In this solo wellness talk, the host of the Wings of Hope series guides listeners through the importance of setting personal boundaries and protecting one’s energy. Using the metaphor of an empty cup, she explains how over‑committing drains us, leading to overwhelm and even physical injury—illustrated by her own recent foot fracture after taking on too many obligations. She shares the series’ original artwork (two phoenixes and butterflies) as symbols of transformation, then offers concrete tools: a short meditation, journaling prompts, and reflection questions designed to help viewers recognize when to say no, assess the energy cost of commitments, and seek support or delegation. The talk emphasizes listening to the heart, breathing before deciding, and prioritising self‑care, especially for those caring for children, parents, or partners. The speaker ends with an encouraging reminder to protect one’s energy and a promise to return next month.
Chapters
Hello everyone, and welcome to Wings of Hope Month Six. And we are passionate about protecting our energy and the big keyword as Brené Brown: da da da da da da boundaries. So it's all about learning how to switch off the head from. It's thinking of all the shoulds that you should— like I've said, I'll commit to this and this, and I'll do that and that without ever taking a breath. Breathe in. And then feeling into our heart if we actually have the capacity to do it. Because what happens, and I am 100% guilty of this, is we take on too much and then we end up feeling overwhelmed, run down, depleted. We have no energy left from— for ourselves. And we've all heard the saying that you can't give from an empty cup. So boundaries and protecting your energy is one of the crucial parts of the puzzle to keep that cup from just being empty all the time. And like, they are correct when they say you can't run on empty, and we don't expect our cars to, but we do expect ourselves to. So, um, I'll just note that we've got the beautiful Wings of Hope background here now, so we can have a look at that. Look at that, aren't they amazing, those 2 phoenixes? I absolutely love them. I created that artwork, um, back in February when I, um, envisioned the Wings of Hope, um, and I just thought the 2 phoenixes rising from the ashes with the butterflies, another symbol of transformation. were just so fitting and perfect for us to use as our Wings of Hope mascot, I suppose we would call it. Yes. So we have got the meditation for you. We have the journaling and some prompting and some reflection questions, which are also really good just to dig a little bit deeper into, are you saying yes When you should be saying no. And I know for myself, I am really bad at this. So just because you can do it doesn't mean you should. Like, how much is it costing you in your energy to do that certain thing, attend that event? Maybe, um, I don't know what it is, like drive kids here, drive kids there. Like, are we also Again, guilty. Martyring ourselves, where could we maybe find some support? Like maybe, maybe especially if you're not feeling that well. Actually, that's a really good point. You know, when you're not feeling that well or you might be sick as anything and you, you're forced to delegate, you actually can't do it. But let's see if we can wind that back a bit and not get to the point where we're sick and need to delegate and actually um, treat our energy reserves not as finite, as, as a cup. And if you see your cup is at half full, don't start piling on extra obligations. So anyway, um, this is— look, there we go, that could be an extra obligation, me going to an event on a Wednesday night and threw myself across a tree, um, root in some bitumen and broken, fractured, and dislocated my foot. I've got bruises everywhere as well. Um, maybe a little gentle nudge from the universe that I was taking on too much. So it wasn't that gentle, actually. It was pretty ferocious. So I hope you love month 6 and boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. Uh, and as a reformed— well, I still touch and go, touch and go. Look, universal proof that I don't listen to my own advice. But just learning to take a deep breath in and just look at your schedule and actually ask your heart Is this right for me? Like, I know we are— we do have a lot of obligations, etc., especially if you have kids and/or parents that need looking after, or, um, siblings, anything, a partner, all these people that need looking after. But just make sure that you're looking after you, and if you need help, to ask for it. So I hope you have a lovely month, and I'll see you next month. Bye!
