What does it mean that boundary repair?

When a boundary has been violated acknowledge it and reinforce it.

Example: You told a colleague that you don't take work calls after 7pm. They called at 9pm on Tuesday 'just this once.' You answered because it felt urgent. Now they call every other evening. The boundary wasn't destroyed by the colleague — it was dissolved by the unanswered violation. Repair means calling the colleague the next morning and saying: 'I took that call, but I shouldn't have. My boundary is no calls after 7pm, and I need us both to hold it going forward.' That conversation is harder than the original boundary-setting — and more important.

Try this: Identify one boundary you set but failed to maintain — with another person or with yourself. Write three things: (1) what the original boundary was, (2) the specific moment it was violated, and (3) what you did (or didn't do) in response to the violation. Then draft a one-paragraph repair statement: acknowledge the violation, reassert the boundary, and name one concrete action you will take if the violation recurs. If the violation was self-inflicted, the repair statement is a commitment to yourself.