10 Boundaries Therapists Want You to Set in the New Year [Video]

If you want to boost your well-being in 2025, skip the New Year’s resolutions and set some boundaries instead. That means being clear about your wants, needs, and deal-breakers—and in the process, improving every aspect of your life.

There are a few types of boundaries, says Juliane Taylor Shore, a therapist in Austin and author of Setting Boundaries That Stick. Physical boundaries, for example, protect your personal space; you might enforce one by taking a step back when someone gets too close. You can also set external boundaries, which means defining for yourself what is and isn’t OK, and acting accordingly.

That makes boundaries different from a request. “If, for example, I had a family member with different political views, and I asked them to stop bringing [a certain candidate] up, that’s a direct request,” she says. “Whereas a boundary is, ‘I’m not comfortable with this conversation continuing. I’m no longer going to …