スピーキングチャレンジ「お人好し」はもう辞めて「悪役」になってみよう？！

[Transcript]

Intro:
Hi guys, hope your week is off to a great start! We have quite an interesting topic today, one which I think I can totally relate to. Growing up as the eldest of three siblings, I naturally developed a strong independent personality. My family immigrated to New Zealand in 1992 and my mother gave birth to my little brother that year. I saw that things were tough for my mum, since my dad was still working and living in Taiwan most of the time. I tried my best to help her as much as I could in the house, and also made sure I took care of myself including my schoolwork as she wasn’t really able to help me anyway (I even wrote and signed all of the parent-teacher correspondence on her behalf). 

Fast forward 30 years, I realized I’ve been too hard on myself for all these years. I tried to take care of everything and everyone around me,  it’s almost a toxic habit that’s hard to break. I think only in the last 5 years, I began to realize that I should put my needs first. It’s MY turn to embrace my villain era! Our challenge sentence today explains what the villain era is, let’s check it out now:  

Sentence: 
When a chronic people pleaser starts to communicate their wants and needs clearly, prioritize themselves and assert and maintain boundaries,

Pronunciation Tips:
chronic 
prioritize 
assert
boundaries

Let me break the sentence up into sections and please try and read along with me, ok?

Next up, let’s have a look at our vocabulary words. 
 
Vocabulary:
1. chronic (adj)  KK [ˋkrɑnɪk] IPA /ˈkrɑː.nɪk/
Def: (especially of a disease or something bad) continuing for a long time

Example: 
He has been suffering from chronic back pains for many years, so I suggested getting a firmer mattress. 


2. prioritize (v) KK [praɪˋɔrə͵taɪz]   IPA /praɪˈɔːr.ə.taɪz/
Def: to decide which of a group of things are the most important so that you can deal with them first.

Example: 
I have a lot of projects to finish this week, so I need to prioritize my time and perhaps skip a couple of dinner dates with my friends. 


3. assert (v)  KK[əˋsɝt] IPA /-ˈsɝːt/
Def: to do something to show that you have power

Example: 
I shouldn't let people push me around so much. I really need to assert myself a bit more. 

Outro: 

Usually, I don’t let people push me around too much, but at the same time, I don’t think I assert my own opinions enough. I’m learning that my needs are just as important as everyone else’s, so it’s not selfish to prioritize myself sometimes.    

Setting personal boundaries is important. It’s okay to tell your coworkers that you’re unavailable after work hours. Make sure you give yourself enough time to rest and recharge your body. Getting enough rest will also help reduce stress. Everything is very much linked, if you take good care of yourself, you are then able to take care of others.  So listen to your inner voice when making decisions for yourself and trust your intuition. You should totally embrace your villain era!! 

Alright, it’s time to wrap up today’s episode. Thank you all for listening and don’t forget to record your challenge sentence. See you guys again next week! Bye bye for now.