Quotes About Boundaries

The very second he thinks he has to explain himself to you, he'll feel as though he is losing his freedom. Then he'll make up a story to conceal something that didn't need to be concealed, just to protect his "territory" or his "turf." And he'll feel cornered.

It's smothering to him when you watch him too closely. Don't give him the feeling he's under a microscope. He'll feel controlled and will instantly want to get away.

Don't plan all of your weekends together so he has to ask permission to go fishing. Let him catch a couple of fish. Otherwise, he'll start to break dates. Why? Because he's acting like a rebellious teenager who's been given a curfew by mama. He'll do it deliberately so you don't get used to dictating how his time is spent.

Joking with a guy doesn't make your motives any less obvious. Allison is a perfect example. She and Jamie had been out a few times, and one night they had a few too many drinks. She looked at him and jokingly said, "Am I just a piece of ass, or do you have feelings for me?" What this says to a guy is that she has low self-esteem. If she knows she's not a piece of meat, she would never ask that question.

It also gives him something he absolutely needs: the freedom to breathe.

A man knows which woman will give in to last-minute requests.

But inside every sweet peach is a strong pit. And this means she won't explain the obvious when a man is disrespectful. There is no way to hold your own in a relationship and simultaneously accept rude behavior. A

When you treat your time together as something he has to do, you've taken something that was a pleasure and made it a chore. If you are nice, but you give of yourself with strings attached, the demand for reciprocity will send him several steps backward. Whenever you make him feel as though he has to see you, it will feel like work. When it's not an obligation to see you, the very same thing will feel like pleasure.

Her aura says she doesn't want him desperately enough, need him desperately enough, or let him get under her skin enough.

If you smother him, he'll go into defense mode and

obligation he's stuck with. This is also why giving him space is so important. It makes you look proud rather than desperate. It enables you to remain a challenge indefinitely.

Don't give a reward for bad behavior.

she has the ability to remain cool under pressure. Whereas a woman who is "too nice" gives and gives until she is depleted, the woman with presence of mind knows when to pull back.

There will always be people who will be there to plant negative seeds in your garden, if you make yourself available for that

Many people lack the basic equipment to be in a relationship and there's nothing you can do to change it.

Live by your own rules Move to your rhythm, instead of dancing to the beat of someone else's drum Decide how you want to be treated Choose what you will or will not tolerate Leave if you don't get what you want.

Truly powerful people don't explain why they want respect. They simply don't engage someone who doesn't give it to them.

Men don't respond to words. What they respond to is "no contact".

Agree with everything, explain nothing, then do what is best for you.

Many people lack the basic equipment to be in a relationship and there's nothing you can do to change it. You can't take a skunk and dip it in perfume and hope it becomes a puppy. Eventually, the perfume will wear off and you'll still have a skunk on your hands.

The nice girl makes the mistake of being available all the time.

Standing up for yourself doesn't always involve verbal confrontation. Sometimes it's about not wasting energy on people who are negative.

Sometimes people fall in love with those who do not return the same strength of feelings. It is as it is," he said with a quiet intensity. "What Igive, I give freely. You owe me nothing, not love, not friendship, not even obligation

She'd never thought of herself quite that way. She was more an idiosyncratic ignorer of established boundaries than a glutton for the new and the uncharted. But perhaps they were one and the same, each one implying the other.