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In the blink of an eye, we are already moving into the third week of January – with the hustle and bustle of life, time passes silently but quickly.

 

We spend too much time attending to trivial and ‘urgent’ tasks at the expense of those tasks which move our life on a positive trajectory, whatever that means to us.

 

The current ‘hustle-culture’ suggests that ‘you can do it all’ and any claim to the contrary is greeted with cries of ‘you must work harder, longer and smarter’. The antidote to this culture is setting boundaries.

 

Boundaries 

 

Many see setting boundaries and the trades-offs that accompany them as curtailing life. Although setting boundaries does certainly restrict activities, it allows us to actively select the endeavours that are congruent with our life plan and to discard the rest.

 

Boundaries free both time and energy to follow our own path as opposed to being left to the whims of destiny or worse yet the capricious agendas of others.

 

The Trade-Off

 

The cost of setting boundaries is ‘the trade-off’ -  a situational decision that involves diminishing or losing one quality or quantity in return for gains in other aspects. With any boundary we set there will be pros and cons:

 

• If getting our sleep in order is a priority; we have to say goodbye to late night Netflix binges.

• If refusing to work weekends is a priority; we must accept that we may not be first in line for a promotion or are restricted from applying to certain jobs.

• If training for a triathlon is our focus; we must be happy to reduce our time in the weights room.

 

Boundaries are not a zero sum game - they have costs and consequences - but when we decide our own boundaries we are deciding which dues we are willing to pay and which we are not. The resultant clarity of purpose leads to improved adherence to the processes required and ultimately better outcomes.

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In a world of infinite possibilities, boundaries certainly narrow our focus but do not limit us. We have consciously defined our reality, our vision and our purpose and as a result we happily forfeit the trivialities that exist outside of that vision for excellence in our own domain.

 

The message is clear; 

                        

                        ‘Weniger aber besser’

 

Questions I am reflecting on:

 

Are my current boundaries clearly defined?

 

Did I partake in any activites/ tasks this week that I should have declined?

 

Have a great week!
 

David O’Hanlon