Teach Others How To Treat You

What Are The Rules For Living?“Why don’t they treat me the way I want to be treated?”, my client asked me.

So, I asked, “Have you taught them how to treat you?”

The silence let me know.  But after a pause, my client said, “I guess it never crossed my mind I needed to do that.”

The fact is that people do not know how we want to be treated… unless we are clear about how we are to be treated.  Otherwise, we get treated the way THEY want to treat US, and not the reverse.

In the end, that leaves people frustrated, defensive, and feeling mistreated.

Your BOUNDARIES are what lets people know how you want to be treated.  They are your “NO’s” of life.  Things you will not let people do to(wards) you.

If your boundaries are solid, you are already following this rule.  But if you find yourself being treated in ways you don’t want to be, time to start following this rule, “Teach others how to treat you.”

Listen to this week’s Thriveology Podcast for yet another Rule for Living.

RULES OF LIVING SERIES
#1 Let Fear Point, Not Direct
#2 Be Present In The  Present
#3 Accept the Past and Revise the Future
#4 Grieve Losses and Celebrate Gains
#5 Forgive to Live
#6 Listen to Your Higher Self

What Thrivers Do To Set Boundaries

Set and maintain clear boundaries.Your line in the sand.  Your personal fence line.  It is when you say “No.”  They are boundaries.

We all have limits.  People make demands upon us or treat us poorly, and we must all decide our limits.

Unfortunately, many people feel guilty for setting a boundary.  Saying “No” makes many people feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, demanding, or somehow unacceptable.

But if you can’t say “No,” you can’t really say “Yes.”

Having clear boundaries — setting them and maintaining them — teaches others how to treat us.  And when we teach others how to treat us, we get to focus on what is important to us.  Not just what others want you to find important, but what YOU find important.

Let’s talk about what boundaries are, how to set them, what to avoid, and how to maintain them.