4 Tips for Dealing with Boundary Pushers — Life Is Love School

Establishing yourself as a good boundary holder early is key

If you are new to boundary setting, you can expect that people will test you to see if you mean business. Thye may use manipulations such as guilt-tripping, giving you the silent treatment, anger, etc., to get you to take back your boundaries.

If you have people-pleasing tendencies and can’t stand the discomfort, you might end up caving to their demands and putting their priority ahead of your own. The worst part is, knowing you cave easily, once you “do them a solid,” they’ll know that your boundaries are negotiable, and they will keep hounding you again and again.

“You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce.” — Tony A. Gaskins Jr.

Boundary setting is tough at the start because people will try to test you, but the sooner you establish yourself as a firm boundary holder, the sooner people will stop testing you.

At the end of the day: you get to decide how other people treat you, and you have more power to stop people from pushing your boundaries than you think you do.