Boundaries

I’ve been reading the book Boundaries by Henry Cloud with intensity. There has been a lot of head nodding (try making a double chin to stretch your deep cervical flexors while you are at it) and mental notes happening. The way he discusses the need for boundaries makes sense to me, on so many different levels.

It’s hard to be okay with setting boundaries when feeling the need to go with the flow (raising hand) or when you want to be liked by all. However, that comes at a cost. The cost being resentment, the constant feeling of being taken advantage of, and giving more than you feel capable or willing to. Slowly, this will begin to eat at you and your relationship with others.

While boundaries are necessary for relationships, it is so with movement too. Setting boundaries is necessary to understand that you cannot do whatever you want in life and still achieve the movement goals and needs of your body. Often times, we don’t feel like moving, because our bodies like to take the path of least resistance and preserve energy for a life or death situation. Thankfully those situations are not common occurrences anymore. Conserving our energy for the hunt for food or to escape imminent danger is not necessary. Now, we must move our body to build energy and momentum for the day as well as meet the demands of our body to function naturally.

Dr. Henry Cloud states that what we really want to get out of setting boundaries is to “gain control of the only thing you can ever control-yourself… People with good boundaries feel as if their lives belong to them, and no one else.” Do you feel that way?

When asked why they don’t work out or exercise, the most common response is “I just don’t have time”. If there is no time in your day to take care of your body (as well as your mind, heart, and soul for that matter), then time is not the problem, prioritizing is. If we were all given the extra hour or three we need in our day to move our bodies, I have a strong suspicion that those hours would quickly get eaten up with other tasks, hobbies, and the like.

You must prioritize your time to include taking care of yourself. You may see the value in caring for the only home your soul will ever have; then take it a step further and actually value it with daily movement.