Choose Boundaries and Personal Responsibility for an Easier Life

Boundaries can go a long way in helping others understand how their behavior affects others. Boundaries and personal responsibility go together. Something you’ll notice when you’re setting boundaries for yourself and others is that limitations can easily make people uncomfortable. In many ways, folks have become used to no real resistance when it comes to rudeness, unkindness, or other hurtful behavior.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.

Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge How to Have That Difficult Conversation: Gaining the Skills for Honest and Meaningful Communication

When you set boundaries and enforce them, it forces the other person to take responsibility for their behavior. Or at the least, consider their actions, words, and deeds. Dealing with boundaries and accepting personal responsibility is something that many people are not used to. This can feel new and scary for them, so likely it will be off-putting in their minds.

Are Boundaries too Aggressive?

This is one of the reasons that boundaries can come off as aggressive at first. While you’re simply installing defensive boundaries, others can take it as a personal threat. They may accuse you of unkindness and judgementalism. Or being thin-skinned. Boundaries and personal responsibility are consequences – we have to acknowledge (at least to ourselves) and, hopefully, take actual responsibility for thinking about what we say and do before we take action.

“There have been many times in my life that I’ve had to establish proper boundaries with those who continued to break my trust or violated the relationship.”
Flourishing Today

As uncomfortable as this may be for others, you can rest assured that you bear no responsibility for whether they embrace the lesson. Or if they begin to act and treat people with respect. You have simply decided you are done with their malevolent ways.

Taking responsibility for our behavior means that we can no longer just do things mindlessly.

We will do well to take other people’s feelings and desires into account. This is a normal expectation for someone to have, and it’s in no way difficult once we embrace the lesson of love and acceptance for all God’s children. It doesn’t matter what I think of you – or you think of me, let’s decide to be kind and treat one another with respect.

It’s very seldom that others have boundaries that you would accidentally cross when being respectful, polite, and kind. However, if you do, apologize and keep that in mind. These boundaries aren’t just for others to be responsible, though.

Boundaries and My Personal Responsibility

Indeed, some boundaries force you to take responsibility and act in a certain way that may benefit you and help you towards success. In addition, it may help others, also. For example, if you set boundaries on yourself for finances, you’re holding yourself accountable for being responsible. No doubt, when it comes to the money you’re spending and how you’re spending it, you will be glad.

It can be uncomfortable for you to hold yourself responsible, but it needs to be done. In the short term, others will be uncomfortable with having to be accountable like this. However, it’s better in the long run for everyone.

Healthy Boundaries & Personal Responsibility

By being more conscious and willing to think about what we’re doing, everyone will be able to communicate and interact with you more satisfyingly. Those who refuse to adapt will be up against healthy boundaries. Consequently, everyone else will be a lot happier with one another since this kind of behavior transfers from person to person.