Have you struggled with responding with compassion and love when an individual challenges your boundaries or your truth? Listen to this episode of the Caring for the Caregivers podcast as Indrani and special guest, Mark Silver, share their wisdom and experience with addressing challenging responses and staying in your power when faced with challenge.

00:00 Intro
01:30 Indrani- Scenario and Introduction of Guest Speaker, Mark Silver
08:02 Mark- How to use training and practice for challenging responses
10:20 Discussion
14:16 Mark- saying No from a place of strength
18:25 Spiritual Power Discussion
25:20 Honoring the Physical Vessel
32:03 Summary and conclusion

LINK: Mark Silver- Heart of Business

Does this sound familiar: you are rushing to leave for work, helping your partner find their keys, packing lunches into backpacks, trying to put dinner in the crockpot, trying to remember your keys, then finally making it out the door. Once you arrive at work you have a meeting with your supervisor, are asked to get something from the supply room (which leads to three more people wanting something), then one of the residents asks you to talk about a big challenge they are facing.

How are you going to do all of this at once, and make everyone happy?

The short answer: you can’t.

The long answer: listen to this episode of the Caring for the Caregivers podcast and learn some important tools you can use to control the overwhelm of trying to help everyone at once.

00:00 Intro
01:16 Scenario
02:36 Indrani – Make a list, and learn to grow your self-empathy bucket
13:52 Discussion
17:42 Amy – using your values to say a positive “No”
28:13 Jeremie – applying these lessons to your organization (and to puppies!)
35:26 Discussion
38:05 Summary and conclusion

LINK: Kristen Neff’s Self-compassion test

LINK: Dan Siegel’s Hand Model of the Brain

BOOK: The Power of a Positive No – William Ury

In this episode Indrani and Dr. Anita Sands share their experiences and the tools they’ve used to manage fear with the adversities they’ve faced. Anita also shares her story of coping with changes in her professional life after becoming a mother.

00:09 Introduction
02:00 Welcome and Introduction of Dr. Sands
5:15 Article Discussion
14:45 Asking for Help
21:15 Advice on Priorities
23:30 How Fear Shows Up
34:00  From Scarcity to Abundance
37:00 Curiosity trumps Comparison
43:38  Wrap Up
46:09 Outtro

Link to Dr. Sands Article 

Often, in life, you will find yourself stuck between two versions of yourself: the “you” that wants peace and to be satisfied doing the best you can, and the “you” that is crazily trying to do everything for everyone. In this episode Indrani will lead you through a short meditation to help you become a compassionate witness to your own self and your own energy.

00:00 Introduction
00:53 Self-Empathy Meditation
04:21 Outro

When you are feeling sad, do you forget about your whole self, focusing only on the sadness? In this episode Indrani will guide you through a meditation to connect with, and embrace, the positive you. It isn’t about changing the sadness, it is about honoring all parts of yourself, and living a whole, and healthy, life.

00:00 Introduction
00:57 Guided Meditation
08:04 Outro

Making a decision between your family and your work is never an easy task, especially when, which is more important changes with the circumstances. How can you determine when being with your family is most important? When going to work and supporting your clients is most important? In this episode Indrani, Amy, and Jeremie discuss tools you can use to make important decisions between your family and your work.

00:00 Introduction
01:20 Scenario
02:12 Jeremie – Accommodate, Avoid, Attack – How we say NO without saying NO
09:25 Discussion
17:00 Indrani – Your unreasonable “perfect should list”
23:10 Discussion
25:50 Amy – Contradictions between your different roles leading to shame
30:38 Discussion
39:00 Conclusion
40:36 Outro

You may want to get your journal out and take some notes as Indrani asks some important questions in this episode. Are you thinking about making a change in your life? What feelings come up for you during the change process? What does change mean to you?

00:00 Introduction
01:49 What do you feel when undergoing change? What is change necessary?
03:35 When change needs to be birthed
05:26 Using your energy to fight back against change
07:59 Ask others about the change they see in you
10:25 Understand that change is a constant
13:00 Writing exercise – Change means…
15:20 Outro

Indrani shares a story about a hair salon trip gone wrong, then shares how she used the Live a Brighter Life tools. Listen to the story and the discussion with Amy and Jeremie about the story to learn how you can use boundaries to stay grounded in your own truth, trust your own experiences, and remember who you are. If you don’t know your own truth, and practice it every day, people WILL cross your boundaries.

00:00 Introduction
02:29 Indrani tells the “Oil Head Massage” Story
09:26 Discussion about the story
11:36 Indrani shares her thoughts and lessons about the story
18:30 How to set boundaries around your truth
22:30 Journaling as a practical tool for keeping centered and knowing your truth
28:45 Using visualizations to help set boundaries
34:20 Conclusion
36:18 Outro

This episode Indrani shares a personal story about problems with a “non-huggable” coat, being surprised by the perfect dress, and how saying “NO” to the little things and setting small boundaries is the key to making big changes to your relationships. Indrani also shares an awareness exercise you can use to observe your own boundaries and where you need to be saying “NO” in your daily life.

00:00 Introduction
00:46 Indrani tells her story
06:29 Indrani shares lessons from the story
08:01 Indrani shares an awareness exercise
09:18 Summary
10:43 Outro

Sheryl Sandberg wrote this book after husband died suddenly. The book explores how Sheryl and her children recover and rebound from the horrible event while building their reslience, finding greater meaning, and gaining a greater appreciation for their lives. This is part two of a longer discussion where Indrani, Amy, Stacie, and Jeremie share their takeaways from reading the book and how you can apply Sheryl’s lessons to the daily challenges you are experiencing at work and in your personal life.

00:00 Introduction
00:57 Jeremie – Building resilience together
07:45 Discussion
09:52 Amy – Adding a bit of humour
15:03 Discussion
19:30 Conclusion
21:13 Outro

BOOK: Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy

LINK: VIA Strengths Survey