You set boundaries to get time back. Disappointing people from a place of assertiveness and self-advocacy is different than from anger and reactivity. You are capable of setting boundaries and building tolerance for the disappointment of others. Just because someone is angry, doesn't mean it is your fault. Journal Prompts: I waste time and energy on... When people are angry, I...

Self-regulation is a boundary toward less regret. It is accepting emotions–making room for them–instead of fighting to change and suppress them. And then pausing to anchor to your values before choosing action. Journal Prompts: I am impulsive about... The emotion of __________ gets me every time. I try to suppress...

A break from feeling responsible for other people's emotions, this is the good you move toward in setting boundaries. Journal Prompts: I feel responsible for... It makes me resentful when...

Enough emotional real estate has been given over to re-runs of your past. No one wins when you hold your past self hostage. Your boundary toward good is practicing acceptance of all of your parts. It is about making peace with your limits of influence. You no longer can influence the past. You can choose to invest emotional energy in the present and forward. Journal Prompts: I re-run... I wish I could go back and... My emotional energy... I need to make peace with...

When you resist over-functioning in your relationships, you find truth and fairness. You take your fair share of responsibility, no more, and then see the relationship for what it is. Truth is good. Truth is clear. Journal Prompts: If I stopped over-functioning, I would... Fairness would look like...

Humans normalize and excuse a whole lot of chaos. Choosing to step back from chaos, fencing off space for calm and predictability, this is the good we move toward with boundaries. Journal Prompt: I normalize the chaos of... My nervous system needs...

You set boundaries when you recognize that you have overextended giving. Your boundaries may inconvenience others. Might you validate how much they have inconvenienced you? Boundaries toward good, is boundaries toward less resentment. Journal Prompts: Setting boundaries will inconvenience... Less resentment means...

You set boundaries to move toward the good in life. When the focus is narrowed to the confrontation and assertiveness mountain you may need to climb, it is easy to lose focus on the good that boundaries bring. We move toward boundaries for good reason: for better relationships, for calm, for needs to be met. Journal Prompt: I set boundaries to move toward...