The Jefferson Fisher Podcast - Weak Boundaries Sound Like This

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

If you struggle to say no, you might not have a boundary problem—you might have an overexplaining problem. In this episode, I break down why giving too many reasons weakens your boundaries, turns your no into a negotiation, and makes it easier for people to push past your limits. I’ll show you how to set firm boundaries with fewer words, stronger statements, and simple phrases you can use right away to protect your time, energy, and peace. Order The Next Conversation Workbook: https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/workbook Thank you to our sponsors: Cozy Earth. Upgrade Your Every Day. Get 20% off at cozyearth.com/jefferson or use code JEFFERSON at check out. Notion: Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/jefferson  Wayfair. Visit https://www.wayfair.com/  BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/jeffersonfisher for a discount on your first month of therapy. Order my book, The Next Conversation, or listen to the full audiobook today. Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review! Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show!  Want a FREE communication tip each week? Click here to join my newsletter.  Join My School of Communication Watch my podcast on YouTube  Follow me on Instagram  Follow me on TikTok Follow me on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Getting ready for a game means being ready for anything. Like packing a spare stick. I like to be prepared. That's why I remember, 988, Canada's suicide crisis helpline. It's good to know, just in case. Anyone can call or text for free confidential support from a train responder anytime. 988 suicide crisis helpline is funded by the government in Canada. In this day and age, we've found a new way to break our own boundaries, disrespect our own boundaries.

and that is simply by over-explaining them. If you are listening to this episode and you happen to be an over-explainer, you know exactly how defeating it is to feel like I have this boundary that I want to set, but gosh, it's just not setting the right way. What am I doing wrong? Well, I am going to tell you exactly why

overexplaining is slowly washing away every hard line that you make in the sand. And at the end of this episode, I'm going to give you some takeaway points, some statements that you can use to make sure that that doesn't happen again because your boundaries are statements. There are not things that are up for discussion. Big difference. All that and more coming up. Welcome to the Jefferson Fisher podcast where I'm on a mission to make your next conversation, the one that changes everything. I have a short announcement and that is something exciting for me. That is the next conversation workbook is officially out for sale. You can find the links down in the show notes, short, practical,

exercises for arguing less and talking more. If you enjoy learning tips and getting into things like my book or the workbook or the next conversation, I'm going to ask that we're ever listening, wherever you are listening, you find the button that says subscribe and click it. It won't take any second. It won't take any money. It's just something that it's free. It's easy. And it tells the platforms that I make content on that is good, solid content. So that's my promise to you. Thank you. This podcast is sponsored by Cozy Earth. I love Cozy Earth. You know this. of this podcast because the products are just so doggone cozy. I was traveling all this past weekend. We went to L.A. around the area. And then before that, we were in Dallas. And you know what I wore

on the plane? I wore cozy earth. The sweatshirts that they have are probably the best sweatshirts around. And especially in California, I don't know for whatever reason. It's the weather. I think really when it gets like really cold at night, that hot in the day. A sweatshirt is the right thing to wear a lot of the time. Cozy Earth, to me, makes the best ones. And I'll tell you the other thing that's been kind of a coveted thing in our house is they have this blanket. They call the cuddle blanket. And it's definitely something you want to cuddle with. So it kind of gets passed around in our house and something that we really, really enjoyed from bed sheets to bath towels. Cozy Earth makes the best, the most comfortable premium cozy products there is. You can go to

cozyearth.com slash Jefferson. Use the coach Jefferson and get up to 20% off. That's CozyEarth.com slash Jefferson. Use the Go Jefferson and get up to 20% off with a 100-9 risk-free trial. And I think a 10-year warranty, you really can't go wrong. Check them out. And now, back to the episode. More than you could ever know, over-explaining is weakening the very platform that you're wanting to walk on. It is turning the ground before you into sinking sand because you don't know how to set it into concrete. You're walking in it before it sets. How does that cause problems for boundaries? Here is the simple breakdown that I see every single time. When I'm talking to people that I meet who are asking me information or I'm doing some kind of live Q&A or a message

or something in my inbox, this is what I see most of the time. They say, hey, look, I set this boundary and all of a sudden I feel like they are pushing on me and I give in every single time. And what I ask is, well, how many words do you use to set your boundary? They say what? I said, how many words did you use? How many sentences did you use to set your boundary? And right then and there, they kind of go back and start thinking and it's like, that's it. If you have to go back and wonder, okay, how long did I talk? How long did I set that? There's your your, your son. sign right there is that it took too many words. Here is the classic example. Somebody asked you to do something. And by the way, here on this episode, the boundary we're going to really be

talking on is when you need to say no to things. You're needing to decline things, not just invitations, but just somebody's asking something from you and you need to say no. So classic example here is somebody asks you, hey, can you help on this project? And you use, and you start to say, no, I really can't. I'm just so because I'm so, and you start to give justification, maybe context for, no, you know, because I'm just so busy and here's where it breaks down. What the other person hears is not no, they hear, I would say yes, but because of all these obstacles, I can't, you know, I can't do it. And they think, oh, Okay, then if I just remove these obstacles, they'll say yes.

So they start thinking of ways to get to a yes. Over-explaining your boundaries turns what is a statement, a boundary, into a negotiation. And all of a sudden, they start seeing it as problem-solving. over-explaining turns boundaries into a problem-solving mission for the other person. Now they're thinking, okay, what can I do? So if you say, no, I really can't do that, I'm just so busy. They go, oh, it's okay, it's only going to take five minutes. They go, okay, how can I get to a yes?

I'm sorry, I'm just really, I'm really overwhelmed at the moment. Oh, that's okay, I'll do this for you. That's okay, you want to move this to a different day? You want to push the deadline? To get to a yes, they see it as a problem-solving mission. They see it as a problem to solve, and that's not what you want. Boundaries are not negotiations. And the more words you add after no, the more it looks like it's soft ground, that it's

up for negotiation, it's up for debate. Here's some ways that this causes problems in your life. Number one, when you over-explain, you create the illusion that not only is it a problem you're asking them to solve, it's ground that they think that they can barter in negotiation all of a sudden. Because it's not a strong no, they feel like it's a soft yes. and they will start to try and wiggle around it. Here's an example.

I had a lady once who said, look, Jefferson, every year, you know, I host Thanksgiving at my house. And I don't want to do it this year. You know, I'm retired. The kids are grown. They have kids of their own. A lot of times we stay here because they really don't want to pay for a hotel, but they could.

And I have to clean and fix everything. and I have to make every breakfast and cater around it. She said, I really, I just really don't want to do it. I said, all right, have you communicated to that, to them already? She said, yeah, yes, I have. I said, okay, how did you communicate that to them? She said, in a text. I said, okay, well, read the text to me.

And you know what the text said? The text was, I would really love to, but I just feel like I am a little tired right now, and I feel like it's going to be a little too hectic. It wouldn't y'all rather probably stay somewhere else because I don't feel like the house is as clean as it could be. That was what she thought the boundary was. And you know what the text back from her adult children were? That's okay.

It doesn't have to be fancy. That's okay. It doesn't have to be perfect and picked up. That's okay. We just really want to be able to relax and be casual. And you know good and well that that sounds great. But when they're in the house and it's hectic, and kids are running everywhere and you don't feel like

this is a good place for you in your life anymore. You're at a different stage where you go, oh, I'm tired. This is not, y'all invite me to something. Don't make me host everything. I said, how does that set a hard, how is that cement? You're giving them sand. They're giving them things to play with in the conversation.

She said, well, yeah, I guess you're right. So we broke it down. into ways that I'm going to explain at the end of this episode. But this is how it happens where you think you said no. But really what you did was just open it for negotiation and what her two adult kids were now trying to problem solve. That's okay. We'll take care of breakfast or we'll buy the groceries, meaning you'll take care of us.

You hear what I mean? So whenever you feel like you are asserting a boundary, I want you to look at how much am I over explaining in that. Number two, over-explaining kills the boundary because it gives them more things to push against. It gives them more cards to deal with. So whenever you feel like, oh, man, somebody's just pushing on me. Like, you're okay with the first no or the second no. But if they keep pushing you again, you kind of go, oh, okay, I guess, yeah.

The more explanation you give, the more justification you give, the more you're going to get it back threefold. you have to keep your boundaries, the nose, short, and to the point. Before we keep going, I want to take a moment to tell you about Notion. Notion is a product that I've used myself for many years, both in the law firm, in different businesses, and in this media business of what I'm doing now with the podcast. And I'll tell you, you know what eats up more time than the actual work. It's all the little things around the work. It's the status updates, the task assigning, you know how it goes. That's why I've been using Notion for several years, and especially now, with a new feature they call custom agents.

Notion is an AI-powered connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, documents, and projects into one space that just works. It's seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use. With the AI built right in, you spend less time switching between tools and apps and more time creating greed work. And now with Notion's new custom agents, the busy work that used to take hours or really never actually happened at all runs itself. One of my favorite features is a status update agent, which every week it scans what I've been doing and pulls key updates and turns it into our port

automatically that I can see. I don't have to chase notes or try and remember everything every single week. The custom agents automate repetitive workflows right inside of Notion. Unlike most AI, you don't have to wait to prompt them. They run on schedules and triggers like real teammates with specific jobs. Try custom agents now at notion.com slash Jefferson. That's all lowercase letters. Notion.com slash Jefferson to try custom agents today. Now when you use our link, you're supporting our show. Thank you so much. Notion.com slash Jefferson. And now let's keep going. Number three, I'm going to give you some solutions to that. All right? I know if you've been, you've been hanging on, Jefferson, how do we solve it? What do we do about it? I'm going to tell you.

I like to teach. If you can't say no in one breath, is not sharp enough. Meaning if you have to take a breath in explaining everything, there's a problem with that. And you might go, okay, Jefferson, challenge, except because I can take a big breath and just get it all out. That's not what I'm talking about. All right. If you are at a place where you say no, because, that's the problem.

Eliminate the because. If you want to set a hard boundary with that person in your life, you have to eliminate the because, the justification. You have to. As soon as you start giving context that they didn't ask for, they didn't ask for it, you're just giving it to them because it makes you feel uncomfortable. The simple no makes you feel uncomfortable. So you're giving them more information. And while you think that's helpful, what you're actually doing is setting them on a problem solving mission. When you say, no, I can't because I'm so busy, they go, oh, that's okay.

It's only going to take five minutes. Oh, you know what? I really can't have everybody over. Oh, that's okay. We'll make it easy. It doesn't have to be fancy. You see how every time you're making them flip it over on you, and so you give up because they've seemingly solved the problem that you've set out.

They hear, remember, they hear if I solve these. problems, I'll get to yes. That's really what it comes down to. And you say no, because everything else is saying, this is my obstacle. So what you're communicating is, it would be a yes if you can remove these obstacles for me. And they go, oh, okay, well, let me see if I can remove all these obstacles. And that's why they start shooting all these. Well, you could come here. Well, what if we do this? We can do our own thing. And they try to find ways to get to a yes. So because the justification, the context is hurting you. So what can you say instead? As little as possible. I'm not saying that you just say no period because that doesn't fix everything. Yes, I agree and I'm one to say it. No is a complete sentence to me that no period depending on the person really should come on like round three if they keep pushing against you. Meaning if you were to out. If you were to out. asked me to invite me to something and I needed to say no,

or maybe you needed my help with something and I just didn't. It was a no for me. It's not something I wanna do. I'm gonna say it's not in the cards for me. Or I don't have the bandwidth or the capacity. I like using those two words, bandwidth or capacity. I don't have the capacity for that right now. And if they push again, it's I can't period.

They try again, it's no period. Otherwise, I'm just not gonna respond. I'm going to ignore the text, the email, and they're going to have to approach me in person, where I'm going to say, yeah, it's a no. That's not something I'm going to do. Or I've, and I've done this plenty of times, I slow down my words and I'll say, the answer is no. I hear it. I hear all the explanation. I hear you. I understand. My answer is no. And if you're hearing that, you go, oh, Jefferson, I feel so uncomfortable. Then it's probably, the right thing you need to say. If that feels uncomfortable to you, then it's probably right.

Because that standing your ground, that firm footing, that's going to be uncomfortable to you because you haven't been doing it. You haven't been doing it. The more words you give in your explanation, the more you're giving them to work with. And so we got to stop. If it's as simple as no, I can't. Of course, if it's an invitation, you're grateful for it, yes. Tell them, thank you so much. When you give the because, I'd love to Jefferson, but, you know, I've just been so busy and, you know, I got that I have these plants that I have to water and I have a cat that I have to feed, you know, and I just got lots of things. The more it sounds like you're making stuff up and the softer that boundary sounds. Another thing that I want to give you, often when I say, I promise myself, you know, I'm, No, thank you. I promise myself that I would be home by 5 p.m. every day this week.

I promised myself that I'd be focusing on family this week. I promise myself that I'd be taking care of my health, taking care of my sleep. No, I'm not going to go out tonight. I appreciate that. Promise myself I'm going to be doing X, Y, and Z. No, I prefer to drink water. Thank you. You hear how it went every time, if I give more explanation, the softer it feels,

and the more that friend or that person in your life can kind of try and wiggle through the cracks. They're looking for where the cracks are in your wall for that boundary. And when you give more words and when you over explain, it sounds like it's up for discussion rather than a firm statement of this is what I'm going to do. So keep it simple. if you're trying to text somebody right now, if you cannot say it in one sentence, it's wrong. There's no because. There's no, well, I have to do X, Y, and Z.

Did they ask? Answer this question for me right now. Did they ask you for this information? Maybe they did after your no. Maybe you said no, and then they said why. You don't give them the explanation then. All right? all you do is repeat your boundary.

Repeat the boundary. Before we keep going, I want to take a moment to tell you about Wayfair. The new year always makes me want to reset my space because when your home feels calmer and more organized, well, life just runs better. That's why I've been using Wayfair. Wayfair has everything in one place, bedding, storage, kitchen stuff, desk decor, all of it.

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Whether you're refreshing a living room, organizing a bathroom, or getting your work from home setup, right? I know how that goes. Wayfair has it covered. So get organized, refresh, and back on track with this new year for way less. Head to Wayfair, right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. And now let's keep going. I love the phrase, not in the cards. It's not in the cards for me this weekend. Not in the cards for us this weekend. Anytime I use that phrase or I promise myself, people don't like to try and push against promises that you make for yourself. But if I, if I try and say, you know what, I've just been so stressed.

Then the other person hears, oh, well, let me try and relieve that stress by making it as easy as possible really for themselves at the end of the day, not for you. So the more you try and explain a boundary, the less it sounds like a boundary, the more it sounds like a negotiation. And that's not one you're going to win. You're going to walk away feeling empty and frustrated because you used too many words. All right. So let's break it down. Over explaining kills your boundaries. When you say no, because I have all of these

things, what the other person hears is it would be a yes, but I have these obstacles. And they go, okay, let me try and solve the problem. You want to do this, you want to do that, and you give in because they seemed to solve the problem. And then you feel too, really, you feel too embarrassed. to say no. Then it makes it sound like you're a liar. If they've removed these obstacles and then you go, no, really, I just don't want to go, right? You can't do that and it doesn't feel right.

So then you're like, okay, I guess they solved my problem. So I guess I'll say yes. When you should have just said, that's not something I really want to do. Cool. Phrases to use, no, in one breath. Nope, that's not the cards for me. No, I can't make it.

When I spoke to the sweetest lady about her not wanting to host. I said, this is what I want you to text in the group thread. Ready? Simple one statement. I'm not able to host this year, period. And she was like, well, I mean, they're going to ask. I said, yeah, they're going to ask.

Let them ask first. Don't just start giving all this information. Just wait. And you know what her son replied? Got it. Thanks, Mom. Well, they were going to go and have a, they got the hotel. tell, like that was two minutes away, all right? And they ended up having a great Thanksgiving.

She sent me a thank you email after it. So anytime you feel like, but they're going to wonder and wonder and let them, all right, let them ask because they have the agency to do that. Don't feel their feelings for them, right? Simple short statements. If you can't say it one sentence, if you can't say it one breath, that I am going to implore you to rethink. how you're setting your boundary. Are you really setting the boundary? Are you just opening the floor for negotiation? That's going to be a losing game at the end of it. As always, you can try that and follow me.