Rick Osborn | Life Coach, Nutrition Consultant & Graphic Designer

As of late, I keep encountering people, both within my counsel and without, who seem to have trouble understanding the concept of having solid life boundaries. No matter what the issue that people are dealing with, it can invariably be traced to NOT having solidly defined boundaries for their lives. In fact, it seems that some that I encounter have almost no boundaries at all.

Frankly, those who do not have clearly defined boundaries for their lives are operating in dangerous territory. As I’ve stated before, to move forward (away from the pain, problems and frustrations) a person must have control of his ship (life). However, if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up somewhere you don’t want to be or possibly shipwrecked for life. Having proper boundaries helps us define our path and stay focused, so that this doesn’t happen.

From a practical standpoint, I often ask my clients, “What are your goals - What are your boundaries?” Upon asking about “goals”, most can quickly come up with a list of ideal things that they’d like to accomplish in life. Unfortunately, none of these goals will ever be fully realized without healthy boundaries. Furthermore, when I continue to ask the question, “What are your boundaries?” - they usually look at me with a blank expression.

The fact of the matter is that not only do many not have clearly defined goals, but even worse is that most people do not set clearly defined boundaries for themselves.

Right now, if you’re somewhere you don’t want to be, feeling frustrated and alone, overweight and uncomfortable, dealing with a secret addiction or having an affair, overly anxious about something, in a dead-end career, in debt way over your head, or just simply stuck in a rut - YOU DO NOT HAVE CLEARLY DEFINED BOUNDARIES.

And just so you know, a BOUNDARY is an assigned limit for yourself, beyond which you DO NOT OPERATE. It’s the “line drawn in the sand.” It’s the line YOU DO NOT CROSS. If you don’t have boundaries, you don’t know who you are. If you don’t know who you are, you will NEVER be truly happy, nor will you ever be able to have stability in your life. A person without healthy boundaries is a person without direction.

The following wellness diagram is not all inclusive, but it does give an idea of the characteristics that relate to operating within and/or without a clearly defined boundary system. If you have no set boundaries, then most likely you’re operating in the red with an occasional meandering into the green. If you have clearly defined boundaries, then the characteristics that appear within the green circle should very well represent your life.

It’s your job to figure out what things you should do to stay within the circle of health above, as well as the things that you should not do to incur the negative characteristics in the red.

If you need help with this, click here so I can help you figure this out.

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You know, when it comes to daily living (in our health, spiritual journey, intelligence, or physical conditioning), we need to always keep a conscious check on our progress. We become so easily distracted with the “little things” no matter how big they may seem. We fail to keep the bigger picture in mind – which is not easy – not when you’re dealing with one difficult issue after another. Regarding our faith walk, this is why I believe it’s so important to continue to meditate upon the truths that God has given us. It helps us maintain His perspective about life so that we see things as He does. In fact, when we attempt to see things through God’s eyes (by way of meditating on His truths and praying for His guidance), then we become more like Him, gain and maintain His unique perspective and thereby, PROGRESS in our faith. If God has truly done a work in our hearts, then the fruit of His Spirit will become manifest in our lives:

“. . . love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control . . .”

(Galatians 5:22-23)

I don’t know about you, but for me, these particular attributes are what I need on a moment by moment basis to be the best that I can be. The amazing thing is that they come from God! Being tapped into Him means being supercharged to plow through all the daily muck and mire.

Furthermore, it’s the only way that we can keep moving forward – PROGRESSING and not sliding backwards!

My prayer for all of us today is that we keep ourselves “plugged in” to our real Source of strength and wisdom:

1. Focus on God’s truth.
   
2. Pray for His strength, wisdom and guidance.
   
3. Decide to consciously follow what He reveals.
   
4. PROGRESS in your faith and move forward!

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I was watching the Today show recently. Their health/fitness/nutrition editor was being interviewed by Matt Lauer regarding the most popular diets that people are trying to follow these days. She had actual plates of food on display - representative of each particular diet. She then went on to pontificate upon the fact that no one could follow any of these diets for too long, as they all were too restrictive. I tended to agree with what she was saying until she made the statement -

“It’s all about counting calories.”

What really gets me is how people (and particularly this “expert”) can make such casual statements on national TV without a proper understanding of what’s really going on. I guess it’s due to the overwhelming sway of popular thought to believe such misinformation. The fact is -

IT’S NOT ABOUT COUNTING CALORIES!

It’s about chemicals and pesticides and hormones and toxins in the foods we eat, the water we drink, the lotions that we put on our skin, and the air that we breathe.

The truth is that our bodies are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. Yeah, I’m quoting a bit of the Bible here, but the veracity of this statement is that our bodies are incredible machines. We were created to eat to our heart’s content - the foods that are NATURALLY available to us. Most of the foods we eat these days are not NATURAL at all. In fact, they have as many chemicals and harmful additives as they do real nutritional content.

THIS IS WHAT IS MAKING US FAT AND SICK!

It’s not rocket science, it’s actually good common sense. And it’s not even hard to wrap your brain around the issue. Think about it the next time you put “food” into your mouth. Read the label. If you don’t understand the contents, then you’re putting something into your body that ultimately will cause you health problems.

If this is the kind of stuff you’re eating on a regular basis, then quit asking yourself, “Why am I fat and sick?” Instead, ask yourself, what foods can I change in my diet that will make me lean and healthy.

Once you make this transition, you’ll be well on your way to being a much healthier person!

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