Setting boundaries is important in many areas of life. Knowing how to set appropriate boundaries—and sticking to them—can mean the difference between failure and success in relationships, work environments, productivity, family issues, financial security, and your own sense of self worth. Many tasks require concentration and balance in a peaceful environment.

Interruptions and unplanned chaos in whatever form make it difficult to focus on the task at hand and, if taken to extremes, can have a negative impact on many things in life. Boundaries can be violated not only by others but by yourself as well. It is important to realize that often, we are our own worst enemies when it comes to respecting our boundaries.

These are challenging times, with vast economic, environmental, and spiritual changes. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with stress, worry, or depression – to feel out of control, ungrounded.  Staying grounded is our safest and most effective strategy for coping with today’s challenges and finding positive solutions.

Grounding is the kinesthetic sense of being fully present in our body and our environment, moment by moment. It’s the continual flow and integration of sensory, emotional and mental stimuli. Like a sturdy tree, we bend and sway in a storm, but we’re rooted in our core.

A lack of grounding comes from an imbalance in our energy and our body. We feel uneasy, confused, unsettled.  Unless it’s corrected, insufficient grounding can make us accident-prone.  It can also escalate and cause physical and mental problems. We’ll discuss some of these later.

If you think you hate your job, consider that the job may not be to blame. It may be that you’ve unwittingly taken the wrong approach to compartmentalization.

To become a professional in almost any field, it is usually necessary to compartmentalize – to separate one’s personal life from one’s work. A criminal lawyer can’t kick back with clients the way she would with friends. A CEO may call the employees of his company a “family” – but he would be a fool to relate to them in the same way he does his actual family.

While the need for distinguishing the personal from the professional is obvious enough, it’s also clear that compartmentalization can lead to dishonesty and dissociation from one’s true self. It can bring about a cognitive dissonance that separates oneself from one’s spirit.

Change happens whether we want it to or not. Some people welcome change and find ways to turn the unexpected into an opportunity for growth. Others become frightened and simply react. How we handle the inevitable changes in life is key to living a life without fear. The right attitude can mean the difference between allowing unexpected life changes to keep us from achieving our goals or dealing with the changes and growing because of them.

When we are confronted with unforeseen changes in our lives, our first response may be to either run away from it or fight against it. Run or fight is an inborn survival instinct that occurs when we feel threatened. Fueled by adrenaline, the run or fight response is exhausting and leaves us feeling overwhelmed. However, there are steps we can take to gain control of our fear, embrace the challenge and turn adversity into an avenue for success.