If there’s one thing emotionally intelligent people never do, it’s set themselves up for disrespect and cruelty. Due to their heightened sense of self-awareness, emotionally intelligent people thoroughly understand their needs, emotions, and limitations.
According to an emotional intelligence coachenforcing strict boundaries is a superpower when it comes to well-being. For emotionally intelligent people, those lines are never crossed. She took to TikTok to detail the three specific boundaries that emotionally intelligent people are strict about.
“Something I’ve noticed about really emotionally intelligent people is they have very strong boundaries with who they will and won’t spend a lot of their time with,” the coach (@therapythoughts) shared. “They stand on business when it comes to their boundaries.”
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A common boundary among emotionally intelligent people is refusing to spend time with those who have no issue insulting them or those they love. “Constructive criticism is one thing, but intentionally attacking someone’s character is another,” according to the coach. These people know their worth, and they won’t let anyone try to convince them otherwise.
When an emotionally intelligent person makes a plan with someone at a certain time, they expect them to be there at that time.“If someone’s consistently showing up late or canceling plans, that’s not really somebody they’re gonna be close to,” Therapy Thoughts explained.
Even though life can get in the way and plans may have to be rearranged for reasons out of anyone’s control, emotionally intelligent people know who they can’t count on when it comes to respecting their time. These are often people who always seem to have an excuse, who “forgot” they made plans and don’t seem to care when they show up half an hour late for dinner reservations.
Writing for Harvard Business ReviewDorie Clark put it simply, “Will you face blowback by toughening up and putting clear boundaries around your time? Inevitably. But you may also find that people start to respect you — and your time — a lot more.”
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Emotionally intelligent people are very observant, getting an idea of who they can and cannot trust in their lives. They will pay close attention to the way people speak about them, even when they are not around.
Instead of choosing friends and then supplying them with a list of their boundaries, emotionally intelligent people will select their friends by observing who gives them the respect they deserve rather than having to ask for it. “They just sit back and watch how people naturally act, and then they choose to get closer to people who naturally value their boundaries,” the coach said.
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Establishing boundaries is crucial for your well-being. They ensure that the people in your life understand what is and isn’t acceptable to you, fostering mutual respect and understanding. “Boundaries create trust and build healthy relationships,” Sahar Andrade, an award-winning leadership coach, told Forbes. “Even when some people don’t like what you do, they will likely still respect you for standing up for what you believe in.”
We cannot expect anyone to give us compassion and respect until we’ve made these boundaries clear.
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Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.
