Setting Limits and Maintaining
Them - Page 1 of 3
Of all the time-saving techniques ever developed, perhaps the most effective is the frequent use of the word NO.
--Edwin C. Bliss
A common definition of a "limit" is a point, an edge, or a line beyond which something cannot or may not proceed. But the word limit can be used both literally and figuratively. Physical limits are represented by such things as fences, gates, property lines or the wide yellow tape that police use to designate a crime scene as "off limits."
We can also use the word in a figurative sense. A good
definition of a figurative, or non-physical limit would be: an extent
beyond which an activity or function cannot or should not take place.
Setting limits, then, is when we determine and make known to others
the extent to which we will accept certain things. We set time limits
and deadlines. We specify the terms of a contractual agreement. We
often make decisions about how many hours we will actually work in a
'40-hour work week.'
