Have you ever wondered if you have issues with setting boundaries?
Time to figure it out and change it!
First -- Think of a person with whom you have trouble setting and keeping external or internal boundaries. Remember, boundaries go two ways!
Second -- Circle any of these “caution signs” of boundary trouble you experience with them. Remember, there are hundreds of “caution signs” we could probably come up with and we simply do not have the space to write them all! So, this might make you start to think of your own.
Caution Signs:
I could not make my own decisions.
I did not feel comfortable asking what they needed or wanted from me.
I struggled to say “no” to them.
I was too sensitive to their criticism of me.
I felt responsible for their feelings.
I took on their mood when we were together.
I could not state my own idea, belief, attitude, or opinion that was different from theirs.
I often feel anxious and nervous when I am with them.
I gossip about others we both know when I am with them.
I do things I do not really want to do that they wants to do.
I think I need to please them.
I think I have to make them “happy”.
I have trouble trusting them.
I have a hard time looking them in the eyes.
I let them interrupt me.
I get caught up in their life or problems.
I let them try to rescue, fix, or save me when I am having problems or struggles.
I keep rehashing the same complaints, resentments, and dislikes about another person with them.
I spend money that I really cannot afford to go places they want to go.
I try to force my ideas, beliefs, values or opinions on them.
I say things or “push buttons” that I know will hurt or anger them.
I stretch the truth or exaggerate often when I am with them.
