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.

The fifth energy center, located at the throat, is primarily associated with creative expression. Its key theme is speaking the truth – expressing who we are, what we feel, and what we believe – whether through verbal or nonverbal communication.  Sound comes through the throat and enables expression through spoken words and the songs we sing. The “messengers” of the fifth energy center are voice and choice.

We manifest how we live,  what we wear, what we eat, and even what our dreams are by giving them voice. Choice gives voice to our desires and, in turn, our voice expresses our choice.

There is something intoxicating about fear. We all face it every single day. We face the fear that the people we encounter will instinctively judge us because of how we look. We face the fear of making a poor first impression. We face the fear that we will not, at every moment, be our best and that this will somehow cause us to fail.

All of this fear can choke us, stopping us in our tracks. We intellectually know that we shouldn’t let it. But somehow, it sneaks in and can strangle the creativity in our lives.

The core lesson in this chapter is based on one you learned as a child: “If you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all.” We only have to modify this adage a little so that “somebody” includes yourself and the situations in which you find yourself.

The idea is, very simply, to reach for a positive feeling before you speak, whether it’s in your head or out loud. If you can learn to do this one thing, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel and, consequently, how much your relationships and your life will improve as well.