Boundaries

I had the pleasure of speaking at Fairfax County Public Schools last week about the importance of boundaries in teen development - something that comes up in my coaching work all the time, too. 

I loved speaking with them, but I wanted to share some of these sentiments with you all as well, because I believe it is so important. 

When I talk about boundaries, I’m referring to the rules/guidelines/considerations that are necessary between yourself in others, that help dictate the relational dynamics. They can be about anything - from providing guidance about what kind of topics are easy/hard for you to talk about, to insecurities you’re allowed to joke about or not. 

Boundaries are essential to the health of all relationships, not just between you and your teen, but between yourself and everyone!

Healthy relationships cannot exist without defined boundaries. In your most intimate relationships, the boundary may be that there are no boundaries - but even these lack of boundaries are explicitly stated, which makes them a boundary!

Boundaries allow us to operate in comfortable and secure spaces, which leads to the continual healthy development of interpersonal relationships. And in these relationships, everything begins with you. You cannot rely on other people to set boundaries or to know what yours are. You must take the initiative to set these boundaries and enforce them. 

These aren’t easy tasks, but they’re instrumental to your personal growth and development. If this seems scary, you’re not alone. Setting and enforcing boundaries is challenging if you’ve never done it before!

If you resonate with any of these issues or wish you had a better idea of how you want to navigate them all, schedule a free conversation with me. You deserve to have healthy relationships and feel strong in structuring them yourself. 

Much Love, 

Unnatti Jain