Maintaining boundaries is very important for a person at times. A person needs to know when and how to put their boundaries, and others should always respect them and should not cross that line no matter how close they are to them. Boundaries during the holidays should be a must as making the most out of it by enjoying it in our own way brings lots of peace and happiness within one’s self.
10 Boundaries To Set For The Holidays
1. Not engaging in talk about weight loss and diet
Holidays are meant for extreme happiness and enjoyment. You should not try to waste it by talking about weight loss and diet. This can be quite a sensitive topic for someone who might have gained weight due to certain situations. The topic can really take away the enjoyment scene that an environment should actually have. Cut out the topic of diet, as who even cares how much you eat during the holidays? It’s a fun time so eat as much as you can.
2. Deciding to spend the holiday alone
Instead of all the time thinking about how others might perceive you during the family gathering in the holidays, you can actually take a break from them and their talks and just spend the holidays alone. There should be some alone time for a person where he just relaxes and does whatever he feels like doing. You can get cheered up a lot in this way, and it may give you a good break from the old life.
3. Not getting involved in family disputes
Holidays are precious times to spend with family members happily instead of getting involved in family disputes. One should not indulge in fights with family for any reason, thereby respecting the precious moments that only a few receive. Family disputes only bring chaos, and nothing good actually comes out of it. So avoid fighting with the family members and try to enjoy the given time.
4. Leaving early if people are getting intoxicated
Maintaining our own well-being is totally in our own hands, and if, due to any circumstances, the family members try to be toxic, one can choose to stay out of it by just leaving early from the environment. This is the kind of boundary one can maintain, which no one should accuse them of as sometimes family members can be really toxic, so in order to gain mental peace, one can choose to leave early.
5. Requesting not to discuss politics
Political matters are quite a sensitive topic, especially when one of your family members supports the other party that you literally despise. It is better suggested that you should not get indulged in political discussions with your family members during the holidays as it may take away the peace that was maintained among others. When a person despises the other party, he may talk utter rubbish about them, and this might hurt the sentiments of the family member who actually supports it.
6. Get clear on what you want and what you don’t want
By setting boundaries in front of family members, it’s quite hard to communicate when things don’t go your way, and there are some things that you choose not to be discussed or how you are treated. But this is the real-time to be bold and put your needs first. You should be clear with your intentions in how you actually want to be treated and not. Be open to the needs then; only the other members of the family can meet your desired expectations, and there will be peace among you all.
7. Be firm with your time
Sometimes you get stuck in family events when you did not pre-plan your stay there. You might feel obligated to attend it for as long as it’s going. Your time and energy are quite precious, and you can decide how much time you are actually willing to allot to your family. If your plans do not align with your family members, you can try communicating with them and letting them know how long you plan to stay.
8. Prepare with your partner
If you are in a relationship, whether you want to bring your partner along with you during the family gatherings should be totally up to you. It is based on whether you want your relationship with your partner to be an open discussion within the family talks or not. It’s your decision whether you are willing to be open about your love life yet. If you do not feel ready to get bombarded with several uneasy questions, then you should choose not to bring your partner along with you.
9. Practice boundary setting
Choosing to maintain boundaries with your family can sometimes be really hard, even when you know what exactly you want. You can’t sometimes say NO to them as you might feel that it’s really disrespectful. How you are going to switch the conversations when you don’t feel like discussing them can only be done when you have practiced doing it and get comfortable with the idea that it’s totally okay to do it.
10. The right to change your mind and preferences
You can, and you have the right to change your mind or preferences during family discussions about certain topics. It does not mean if they agree with some situations, you will too, and it is totally okay to prefer your thinking rather than just agreeing to their thinking, even if it feels like it’s disrespectful to do so. If you want to have a genuine conversation with them and have good moments, do set this boundary as it’s really important to speak your mind.
Thus, these are some of the boundaries you can maintain during the holidays. Holidays are actually supposed to be filled with fun as these are the times that you will never get back. Due to everyone’s busy life these days, it gets really hard to give time to yourself or even to your family. So, take these moments to celebrate them with joy and happiness and especially the way you want them to go.
