Boundaries

I had this whole post written up in my head regarding boundaries and basic kindness. About how they were healthy and helped lay a foundation about your self worth and self respect similar to morals and ethics. 

However, after writing it all out and reading it through myself, it felt incredibly preachy and pompous so I deleted it. Now I'm just going to 'shoot from the hip' so I apologize if it's a bit rambly. 

 

A friend posted this the other day on her feed. I must have stared at it for a good five minutes and reread it multiple times. Isn't it a sad truth? Just because you have a person in your circle, friend or family, it doesn't mean that person is rooting for you or supporting you. It doesn't mean that they want the best from you. Some people are masters at just using you for information or what you can do for them. 

It's why I tell my girls that the quantity of friends that they have doesn't matter - it's the quality of friends. You want people in your life that are going to support you and root for you in your soaring moments and your struggling ones. You want the people that you can confide in and trust. It's also those friends who know and respect what your boundaries are. They don't want the people who are going to steamroll over them and bully them into doing things they aren't comfortable with. They don't want people who aren't willing to compromise on things (the "it's the my way or no way" kind of people).

Teaching our children to set boundaries is healthy. Teaching them that they deserve to be respected; that their worth isn't tied to what they can do for or give someone. That they should give respect where it's deserved (not just demanded) is so important in life. There's nothing wrong with standing your ground if you or your boundaries aren't being respected; it doesn't make you any kind of 'bad guy'. I've always said you don't have you like or even be friends with everyone you meet. Some people just have personality clashes or just won't get along, but you can treat everyone with dignity, kindness, and basic respect.

I guess that's my 2 cents for the day. Hope everyone is happy and healthy. Toodles.

Random Fact: A chef's tall hat, officially known as a toque, traditionally has 100 pleats. Those 100 pleats stand for the 100 ways to cook an egg.