Those who have no boundaries have greater stress. And they’re less effective. Indeed, they’re the walking dead of your company.
You know what I mean by boundaries. Or at least I hope you do. The boundary that you set about not working on Saturdays, although you’ll be happy to work on Sundays if needed. The boundary that you set with your admin about ‘no routine meetings on Friday.’ The boundary that you set with your boss about no early morning meetings most of the time, because you’re dropping off your child.
Obviously, too many boundaries and you’re going to be inflexible, which brings its own challenges.
But here’s my observation. Most people live their work lives without adequate boundaries, and it completely screws them up.
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They’re like the walking dead. And they wonder why they’re so stressed out.
Worse, their co-workers wonder, too.
You will carry your stress on your face. You will snap at people. You will send the email before it’s ready. You won’t have the energy to really think about the problem before you recommend a solution. You will start craving braaaaaains. 😉
The stress comes because you’re living in slavery. You’re a ping-pong ball, bouncing around at the whim of others. Because you have no boundaries. No freedom.
Freedom. It’s about being able to do what you want.
Freedom is not about being able to do what you want all the time. But it’s about being able to do what you want, at least some of the time. Meaning: you set boundaries.
You cannot be happy and you cannot be effective if you never, ever, get what you want. Boundaries make sure that you sometimes do, unlocking both happiness and effectiveness, which is good for everyone.