Love Yourself By Setting Boundaries

Advancing in your career starts with loving yourself enough to protect your energy. That goes for everyone, but especially my fellow overachievers. 

Early in my career, I routinely pushed myself past my limits, ignoring my body’s signal to slow down and mistaking my exhaustion for excellence. I learned the hard way that overachieving is just burnout in different packaging.

I tap into my capacity for excellence all the time, but especially now dealing with crisis after crisis, boundaries allow me to do it in a sustainable way. These are my most powerful career advancement tips for leaders who want to protect their energy:

• Build rest into your calendar. That can mean 30-minute buffers between meetings, a consistent start and stop time every day, or a lunch away from your work. 

• Delegate earlier than you want to. Doing everything yourself isn’t leadership, it’s over-functioning. Trust your team to rise to the occasion.

• Don’t apologize. Don’t over-explain either. Set and communicate your boundaries and move on.

• Listen to your body. Pay attention to the early signs of depletion and act accordingly: take a nap, schedule a personal day, or tend to your life outside of work.

Protecting your energy with clear boundaries isn’t selfish. It’s an act of self-love. Boundaries help you avoid the true crisis of burnout. 

Stay safe and healthy.

Meredith

Coach’s Corner

Check out my post from this month for more suggestions for protecting your energy and plenty more career advancement tips.

We talked about SELF-LOVE in Getting Unstuck Monthly Circle on Friday, February 20, at noon Central. Join us next month! Send me a reply to register, and I’ll get you on the list.

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