What we can all learn from Simone Biles about boundaries

You probably have heard of Simone Biles dropping out of the 2021 Olympics team tournament for well-being reasons.

What were your first thoughts when you heard/read it?

A few things I read were:

• Good on her for prioritising herself and her well-being
• She failed the team
• She should have just sucked it up and continue
• As a professional athlete, she should be able to handle the pressure

Whatever it is, here is what I think:

It does not matter what I/we think.

All that matters is what Simone Biles thinks is right for her.

As a professional coach, what I have seen Simone Biles doing is setting a boundary to protect her health.

Setting a personal boundary inevitable comes with the fact that (some) other people might not like it.

If you think about it, what Simone has done is what we all must learn to do in some areas of our lives.

As a social impact professional, you have your own pressures to deal with – tight proposal deadlines, dealing with day to day operational challenges on your programmes; a client request to revise your report; internal organisational demands – to name a few.

You might need to learn to set boundaries too.

You might have to say no to your boss for finishing off that report today because you promised your partner/children/family/friend to meet them for dinner.

You might have to define what is ‘good enough’ vs what is perfect when you finish off that report or that proposal so you can have some rest over the weekend.

You might have to delegate more and accept that not everything can be done ‘your way’, so you can feel less stressed and mentally able to do your job from a place of joy rather than anxiety.

Whatever it is, setting a boundary is hard.

And in Simone Biles case, she had to do it with the whole world watching (and judging her for it).

So, next time you are thinking of setting a boundary, maybe think of what Simone Biles did.

If she can do it, you can do it too.