10 Non-Negotiable Boundaries All Strong Women Should Have For Their Lives

1. Identity Boundaries

Strong women know who they are on the surface and deep down. They don’t alter their identity to please someone, especially a love interest or a significant other. They don’t compromise when it comes to the things that make them who they are, like the language they speak, the culture they come from, their unique style, the food they love eating, and the activities that bring them joy.

2. Belief System Boundaries

Strong women are clear about the way they see the world. They stand by their beliefs and they stand strong, which is one of the things that make them strong in the first place. They don’t bargain with their integrity. They don’t say something they don’t identify with, even if it means that they will be judged, criticized, or threatened for their morals or religious and spiritual practices. If they don’t believe it, they ain’t doing it. Period.

3. Standards Boundaries

Strong women stay true to their vision in life, whether it be a vision for their personal life, career, family dynamic, friendship connections, or intimate relationship. They hold people to the same standards they live by. They don’t lower their expectations or their needs so someone can match their level. Just like they won’t decrease their vibe to get to someone else’s vibe frequency. They choose their integrity and self-respect over the presence of someone who lacks both of them.

4. Emotional Boundaries

Strong women regulate their emotions. They don’t allow someone to impact their emotional state of being. They know that it’s not their job to regulate the emotions of others. They also know how to express their emotions with maturity over hostility, open over passive communication and ownership over blame. They call someone out when they cross their emotional boundary and take the necessary action accordingly.

5. Energy Boundaries

Strong women protect their energy with every fibre of their being. The people they choose to be around are people who have good, positive vibes. The things they invest in are things that motivate, inspire, and challenge them. They don’t stay in places where they are not appreciated, they don’t stay in environments where they are not seen, and they don’t stay in situations where they are not supported.

6. Mental Boundaries

Strong women practice mindfulness. They are aware of their inner voice. They believe their thoughts are not them, just another visitor stopping by. When they experience anxiety or depression, they know to take care of themselves and how. They reach out for support from their inner circle and help from a professional. They commit to routines/habits that improve their mental health like journaling, meditating, reading or therapy. They make their mental health a priority, and when they see that someone does not respect or take it seriously, they leave.

7. Time Boundaries

Strong women don’t entertain what does not entertain them. They respect their time. They don’t invest time on things, people, places or parts of them that don’t add value to their life. To them, time is the fuel to their passion because once invested the right way, it takes them places they never imagined were possible. When someone fails to value their time, they let them go immediately because they know it speaks volume about their intentions and character.

8. Physical Boundaries

Strong women respect their bodies. They cherish their personal space. They practice consent and expect the same from everyone else. They don’t stay in physically unsafe environments. They don’t take it lightly when someone tries to physically abuse or harass them. They know, however, that it’s not their fault if someone inflicts physical pain on them because they know they can’t always protect themselves from evil.

9. Sexual Boundaries

Strong women have a healthy relationship with sex. They don’t fake orgasms. They don’t engage in unsafe sexual acts. They don’t do things they are uncomfortable with just to pleasure their partner. They are confident with saying not right now, not this, not you. They don’t engage in casual sex when a relationship is what they want. They ask for what they desire and like in the bedroom, and if that is not their partner’s cup of tea, they aren’t afraid of ending it. Basically, they don’t settle for mediocre sex.

10. Personal Life Boundaries

Strong women keep their personal life personal. They don’t feel the need to disconnect or overshare. They reciprocate what they are given and disclose information with people who have earned their trust up to their comfort level, of course. They don’t mix personal with work and they don’t mix family with friends. They know how to live a balanced life because balance requires strength. They let go of anything or anyone that disturbs that balance because letting go requires strength. And they live by each boundary listed because living by what you believe in requires strength, too.

Strong Girls Don’t Always Realize How Strong They Are

Strong girls don’t realize how strong they are until a little bit of time passes, until they’re able to look back on everything from a distance.

In the moment, strong girls mistake themselves as weak. They think there’s something wrong with them for breaking down, for having trouble leaving the house, for crying their eyes out, for lashing out, for questioning whether they can make it through another day when the last one was already hard enough.

In the moment, it’s so easy for even the strongest girls to doubt themselves. It’s easy to say, I’m not sure whether I have what it takes to beat this, I’m not sure whether I can get through this pain, I’m not sure whether I’m going to feel this way forever. 

In the moment, you might not be able to see light coming through the cracks. You might lose faith in yourself. You might lose hope in your future. You have no idea what’s in store for you, so you have no idea whether you’re going to be able to handle what’s coming. You have a million different questions and aren’t getting any answers.

In the moment, it’s easy to overlook your strength. You don’t feel strong for surviving another twenty-four hours. You don’t feel strong for walking away from a bad situation. You don’t feel strong because your emotions are pulling your thoughts in a million different directions. You’re too busy experiencing fresh pain to see the situation clearly, to see how strong you are for making it through to the other side.

Right now, you might not think you’re anything special. But when you look back at all of the bullshit that was thrown your way, you’re going to be proud of yourself for how much you accomplished. You’re going to be impressed by all of the times you could have given up but decided to keep going, to keep believing.

When you look back on everything you’ve gone through, you’re going to be able to see the situation more clearly. You’re going to be able to take a step back and say, I never should have been subjected to that kind of pain, that would have been difficult for anyone to get through, it takes a strong person to survive that, I must be stronger than I thought. 

If you haven’t been able to reach that place of self-reflection yet, if you’re still in the middle of hell right now, you have to remember that you’re stronger than you believe. You can do this. You can make it through this heartache, this loss, this struggle within yourself.

You were strong enough to get through yesterday even though it was hard, and you’re strong enough to get through today too.

In this moment, you might feel weak, vulnerable, like everything you do is wrong — but in the future you’re going to look back and wish you could pat the current-you on the back because you’re doing the best you can. You’re stronger than you could ever imagine. 

Here’s To The Girls Who Never Gave Up

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who were told, “No, you can’t.”

The ones who were taunted and terrorized at every turn. The ones who were told that they were too fat, or too skinny, or too pretty, or ugly. The ones who were told that they were not smart enough or too smart for their own good. The ones who were told to stay in their lane, or stay quiet, or pretend like they didn’t know the answer when, in fact, they did.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who tuned out the noise, the chatter, and the chorus of “no.” The ones who were able to mute the whispers of lies that told them that they were not good enough – so that they could hear the little voice inside of them that said, “you can.”

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who were able to rise above the mess and the heartache. The ones who were told what they could or could not do with their own bodies – but found a way to claim their rights, anyway—the ones who told the world that they are not to be bought or to be owned.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

The ones who continue to soar to great heights, despite the ones around them trying to clip their wings. The ones who didn’t give up on dreams, but instead, persisted – and persevered.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

You are the doctors, the lawyers, the teachers. You are the mothers, the wives, the girlfriends. You are the artists, the writers, the thinkers, and do-gooders. You are the poets, the architects, the designers, and the judges. You are the engineers, the businesswomen, the change-makers. You are the ones who now sit at tables that never put out a chair for you. You are the things that we have yet to dream of – but you are the ones who will make those dreams a reality.

You are the hope of the women who live within you – your ancestors who fought and dared to dream beyond what they were given.

Here’s to the girls who never gave up.

You are more than one thing.

You have always been more than one thing.