In a world where personal safety is paramount, understanding and asserting boundaries is essential. From physical to emotional limits, the journey to self-protection often begins with clarity and empowerment and fitness is directly tied to protecting our bodies and our minds. Setting boundaries is important in our fitness journey, but what do boundaries mean when it comes to your personal safety? To some, it is not giving out your address for a date, or ensuring that you are not easily found online; for others, its recognizing physical limitations and not pushing yourself too hard. How do you figure out what your personal boundaries are?
First, get clear on what you feel is a boundary. For example, a boundary for me is ensuring I have space. Physically, I do not like t when people stand incredibly close to me or when they touch me. Emotionally, I do not like it when I feel drained after being with someone. I also set boundaries in what information I have listed online. I do not post about my current whereabouts as I do not want people to know where I am at any given time. Is that a boundary for you? Or did it spark something that makes you reflect on a personal boundary?
Second, figure out how you will express those boundaries. For people being too close to me, I make my stance wider, as well as tell people I do not like to be touched or need space. For the emotional boundary, I do not give time to those who do not give time to me. I express myself by saying, “I do not have the energy to give at this time” or “while I enjoy our time together, I need a mutual connection.” When that expression is not acknowledged, or their behavior does not change, I distance myself.
Third, get comfortable with yourself. You have figured out how to define your boundaries and how to express them. This can feel weird as it may be something new and uncomfortable. You may be exerting personal power for the first time with others, so It is important to remember that you do not need to be everything for everyone. Setting boundaries helps you put yourself first and helps others know where they stand in your life.
Now that you have a baseline of how to figure out boundaries, create and execute them. Journal and/or reflect on the three steps listed above in reference to boundaries. This will help you process what boundaries you need in your own life and allow you to become more comfortable with enforcing those boundaries. As always, follow your instincts; if something feels off -it is. Intuition is statistically proven to be correct more than 90% of the time, which is why creating and executing boundaries for your personal safety is so important. Set boundaries that help keep you safe and healthy, both mentally and physically.
