Ground Yourself In Standing Your Ground
It’s easy to say yes.
It’s easy to tell yourself, “Just 15 more minutes”.
It’s easy to give in to the client who keeps walking all over you because you couldn’t say ‘no’ in fear of your reputation being ruined.
Especially as female entrepreneurs, we can find it hard to stand up for ourselves and it usually comes from that narrative that’s ingrained into us that we should make everyone else as comfortable as possible before we look after our own needs.
But if we apply that belief to our business, we will burn ourselves into the ground. Fast.
To really step into our CEO shoes and harness and leverage our incredible power, we need to learn to stand our ground. We need to learn to say no.
Learning to say no and setting boundaries are one of the hardest parts of being human. No one likes feeling like they’ve let others down. But your ability to say no and hold your boundaries is going to be the difference between you spending every waking minute on tasks and managing clients and actually being able to take time off.
Creating Boundaries
The first step is deciding what your boundaries are. Check in with yourself about what feels okay and what doesn’t. Some of your boundaries might even come out of a situation you hadn’t thought of. Create a list and keep it next to you as a reminder. And remember, just because you’ve written down doesn’t mean they’re set in stone. Add to or change them when you need to.
Let Everyone Know
The second step is communicating them. People don’t know what they don’t know and you can’t expect your clients and team members to honour your boundaries if they don’t know what they are. Ensuring you are clearly communicating what your boundaries are and make them part of your everyday process. For example, if you’re onboarding a new client, set aside time to explain the expectations you have of them when it comes to communication and tasks. And if any of them change at any time, ensure everyone knows!
Holding The Line
This last step is possibly the hardest. It’s all well and good to write a list of boundaries and let your clients and team members know about them. But now you have to actually enforce them. This is where that “Oh, just 15 minutes more” comes into play and unfortunately if you give an inch, some people will take a mile. Stick to the boundaries you’ve set to the best of your ability. Of course, there may be situations that arise that require you to push them slightly but with the proper procedures and processes in place, it can be managed.
Let this be your reminder today that the only person you have to please is yourself. Fill up your happy cup first, and watch the magic that alignment brings. Say no to the clients that drain your energy, your time and your money and say “hell yes!” to the clients who respect you, honour your boundaries, speak to you with kindness and understanding, and who are the reason you love what you do!