Honoring yourself has a pace

Last Monday, I opened my calendar and saw empty space where an old commitment used to sit. I let out a long breath and felt my shoulders settle.

Then a flurry of requests started arriving. Including one for a standing call I had already declined, addressed to the version of me who used to say yes first, then figure out how to make it work later.

“Only what honors me remains” is a big organizing principle in my life now.

When you start operating by a principle like this, you quickly realize we live in collaboration with many other people, who are on their own respective journeys with their own expectations and projections.

It might take them a while to acclimate, or to even recognize that you've changed and a new boundary exists.

And it may take you a while to acclimate, too. You’re defending threats to your new boundaries, and those threats often come from people who may not adjust right away.

Honoring yourself has a pace, and so does everyone around you.