00:01 - Dr. Angela J. Buckley (Host)
Are you an aspiring leader who knows you have more to offer, but you can't seem to get ahead? Do you frequently feel overwhelmed and under-supported? Listen to the Overcome to Become podcast as we talk about actionable tasks and mindsets that you can apply to begin leading yourself. Hi, I'm Dr Angela Buckley, your host and author of the Strength in Nature Leadership Series and Likeable Leadership Reflection Journals. I'm a mother, consultant, triathlete and coach In Overcome to Become. I share with you the science-backed and experienced proven lessons I've learned in my own leadership journey to beat burnout.
00:38
Hello, welcome to another episode of Overcome to Become the podcast, where we explore powerful strategies for personal and professional growth. I'm Dr Angela Buckley, your host, and today we're discussing the re-establishment of boundaries, a crucial step for returning to balance after life's inevitable disruptions, such as health events or demanding projects. Listen, it's our first episode of 2025, and I would like to thank you all for being here and being patient with me. I am recovering from a wonderful sinus infection over these holiday breaks and if you hear a little bit of nasal and a little bit of deeper voice this morning, I apologize, but thank you for sticking with me and thank you for tuning in, because I can imagine no better topic than reestablishing our boundaries after a holiday season, after a holiday season after a round of illness, and how we are pushing ourselves to keep up with the productivity demands of our busy personal lives as well as our work lives, and sometimes we just need a little bit of help, and reestablishing boundaries is a big part of that. So thanks for being here. I appreciate you. I appreciate your listening. If you find value in this podcast, please drop a star. Rate us a five star, share with your friends. I am sure that there is someone out there in your friends group who would benefit from this podcast. Overcome to Become.
02:28
So understanding boundaries, flexibility and the necessity to flex Boundaries change naturally as we flex, as we navigate life's challenges. But it's also important and essential to recognize the need for re-establishing boundaries as part of our rest and recovery. When I talk about nature, the reason I use nature as such an important tool for learning and observing is that we can see how nature naturally considers itself growing and resting and recovering and springing forth, and the winter season is a great time for sleep, not necessarily always bursting forth in January, despite what you will hear from all of the mindset coaches and business coaches to go out and get 2025. And I absolutely agree go out and get 2025. But the winter season is a time for recovery and health and rest, and this may be a great time to establish your boundaries and re-establish your boundaries, because this is when our bodies are naturally going to want to sleep a little bit more, because when the spring comes, we need to be prepared. So let's take some time to reflect on the importance of looking at what nature is doing around us and mimicking that in order to be super successful and essential to the people around us. So if nature does it, we can do it.
04:20
Why does flexibility happen? Why does flexibility happen? Research indicates that flexibility in our boundaries occur to adapt to the immediate demands and they can temporarily benefit our personal and our professional lives. So what does that mean? It's natural, when you have a really big project that you need to push, you're going to put more hours into your work life and fewer hours into your social life. But it's important to also pull back at the end of these projects and recover, and that's when we talk about reestablishing those boundaries.
04:58
Psychological studies, such as those by burnout prevention scholars, highlight that returning to established boundaries aids in reducing that stress and preventing burnout, and this step is super vital for maintaining long-term well-being. The waves ebb and flow. There is a natural flow to a month. There is a natural flow to the year. How do you recognize that there is a natural flow to your projects and to your own well-being? How do we have those conversations with the people around us?
05:37
Let's talk about some strategies for re-establishing these boundaries. One we want to reflect on our priorities Again. Big projects helping someone who's getting through a difficult life situation might take up more time than normal, but we need to also be able to reflect on our own personal priorities and assess which boundaries need reinforcement in order to align with your current values and goals. Research shows that clarity in personal priorities and values aids in setting effective boundaries. 2025 is going to be the year of value-based leadership, and that also means value-based priorities, boundaries setting yourself up for success. Alignment in this category will help you prevent burnout. Okay, fantastic, but how do we communicate that clearly and positively? We're going to approach these conversations with our partners and team members by first acknowledging and thanking them for the past flexibility and clearly stating your renewed boundaries. Encourage an open dialogue to discuss any concerns. Remember, last week we were really talking about the spirit method of acknowledging how someone is supporting you in your life, goals and values. Use that method on a regular basis. Practice those mental reps of being specific, personal, impactful, relevant, inclusive and timely and have them understand how important their support of you is in moving forward with your aligned goals and values.
07:39
Take a moment and reflect. Who is someone who has successfully realigned their work-life balance in your life? What can you learn from their projects? What can you learn from how they interacted with the people around them and how? Is something that they're doing on a regular basis something that you can adopt into your day-to-day life? Is it the tone that they have in their conversations? Is it Sunday afternoon meal prep so that they don't have crazy decision making that needs to happen during the rest of the week? Is it I absolutely turn off my phone at 8 30 at night and do not accept anything but the most important phone calls? Understanding what works for them because they're in your inner circle might be something that you are able to adapt for yourself. So take a look around and see what's working for the people in your inner circle and see how you can adapt that for yourself.
08:47
And then you want to have those conversations directly with the people that are impacting your boundaries, emphasize how establishing and reestablishing these boundaries can help you regain control and well-being in your personal life that allows you to be prepared for the next challenge that's coming along, and place that in those terms that you're taking care of yourself in order to be prepared to care for the others around you. When we talk about leadership, we're talking about leading ourself first, because you cannot pour from an empty cup and I don't mean that as such a trite phrase or anything but in order for you to have energy to help others, you have to have energy to care for yourselves. And that is the important point that you want to bring across when you're asking people to help you reestablish those boundaries so that you are successful in supporting them, and then, as you move through this conversation, focus again on really expressing the gratitude and encouraging that support. So gratitude plays such an essential role in strengthening relationships and facilitating the boundary resetting process. Thank your family or team member for their understanding during these intense periods. You had a project, someone had a health event. Everybody stepped in and did a little bit of extra. This is really critical, but now we need to move to the next point.
10:41
A study from Harvard University suggests that expressing gratitude strengthens social bonds and fosters an environment of mutual respect. Respect, express that gratitude and show how these are tying into your values. Have you seen other people demonstrate the spirit method and understand how that has impacted the values that led to improved team dynamics and your individual well-being? We learn when we look. We see what we look for. If we're looking for healthy lifestyles, we will see healthy lifestyles and we can learn from the people who are practicing them. When we see people practicing gratitude, we can learn from how they are practicing gratitude. And so take a look around and see where you can create those story points in your life. And then, once again, as you're having these conversations, let's just reinforce the importance of healthy boundaries.
11:45
Healthy boundaries are crucial because we need to understand how they impact us individually and how they impact the people around us. When we share boundaries, we understand how we can interact with the people around us and the events that impact us. We can move from reacting emotionally yes, acknowledge those emotions but our actions can be more controlled and responsive instead of reactive, because we can increase our focus, we can increase our productivity and that leads to an emotional regulation that improves our overall health. So the other thing that we want to talk about is that when we are really focusing on healthy boundaries, we're looking at life in a long-term view. Boundaries contribute to sustainable personal well-being and professional growth because we can understand that when we rest and then push and then rest and then we push, that's actually how muscles develop. We talk about mental muscle, but it's also the same in our physical body. So understanding that when we set healthy boundaries that include our values and our physical needs and our spiritual needs, and having those conversations with the people that are around us, we are contributing to our long-term health and we are role modeling good behaviors for the people who are looking to us. Be an inspiration to the people who are around you by establishing those boundaries in a healthy, kind and firm manner. As we conclude, remember that re-establishing your boundaries is a key setup in nurturing your recovery and long-term resilience. Communicate openly, express gratitude as you go and focus on the enduring benefits of healthy boundaries.
14:10
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Overcome to Become. If you found value here, please consider sharing this episode with your friends and colleagues. Until next time, keep overcoming to become your best self with renewed strength and clarity. You've just listened to another episode of Overcome to Become. Thank you for joining me, angela Buckley, your host, as we explored actions and mindsets to overcome the overwhelm and beat burnout. Did you know that when you learn to lead yourself, you can effectively learn to lead others? You can apply these skills in your home, at work and in the community. If you'd like to learn more, join us in the Strength in Nature Learning Academy. We are currently featuring the Overcome the Overwhelm course with a 20% off coupon code OTB2024. That's valid until the end of 2024. You can join me in my community at wwwstrengthinnaturecom and on Instagram at creativelyefficient. Thanks for listening. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
