Transcript

Setting Boundaries Without Losing Empathy · Northman Coaching

Gary: You are not required to absorb every crisis, answer every call, or remain in a relationship that repeatedly harms you. You can recognize another person's pain without becoming responsible for managing their life. You can offer care without offering access. You can wish someone healing and still choose distance. That is especially important for people who grew up believing that they had to keep everyone happy to be safe or loved. They may confuse empathy with rescuing. They may take on another person's emotions, ignoring their own needs, But you cannot build a healthy connection by erasing yourself. Your needs do not make you selfish. Your boundaries do not prove that you lack empathy. A boundary tells the truth about what you can participate in and what you cannot. Am I supporting this person in a way that respects both of us? Or am I taking responsibility for something that belongs to them?