Boundaries

So, ever since my 30th birthday, things have been changing. Rapidly. I started to realize that my personal boundaries aren't very good and I let people treat me in really shitty ways. I have been removing "friends" from my life and adding new ones. Finding a way to have people in my life who respect me as much as I respect them.

I will tell you, though, that old friends don't seem to like this transition. They are used to walking on me, wiping their shoes on my face, and they aren't adjusting well to my boundary changes. It is like there is now a wall between me and these people, because frankly, verbal abuse is no longer allowed. Not by anyone. I do not need friends who tell me I am a asshole or that my father wouldn't be proud of me if he could see me now. Those types of statements don't come from friends.

In my own personal growth surrounding boundaries, this all got jump started in school. I've started to understand that in order to help people in my professional life with their issues, I won't be able to have those people and the drama in my personal life too. I must be clear in that. I need to surround myself with people who love me and respect me. That is the only way I will be able to separate myself from taking my work home.

I want to get through this uncomfortable transition period in a better space then I am in now. Stronger than I have been. With better boundaries, well, boundaries at all. I am invested in this.