The Amish have a saying, “good fences make good neighbors.”
In order for people to get along well, a certain degree of boundaries is necessary.
There are two ways that the boundaries are supposed to work. One is that they must exist. You truly do teach people how to treat you. You are either teaching them to respect you or you are teaching them that they do not have to respect you. So, the first thing you must do is have them. It is acceptable and even necessary to have boundaries to keep other people out of certain areas of your life.
The second way they work is that you must respect the boundaries of others. They are there for a reason. When you ignore a boundary, you are disrespecting the person with the boundary. You are telling them that their desires are not important to you. You are telling them that you do not respect them.
Establish your own boundaries and respect the boundaries of others.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 