One of the trickiest things about personal boundaries for most people is understanding that other people have boundaries too.
I’ve noticed that people really love setting and enforcing their own boundaries, but when someone else’s boundaries conflict with theirs, they go ballistic. They either accuse the other person of trying to manipulate them, or they try to manipulate the other.
Case in point:
Last fall a friend of mine asked me to house-sit for her for a week. She lives about two hours away, a long drive. Her only request was, “No dogs.” …

For the past decade I’ve been battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyaliga and skin problems ranging from Chronic Hives to mild psoriasis. This month I added pneumonia on top of all that. I finally understand what old people mean when they say, “I’m tired and ready to die.” I had nothing left to give, and still, really, don’t. I have moments where some energy finds its way into me, but mostly? I sleep a lot.
I recently learned that fatigue, joint pain, foggy brain, tiredness, muscle aches, and all these symptoms I’ve …

I was sitting on the couch at my friend Patty Newbold’s house when I got the news I was selected to speak at TED Global 2009. She smiled for the entire time I sat there screaming, “I’m talking at TED! I’m talking at TED!” Then when the fear, shock and horror at having to actually TALK in front of a crowd set in, she was also there.
She was supportive, calm and my rock in a time I was feeling so uncertain. When I wrote my first speech she read it …

What has millions of Americans as upset and concerned about the events at Penn State and the inactions of FORMER head coach Joe Paterno, FORMER assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and then grad assistant Mike McQueary is the reaction of Penn State students in support of their unethical failure. Hundreds, if not thousands of them are angry at the victims. Anyone who witnessed the riot at Penn State and students overturning a news van and destroying property has to ask themselves, “Did they even ask WHY he was fired? Do they …

“I like you, but we’re not friends.” Ever want to say that? I do. I get requests from people on social networks, G+, Facebook, Triiibes.com, LinkedIn and so on all the time to be “friends.” 90% of them I say “Yes” to, unless there’s some obvious reason not to like, the only information I can find on them is linked to porn, dating sites, enhancement products or pyramid marketing schemes.
If they look like real people and aren’t just a fake profile, I generally say yes. All I do on social …