’re already in their play area so they can just play! It’s the same thing for us business owners.
Boundaries I love and encourage include:
- Knowing what your personal definition of success is instead of trying to copy someone else’s
- Charging what you’re worth so you make the income you totally deserve
- Creating strong standards for how you run your business with reliable, repeatable processes and procedures
- An authentic, easy way to manage client expectations so the work you do together has an even bigger impact
- Cultivating a success mindset and leaving behind the limiting beliefs
- Accountability that helps you stay true to your vision for yourself and your business
All of these create the structure you need (crave?) so you can play full out in your business.
