Business boundaries for good mental health
As part of #mentalhealthawarenessweek I’m talking all things business and mental health this week, supporting you to run a more #mindfulbusiness
Something that comes up with clients and my community is boundaries. Knowing we can have and set them is one thing, then sticking to them so we have control over our minds, time and confidence is another.
How does this help with mental health though?
Well, we all have mental health after all – it’s the absence of stable positive mental health that’s an issue – so when any and all of us are clearer in our boundaries, we understand what might trigger us and therefore feel more able to monitor, change or stop.
This is both empowering and provides a sense of internal control, making us feel good, with the knock on effect on our business and work.
Not always easy to do if course, so I’ve written simple steps on how to actually start the process in the latest blog post.
First, know that you have permission to have and set boundaries – you’re worth enough to do this for yourself and without them it can harm your wellbeing. You may have felt like it was too controlled to have them, yet now finding that you need them for a sense of more control. Also know that with them you are protecting your wellbeing – mental, physical and emotional, which makes you stronger and softer all at once.
Next, decide on a specific area you want to create more of a boundary for yourself – might be your time with others, your time in your diary, the projects you’re working on or another thing. But choose just one to begin with.
Then work out what boundary is being crossed – is it to do with your values being questioned, something feels out of control, or out of alignment? Or is it people pushing your boundaries for lack of clarity?
Once you’re clearer in that, you can then work out what boundary you need – is it to rein it in on what you’re working on, to have clearer on and off times in your diary or to communicate with compassion that something isn’t working? Ta da, you’ve just set a boundary.
That helps you feel more in control and enables you to advocate for your needs.
Of course it isn’t always possible in practice to advocate for ourselves – especially where we feel boundaries have been crossed so many times and we haven’t been able to identify it easily, we’ve gotten used the the idea that it’s normal.
So by being as compassionate with ourselves as possible, by knowing we can always gently bring ourselves back to what we need, and that we’re running a business or trying to work in a way that keeps us well and happy, we just make this something we stay aware of. That’s all.
By taking small and achievable steps that move us forwards, even at a snails pace, we can begin to have the business we know will work exactly right for us.
Do you find boundaries difficult to manage in your business? If so, how might this be impacting your mental wellbeing right now?
I’m also having conversations with people about this topic as we speak. Send me a DM on Instagram to start our own and let me know how this impacts you.