One of my 1:1 balance clients has been seeing me in relation to a few issues that she is clearing in her life.

One of them is the fact that she is a sensitive softly spoken person who is learning to find her voice among the more forthright and opinionated family members that surround her.

Through our sessions we have discovered that she has not been able to voice her opinions, but that she also gets overwhelmed when her family members and some colleagues talk at her instead of with her. Below are some affirmations that she’s practiced that have helped her recently.

Polite Ways of Telling People to Err.. Shut up

1. I’d prefer not to chat about this right now

2. This sounds like a topic for someone more experienced than me. Maybe try chatting to Erika.

3. How about you tell me about this later when I’m not so busy

4. I’ve only got a few minutes right now, so lets chat about this when I can give you more time

5. I wish I could be there for you, but there’s a lot going on for me right now so lets chat another time

6. We have different opinions about this, and to be honest, I’d prefer not to hear yours right now

7. It sounds like you’re really passionate about this. Wouldn’t you prefer to chat to someone that can appreciate you more than I can right now?

8. I’d prefer not to listen to your anger about this, when’s a better time for us to chat?

Some tend to work better with some people than with others, and the trick to remember is repetition. Maintain your boundary instead of getting caught up I how others react to you. Are there any particular words, phrases or affirmations that have worked particularly well for you? I’d love it if you shared them.