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On Wednesday, October 24, we’re talking boundaries and that is something I can talk at length about. I’m high-functioning autistic with Asperger’s Syndrome, but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was forty-six. I grew up knowing I wasn’t one of Them, but I wasn’t sure who Me was.
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As I got older and still had no answers as to why I was who I was I had to start adapting as best I could to be as like Them as I could. It was difficult, but I learned some of their ways and even mastered a couple, such as sarcasm. Unless you know about autism, you have no idea what a huge deal that is. It’s like getting your Ph.D. in something really, really cool.
As I started adapting, I began to become so hungry to finish the process quickly that I was willing to accept more and more work or sacrifice more of the things precious to me, and that scared me.
My boundaries were slipping
What once was a strong fence, soon became a pile of wood that anyone could get over or around. I had no more boundaries and that scared me. What could become of my life if literally anything was allowed inside my comfort zone?
As people with a chronic illness or disease, it’s of the utmost importance that we first assess our individual situation, with goals, limits, budget, everything that could be potentially involved in making your decision. Once your decision is made, your boundaries are set. Make them hard and firm. Remember that, as much as we sometimes like to loosen up our boundaries, once we do, we set the precedence that our standards have been lowered,
Our standards haven’t been lowered. They’ve never been stronger!
Will it be a little rough to set and maintain that hard line? Yes. But I’ll tell you from experience that it’s a little rough the first couple times through, but you’ll begin feeling so relaxed mentally and physically that you’ll wonder why you never hopped this train before!
Let’s hear your story of success or of one time where you didn’t quite make it, but you at least learned a valuable lesson.
Join Hilary on her call Wednesday at 12 pm Eastern/9 am Central when she discusses setting boundaries in your life.
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Photo credit: Photo courtesy Pixabay