Takis Athanassiou

On Personal Boundaries

What are they, how to set them and how to respect them

In our frenzy way of life, it is important for you, today, to set your personal boundaries. Setting your personal boundaries, in a clear, straightforward and unquestionable manner, is a way for you to protect yourself from the requirements of other people (including family, friends, co-workers, business associates, partners, etc). It is also, a personal responsibility and commitment in the things you want to do (in your life and for your life and the life of other people)!

There are many definitions about boundaries. But in general, you can consider them as:

guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for themselves what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around them and how they will respond when someone steps outside those limits.(from:Boundaries)

And of course:

Healthy boundaries help us to create our own destiny. (from: Boundaries)

For this reason it is important to know about them, recognize them (when we see them in other people),

respect them (when related to other people), set them (when they needed) and actively cultivate them!

What are boundaries?

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You have to set personal boundaries in order:

• to find time to reflect on your goals and objectives,

• to decide what is important for you (or not) and pursue it!,

• to protect yourself from the demands of the other people you associate with and not to be consumed

by the demands and requirements of the other people (either in business or in personal life)

• to have a balance between your personal and business areas of your life

• to have greater confidence in your abilities of deciding and acting according to your beliefs

• to lead more effectively yourself and have greater impact with your life and the example to other

people

• to practice an active and fulfilling life based on your most core principles and values

• to be more aware of your strength and weaknesses (and of how these can influence your life and that

of the others!)

• to have more self-control, awareness and knowledge of your self in different situations

• to have the ownership of your life

• etc.

Basically, in every sector of your life. At lease in every area you are actively engaged and want to make an

impact for yourself and the other people. Such areas, include (but are not limited) to your:

Why you need personal boundaries

Where do you need to set boundaries?

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Business Life: In order

• to plan more effectively,

• to pursue more effectively your business goals and objectives,

• to have more time for reflection and changing of your actions (if needed),

• to develop leadership & strategic thinking on the business matters you are interested with,

• to have time to develop required knowledge, skills and attitudes in yourself and in others

• to cope with stress,

• to maximize your income and earnings from your job,

• to develop more crucial and important business contact, connections, alliances and incentives

• to have more able time for much required business development and innovation,

• to do your work in the right way

Personal Life:

• to design better your future and career,

• to actively pursue your health and fitness objectives,

• to develop better and healthier habits,

• to develop a better mental and spiritual level,

• to have more time to pursue the things your are interested in,

• to develop and cultivate better, healthier and deeper relationships with the people you interested of

being with, as with your self, family, friends, and other relationships.

and in any other area of life it is of interest to you and you want to make a difference (as is your

community, society, etc)

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It is much better, before you reach a “limit” you cannot cross (personal or professional) to develop a new

mentality, that would help the setting of solid boundaries and keep you safeguarded of “unreasonable”

requests! There are many ways for that. Some of them, require of you to:

1. Clarify your goals and objectives in life and actively “re”-introduce them in your everyday activities,

tasks and doings!,

2. Communicate your intentions, as clear as possible and as broad as possible!,

3. Evaluate carefully your strength and weakness and plan your course of actions in a way that would not

put you in “dire straits” or leave other people unaided or without support (in any given situation)!,

4. Be as straightforward as possible about your intentions, objectives and plans in any given situation,

5. Set your limits and make them known to everyone

6. Build a “not to do list“,(perhaps more than one!) and

7. Review, reflect and contemplate daily your important activities, duties and chores and practice them

constantly and habitually

8. to name, just a few!

As you can see, all of them require an intended and deliberated action, by YOU. At the end, the how we set

and employ our personal boundaries is a way of living closer to out values and principles. That why the

developing and setting of personal boundaries is so much important for everyone.

How to build and sustain better personal boundaries?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Takis Athanassiou is an e-Business and e-Learning Consultant.

He has been working for over 20 years in IT sector, as Project Manager,

Team Leader and Director in Greek SMEs, focused mainly in areas of IT

services, e-Learning and consulting.

Today he is active in the areas of business consulting, e-Learning and

social media, while he is writing, blogging and discussing about,

business, e-Learning, leadership, productivity, personal development,

social media and tools that facilitate and support the flawless execution

in everyday business and personal life.

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Contact

takis@takisathanassiou.com

http://takisathanassiou.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/tathan

http://plus.google.com/107514131185343795708/posts

http://facebook.com/takis.athanassiou

http://twitter.com/tathan

You can contact Takis Athanassiou, using the following addresses:

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