Enforce Your Personal Boundaries

Set and enforce your personal boundaries.
You and only YOU get to choose how much influence
you allow others to exert over your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater
than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please,
or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

"No" is a complete sentence, and so often we forget that.
When we don't want to do something, we can simply smile and say "No."
We don't have to explain ourselves, we can just say "No."
Love yourself enough to be able to say "Yes" or "No."
- Susan Gregg

Never be bullied into silence.
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Accept no one's definition of your life;
define yourself.
- Harvey Fierstein

Further reading: The Power of Saying NO to the Demands of Others

Appreciate Yourself

To Thine Own Self Be True
    

Your Personal Boundaries

Set and enforce your personal boundaries.
You and only YOU get to choose how much influence
you allow others to exert over your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Never be bullied into silence.
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Accept no one's definition of your life;
define yourself.
- Harvey Fierstein

"No" is a complete sentence, and so often we forget that.
When we don't want to do something, we can simply smile and say "No."
We don't have to explain ourselves, we can just say "No."
Love yourself enough to be able to say "Yes" or "No."
- Susan Gregg

A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater
than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please,
or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Further reading: The Power of Saying NO to the Demands of Others

To Thine Own Self Be True

Appreciate Yourself
    

Personal Boundaries

Set and enforce your personal boundaries.
You and only YOU get to choose how much influence
you allow others to exert over your life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Never allow a person to tell you NO
who doesn't have the power to say YES.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

No one can give you better advice than yourself.
- Cicero

Never be bullied into silence.
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Accept no one's definition of your life;
define yourself.
- Harvey Fierstein

A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater
than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please,
or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Believe in yourself, and trust your own wisdom
rather than being swayed by the opinions of others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: To Thine Own Self Be True

The Power of Saying NO to the Demands of Others

Appreciate Yourself

Thinking for Yourself

Be Yourself

Set and enforce your personal boundaries. - JLH

Set and enforce your personal boundaries.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

You and only YOU get to choose how much influence you allow others to exert over your life.

Further reading: The Sailboat Metaphor

This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True - 5 Ways to Apply William Shakespeare's Advice Today

Winston Churchill quote: You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True - 5 Ways to Apply William Shakespeare's Advice Today

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
- William Shakespeare

If Bill were around today, I think he would appreciate hearing the flight attendant say, "Put on your own oxygen mask first." Before any of us can be of service to others, or provide valuable council, we must empower our own lives. Only as happy, fully self-expressed individuals who set an example of living a great life, can we presume to suggest to others how they might improve the quality of their own lives. We are most powerful when we set an example.

Consider a parent who says, "Look at the sacrifices I'm making so you can have a better life." Contrast that with another parent who joyfully demonstrates living a great life every day. Parenthood requires many trade-offs, but parenthood should not be a time of suffering. Living a great life and sharing that life with others is the noble way to live.

Here are 5 ways to make a difference in the world by being true to yourself:

1. Set an example for your children and others. Live a life you hope your children will emulate.

2. Aspire to a successful career. You can't contribute money or material goods to any worthwhile cause if you don't have any. You best set an example by being successful AND generous.

3. Generate your own happiness and radiate that happiness into the world. People enjoy being around happy people, and they become happy themselves as a result.

4. Set boundaries. When you reach the limit of what you can contribute while still maintaining your inner peace and serenity, say NO to additional requests for your time and energy. Whenever you let urgency compromise your happiness, you lose your ability to set an example by leading a great life - as well as losing your own happiness.

5. Think for yourself - don't blindly follow tradition or the conventions of your family, community, or religion. Making your own choices gives you the opportunity to live a life you love, and to set an example of open-minded thinking and compassion.