Be Happy

Do people look at your life and assume that you have it all?  Do you feel as if you are in a pressure cooker and you’re just waiting for it to blow up? 

My life was full of pressure from other people’s unrealistic expectations about what I should and should not be doing.  They got so used to me dropping everything to help, that they expected me to put myself last.  This caused problems in my family, in my marriage, and in my body. 

Did you know that stress can cause your health to decline?  I mean, we all hear that it does, but it couldn’t happen to me, right?  Until it did.  I had so many health issues that I couldn’t take care of myself. 

Then I discovered life coaching and boundaries.  Do you know what a boundary is?  A boundary is when you are 100% responsible for your own thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

But isn’t setting boundaries going to cause trouble?  Yep!  You definitely won’t be popular.  But you will be healthier!  When you start setting boundaries and taking responsibility for your own life, you learn to stop taking responsibility for others.  They are responsible for their own thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Hmmmm, that seems way too easy!  I was skeptical, but I tried it anyway.  People were not happy.  I was called selfish.  Selfish?  Me?  That made me angry!  I spent so many years putting these people first and they didn’t even know that I was sick and unable to brush my own hair!  All they were worried about was that I didn’t do XYZ for them.  Seriously?  It was time to make myself a priority!  Maybe there was something to this boundary thing.

I have spent all week talking about how you should make yourself a priority.  I have given you ideas, worksheets, and examples of how to prioritize yourself.  Now I want you to focus on setting a few boundaries to help you remain a priority in your own life.  

Remember, do not say yes to doing something for someone else if it means you have to say no to yourself.  You are important and you deserve to be a priority in your own life!