How to set boundaries in friendship

One of the ways to maintain and sustain friendships is to set boundaries. As funny as this sounds, boundaries are very essential to have a healthy friendship. Boundaries help your friend know what is OK and what is not. 

Setting boundaries prevents your friends from taking advantage of you. It prevents your friends from overstepping the line you’ve drawn.

If you intend to set boundaries, then you are on the right platform. This article will show you great ways to set your boundaries without hurting your friends.

1. Consistently express yourself

Communication is the key to every successful relationship. Expressing your thoughts, wants, desires, likes, and dislikes to your friends is a healthy way to set boundaries. While expressing yourself, make use of the I statement to address issues with your friends without hurting them. Expressing yourself will help your friends know when they are going beyond their limits on issues that concern you. 

2. Maintain your personal space

Most people believe that intimate  friends should do  things together at all times. This can be true, but every human being desires their personal space. Spend time apart to also figure out your life. Maintaining a personal space involves you understanding the need to give each other space to breathe. Let your friends know that there is a limit to how you can interfere in each other’s lives. This doesn’t mean a reduction in the level of intimacy, but privacy is essential for a healthy relationship. 

When your friends understand this, they understand your boundaries without dispute.

3. Safeguard your priorities

One of the ways to set boundaries is to protect your priorities. Boundaries help you place your priorities over others. As a genuine friend, you might have the urge to make your friends’ priorities more important than yours, even when it makes you uncomfortable, but setting boundaries makes you resist the urge. 

One of the ways to protect your priorities is to make sure you come first and then other things follow. Also, make sure you don’t agree to do things for your friends at your own inconvenience.

4. Learn how to turn down requests

Saying yes to every one of your friends’ requests breaks down your wall of defense. Most of the time, people take advantage of people who find it hard to say ‘No’ to requests. If you find it hard to say no to some requests, then you are not building a healthy friendship.  You will end up being a doormat that everyone tramples upon.  

To set your boundaries, learn how to turn down requests with proper understanding. 

5. Stand your ground with your boundaries

Being consistent and firm with certain decisions helps to achieve the goal behind the decision. Realistic boundaries are always consistent and firm, not wavering.  This is why you need to stick to the decisions made to set your boundaries as well as the plans put in place to back it up.  You must also make sure that these boundaries are clear to avoid misunderstanding with your friends or misinterpretation.

Treat your friends the way you want to be treated,  address issues at the minimal stage, express yourself to friends who overstep their boundaries.  

Setting boundaries is important especially for privacy and to detach yourself from toxic friendships.

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