You’ve been setting boundaries, yay! Inevitably you’re going to encounter people saying one of these three things or something similar.
People are going to resist us setting boundaries. It might be scary for them. It might anger them because they are losing power. They might be confused about what you mean or what you’re trying to do.
In any of these cases, you’re still within your rights to set boundaries. Let me say that again. You have the right to set boundaries and continue to set them even if others resist. It won’t be easy at first and you might need to have some of these responses ready.
Your role when this happens is to manage YOUR emotions, not theirs. That’s right. The only person responsible for their anger, discomfort, whatever emotion/reaction is them. Not you. You stay focused on your needs, your emotions, and your boundaries. And in order to do so, you might find it helpful to have ‘ready to go’ phrases to say in response.
So today’s task is to practice these responses. Say them out loud. Tweak them slightly so they sound natural coming from you. Practice practice practice. Then you’ll be ready when the resistance comes. Emotionally, you might not be ready but having a verbal response ready helps you to 1: practice holding boundaries and 2: have one less thing to worry about.
Try it and let me know👇🏽how did it feel? Do you have go to phrases when people resist your boundaries?