Not in my Bucket Podcast Trailer

The Very Serious Business Bucket-Part 1

In this episode, Sarah Bentz introduces a highly guarded and complex profile: The Very Serious Business Bucket. Visualized as an industrial, industrial-strength yellow mop bucket found in a janitor's closet, this bucket is built on wheels, heavily reinforced, and wrapped in strict rules and explicit warnings like Caution: Wet Floor. Sarah reveals the poignant reality behind of the exterior: the rigid guardrails and warnings are actually a form of deep protection to keep people away from the "dirty water" hidden inside. Whether it is early childhood trauma or the paralyzing fear of being blindsided, carrying this heavy burden colors how we view the entire world. Sarah bravely shares her own internal narrative as a recovering survivor, highlighting how unresolved trauma impacts our bodies, blocks deep relationships, and creates false systems of safety. Ultimately, this multi-part series maps out how to abandon industrial armor and rediscover the light, joyful freedom of a simple sand bucket. What You Will Learn: * Welcome back: Transitioning into the heavy reality of a brand-new bucket type. * The Yellow Mop Bucket Metaphor: The industrial parts, handles, wheels, and dual water compartments. * The Warning Signs: Decoding the external Caution signs we post to keep others at a safe distance. * Unpacking the "Dirty Water": Defining childhood trauma and how its developmental timing shapes identity. * Guarding against the blindside: How unpredictable past pain forces us to build rigid relationship defenses. * Fragile Self-Awareness: Why investing entirely in your outer armor leaves the inner self unexamined. * The Rule Book Trap: Embracing legalism and a hyper-rigid worldview under the illusion of safety. * The Cost of Intimacy: Overcoming the core shame and fear that if people truly knew you, they would leave. * Automatic Triggers: Deconstructing irrational trauma responses like Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn. * Somatic Memory: Tracking how trauma gets physically stored in your face and jaw , neck, shoulders, and pelvic floor. * The Illusion of Trauma Bonding: The comfort—and hidden hazards—of connecting through shared wounds. * "I Am Responsible": Sarah opens up about her personal childhood trauma belief and how it manifests as neck pain. * The Grad School Sofa Story: Recognizing the moment Sarah tried to make her own history look like a badge of strength. * Finding Help: The critical importance of working exclusively with a trauma-informed, trauma-trained counselor. * Reclaiming the Sand Bucket: Shedding rigid structures for a bright, cheerful bucket built for play and zero rules. Standout Quotes: * "This bucket is full of things that you just don't know what to do with, and you've just been protecting it for your whole entire life." * "The younger you are that a trauma happened, the more impact it has on your life, your identity, because you were not capable of sifting through that." * "There is no cognition in trauma... Your response to protecting dirty water doesn't make sense." * "Every experience goes through the same bucket... and everything that happens, everything we do gets sifted through that trauma." * "We don't need this very serious business bucket to just protect our dirty water anymore. It's time that we move forward so we can carry that sand bucket." Grab Your Merchandise! * Official Podcast Merch: Keep your boundary reminders front and center! Grab the official shirt line (including the fan-favorite Stop Shoulding on Yourself tee) with free shipping in the US! Shop the collection here: Not In My Bucket Merchandise Collection [https://hopeandgrowthcenter.com/collections/not-in-my-bucket-merch]. Let's Connect with Sarah Bentz * Email: notinmybucket@hopeandgrowthcenter.com * Website: www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com [https://www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com/] Be sure to like and subscribe and share this deeply honest episode with someone who is ready to unpack their very serious business bucket! Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by NEXT DAY PODCAST [https://www.nextdaypodcast.com/]

The Collector's Bucket: Part 3

In this episode, Sarah Bentz celebrates a massive milestone: reaching over 500 followers in just five weeks. She expresses deep gratitude to the listeners before wrapping up the final installment of her three-part series on The Collector's Bucket. While the collector's profile represents the painful reality of living without an understanding of boundaries, Sarah reveals that it also holds the greatest potential for beautiful redemption once you learn to clear out the emotional clutter and secure your protective lid. Sarah unpacks the final set of foundational "Boundary Rights," shifting the focus toward real action and accountability. She challenges listeners to stop making life choices based on the heavy, unvetted opinions of others and to embrace the freedom of making mistakes, delaying big decisions, and utilizing "No" as a complete sentence. What You Will Learn: * Episode milestone: Thanking the community for reaching 500 followers. * The Journey of Redemption: Shifting from the messy Collector's Bucket to the secure Shaker Sugar Bucket. * Series Recap: A quick walkthrough of the first eight boundary rights discussed in Parts 1 and 2. * Boundary Right #9: The right to make choices and mistakes—and take responsibility for them. * How making choices based on other people's emotional baggage leads to a culture of blame. * Unpacking Peer Pressure: Why filtering your life through 20 different worldviews and traumas results in poor decisions. * Boundary Right #10: The right to delay decisions, consider the true cost, and ask for more information. * Considering the Cost: Paraphrasing the architectural wisdom of analyzing your physical and mental capacities before building. * Boundary Right #11: The right to state "I don't know" and "I don't understand" without shame. * Counseling 101: Swapping out judgmental "Why" questions for the empowering phrase, "Help me understand." * Boundary Right #12: The right to say "Yes" and the right to say "No". * No is a full sentence: Overcoming the urge to over-explain or defend your limits against external opinions. * Admitting you are a "recovering people-pleaser" and managing the daily battle of boundary protection. * Final Series Call to Action: Slicing through your collection of guilt, breathing out, and honoring your inner value. Standout Quotes: * "The collector's bucket is that sad bucket... but it has the most redemption when a collector can clean out their bucket and put that lid on that sugar bucket." * "We have a right to make choices, but we need to make those choices based on what belongs to us." * "No is a full sentence. You don't owe anybody an explanation of why you say no." * "We don't give ourselves enough opportunities to say yes in the purest way—in a way that says, 'I've got everything taken care of and a yes is going to work.'" * "Protect that bucket with everything you have, because what belongs inside is precious. Treat it like it's precious." Grab Your Merchandise! * Official Podcast Merch: Support the show and wear your boundaries proudly! Shop the exclusive collection here: Not In My Bucket Merchandise Collection. [https://hopeandgrowthcenter.com/collections/not-in-my-bucket-merch] Let's Connect with Sarah Bentz * Email: notinmybucket@hopeandgrowthcenter.com * Website: www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com [https://www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com/] Be sure to like and subscribe and share this three-part series finale with someone ready to put a lid on their bucket! Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by NEXT DAY PODCAST [https://www.nextdaypodcast.com/]

The Collector's Bucket Part 2

In this episode, Sarah Bentz brings us the second installment on The Collector's Bucket, continuing the vital breakdown of our core human boundary rights. In the previous episode, we learned how collectors act like open garage buckets, accidentally accumulating the emotional trash, unvetted opinions, and expectations of everyone around them. Today, Sarah introduces four additional "Boundary Rights" designed to help you build a protective lid for your life. From demanding basic respect to overcoming the fear of acknowledging your own competence, this episode dives deep into how we value ourselves. Sarah shares practical strategies on balancing your own sanity against the urge to make others happy, reminding us that you get to choose exactly when, how, and if you step in to help someone else. What You Will Learn: * [00:00] Welcome back: Recapping the first four boundary rights from Episode 06. * [01:10] The Collector's Reality Check: Reviewing how open buckets continuously absorb external emotional weight. * [01:45] Boundary Right #5: The right to be taken seriously and respected. Shifting away from letting people minimize your voice. * [02:30] Systemic Disrespect: Recognizing when long-standing relationships are built on dismissing your boundaries. * [03:15] Boundary Right #6: The right to have your needs be as important as the needs of others. Overcoming the habit of constantly putting yourself last. * [04:40] Boundary Right #7: The right to be competent and proud of your accomplishments. Overcoming the "Polished Bucket" trap and letting yourself celebrate your wins without downplaying them. * [05:45] Boundary Right #8: The right to make a decision about when and how to help others. Reclaiming your agency instead of jumping in on default. * [06:30] The Grace of Changing Your Mind: How to backtrack gracefully when you realize you accidentally agreed to something that costs your sanity. * [07:11] Putting the Lid On: How finalizing your boundary rights gives you the ultimate tool to protect your bucket. Standout Quotes: * "Their stuff cannot be more important than our own stuff, our own sanity, mainly." * "Once we recognize that we have these rights, let's put that lid on the bucket." * "We all fall short of doing that because we want to make somebody happy. We want to be there for them. But we have to protect our bucket." * "You have the right to decide when and how you help, or if you even help at all." Let's Connect with Sarah Bentz * Email: notinmybucket@hopeandgrowthcenter.com * Website: www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com [https://www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com/] Be sure to like and subscribe and share this episode with someone who needs a reminder that their needs matter just as much as everyone else's! Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by NEXT DAY PODCAST [https://www.nextdaypodcast.com/]

The Collector's Bucket Part 1

In this episode, Sarah Bentz introduces what she considers the saddest profile in her series: The Collector's Bucket. Unlike other buckets, this profile represents individuals who don't even realize they have the right to establish limits. Visualizing it as a large, five-gallon home improvement bucket left out in a garage, Sarah explains how a collector's life becomes a catch-all for random debris—other people's unvetted opinions, emotions, and unresolved issues. To help collectors stop acting as dumping grounds, Sarah unpacks the first four foundational "Boundary Rights". She challenges the common misconception that prioritizing yourself is selfish, reframing boundaries as a selfless practice that allows you to show up more effectively for others. To conclude, Sarah introduces the beautiful imagery of a vintage 1940s Shaker "Sugar Bucket" to demonstrate how we can finally put a lid on our lives and selectively choose what we allow inside. What You Will Learn: * [00:00] Welcome back: Moving into the multi-part series on the Collector's Bucket. * [01:14] The Home Depot Bucket Metaphor: How an unprotected bucket accidentally collects everyone else's trash. * [02:05] The Filing Cabinet Discovery: The origin story of the "Basic Human Rights" handout. * [02:09] Selfish vs. Selfless: Why getting your own bucket together is the ultimate way to help others. * [02:13] Boundary Right #1: The right to have and express your own feelings and opinions. * [02:22] The Coconut Analogy: How failing to share small preferences loops you into endless compliance. * [02:40] Dating and Marriage: Narrowing down your choices instead of defaulting to "I don't care". * [02:49] Boundary Right #2: The right to refuse requests without feeling guilty or selfish. * [04:15] Boundary Right #3: The right to change and disrupt a legacy dysfunctional family system. * [04:45] The Flat Tire Theory: What happens when you step away from a system that relies on your dysfunction. * [05:34] Boundary Right #4: The right to consider your own needs, priorities, and decisions. * [05:58] Lessons from Kindergarten: Why identifying your feelings is the prerequisite to making good adult decisions. * [06:36] The Ideal Standard: Introducing the Shaker "Sugar Bucket" and the power of a protective lid. Standout Quotes: * "Making priorities for yourself is not selfish, it's actually selfless, because if I got my stuff together, I can help you better." * "When people have a collector's bucket, they have other people's opinions, other people's feelings, and they're just there because they haven't learned how to protect their bucket." * "The rest of dysfunction will eventually follow... when you maintain those boundaries, because if they want to be part of your life, they're going to have to make some changes." * "You're probably exhausted from carrying it all because none of it belongs to you, and so it's heavier than if it belonged to you." * "We get to clean out our bucket and put a lid on it and we only have to open that bucket to what actually we're going to allow in." Let's Connect with Sarah Bentz * Email: notinmybucket@hopeandgrowthcenter.com * Website: www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com [https://www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com/] Be sure to like and subscribe and share this episode with your family and friends to help them step out of the collector trap! Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by NEXT DAY PODCAST [https://www.nextdaypodcast.com/]

The Overloaded Bucket

In this episode, Sarah introduces a profile that many kind-hearted individuals struggle with: The Overloaded Bucket (also known as the "Yes Bucket"). Unlike the rescue bucket—where people actively go out looking to fix or steal someone else's problems—the overloaded bucket belongs to those who simply cannot say no when asked for help. Driven by a massive heart, people-pleasers continuously accumulate simple, "five-minute" tasks until their personal space is completely buried under everyone else's cares, concerns, and schedules. Sarah explores the critical warning signs of an overloaded life, explaining how unchecked commitments deteriorate our mental health and manifest as irritability, brain fog, and severe compassion fatigue. To counteract this, she introduces the beautiful visual metaphor of the "Olive Bucket" to teach listeners how to step back, establish clear boundaries, and actively strain out the daily grime that doesn't belong to them. What You Will Learn: * [00:00] Welcome back: Moving from the Rescue Bucket to a new profile. * [00:09] Defining the Overloaded Bucket (The "Yes Bucket") and how it quietly fills up. * [01:14] The baseline emotional symptoms: Anxiety, anger, self-doubt, and an up-and-down emotional roller coaster. * [01:16] Overloaded vs. Rescuing: The key difference between actively stealing a problem and passively agreeing to one. * [02:24] Warning Sign #1: Believing you have the power to console or fix everyone and everything. * [03:37] Warning Sign #2: Finding yourself consistently annoyed, agitated, and irritable with the people around you. * [04:11] Warning Sign #3: Resorting to sarcasm and passive-aggressive behavior because you secretly resent being asked. * [04:49] Warning Sign #4: Mental blockages—when your brain goes completely blank because it's too full to recall your own needs. * [05:34] Warning Sign #5: Racing, agonizing thoughts. Sarah shares her personal early-career experience with client stories. * [06:36] Warning Sign #6: Experiencing sleep disruptions and the dangerous realities of "Compassion Fatigue". * [07:44] Warning Sign #7: Pretending to have fun and masking your exhaustion just to keep the peace for others. * [08:10] Warning Sign #8: Overreacting and getting overly passionate about small, minor details (The Filing Drawer Story). * [09:36] The temptation to think, feel, and answer for the people we love. * [10:05] The "Should-ing" Bucket: Shifting from obligation to intentional choices. * [12:00] The Olive Bucket Analogy: Learning to use a natural "strainer" to filter out dirt and bugs from your day. * [13:33] Shifting to a weekly check-in strategy to protect your schedule and audit your current commitments. * [15:58] Practical boundary remedies: Utilizing quick documentation, journaling, and professional counseling. Standout Quotes: * "We say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and that makes our bucket overloaded with everybody else's stuff." * "Everybody's allowed to ask. It's our job to protect our bucket and not take on more than we were supposed to." * "The overloaded bucket is really incredible people that want incredible things for others. It's just learning what needs to stay in their bucket and what doesn't." * "I don't have room for the best thing because I've said yes to so many good things that really don't belong to me anyways." Resources Mentioned: The Olive Bucket Audit: Implement a weekly check-in to trace your symptoms and clear your space. Let's Connect with Sarah Bentz * Email: notinmybucket@hopeandgrowthcenter.com * The Bucket Handout: Download the visual worksheet to map out your own bucket list items. * Website: www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com [https://www.hopeandgrowthcenter.com/] (Navigate to the "Not In My Bucket" tab for journaling exercises) * Not In My Bucket Podcast Be sure to like and subscribe and share this episode with a loved one who needs help saying "no" to the good things so they can say "yes" to the best things! Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by NEXT DAY PODCAST [https://www.nextdaypodcast.com/]