How can you make changes in your life and focus on new areas when you have all these other things going on? I know how overwhelming this is, but it doesn’t have to be. The trick is finding places you can pull back in so that you can move forward in other aspects of your life. Let’s talk about evaluating your life, setting goals, and sticking to your new boundaries.   How to Pull Back to Move Forward Reflect on what areas feel heavy Check-in weekly on how different areas of your life went  Determine what your primary goal is and focus on that Stick to your boundaries   Pulling Back to Move Forward I get it, life can be totally overwhelming. You want to make changes in so many areas, but you can’t see how to actually go about it. I want to ask you, what would it look like if you did pull back in your life? What if things could be different, maybe better, by doing something different or by doing the same things with less intensity? Think about your life from a different perspective and what could come of it. I like to do this by checking in with myself weekly. What went well? How did it feel? Are there areas where you feel you didn’t put your best in but that’s actually the area you’d like to focus on? Once you’ve identified where your goals and priorities lie, you can start pulling back in the areas of your life that aren’t best serving you – whether right now in this moment or long-term.   The Importance of Boundaries The next piece is setting some boundaries. These boundaries are both with yourself and with others. The most important part of this step is actually sticking to those boundaries… it’s all too easy to let them fall by the wayside to people please or because you, temporarily, think it will be easier to break them. By setting boundaries you are saying what you really want. Saying what you want lets you take the appropriate action, allowing you to show up for what you want. This whole process helps you respect yourself more. It helps others respect you more. You will start to respect others more. Essentially, you’re teaching others how to treat you. Spend some time reflecting on your life. What feels heavy? Do you need to pull back to move ahead? What does that look like for you? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.   In This Episode  Why you need to honor other people’s boundaries [6:30] How to do your week-long check-in [9:30] What it means to pull back [11:30] How to move ahead towards your primary goal [16:30] What happens when you balance pulling back and moving forward 21:30] The importance of setting boundaries with yourself [23:00] What happens when you say, ‘No’ [25:00]   Quotes “How can we evaluate the expectations? Not that we expect less, I’m not saying that all of a sudden we should just start doing nothing and setting the bar really low, but evaluating the expectations and learning the specific thoughts we tell ourselves that make our job feel really heavy.” [11:40] “I love that question: How often do you say, ‘yes’ and regret it versus how often do you say, ‘no’ and regret it? Most of us would say, ‘yes’ and regret it before we would say, ‘no’ and regret it. It’s interesting.” [24:07] “A lot of times when we really say what we want, and we take action that shows up for what we want, we can respect ourselves way more, we can respect others way more, and others will respect us move because we are teaching others how to treat us.” [25:44]   Resources Mentioned Jump Start with Ali email: mazzy@lifecoachingforwomenphysicians.com Check out the full episode page here Find Life Coaching for Women Physicians Online Follow Dr. Ali Novitsky on Facebook | Instagram  Subscribe to Life Coaching for Women Physicians on Apple Podcasts Podcast production by the team at Counterweight Creative   Related Episodes Episode 105: Go All-In On You Episode 111: Dr. Erica Howe's Walk Down The Hall of Strategy Episode 107: Optimal Health Challenge Pearls