Yesterday morning I woke up with the greatest intention of getting up to run. And then one snooze happened,and then the next and then… I didn’t run. A few years ago, I would have been disappointed in myself. But this day was different, this day- I was proud.
The fact of the matter was the night before I stayed up pretty late chatting with a good friend. We had one of those late night wine talks that really soothes the soul and so I didn’t make it to bed nearly as early as I had intended. When 5am rolled around I really thought about getting out of bed to work out, but then…just didn’t. Because that morning, I needed to say YES to sleep more than anything else.
You see, we have opportunities to say yes- and then the corresponding opportunity to then say no. And each yes means a consequential no to something else. But often times the corresponding no is much harder to see. It doesn’t show up in the initial interaction. It can take days or even months to manifest. Yet time is limited. And we really don’t even have 24 hours in a day, when you include rest time. And so we must make the conscious decision about how we want to spend our time.
Notably, people will pull you to do what they want you to do. Don’t get too caught up in that to the point where you start to live for someone else. This is your life to live.
Instead, make the mindful decision ahead of time to get in touch with what you want. Maybe it’s in the morning when you wake up or at the beginning of your week or even at the start of a new month.
Do you need more down time? Do you want a busy social calendar? How much sleep is necessary for you? What takes priority? How often do you need to work out?
How much time can you devote to the different arenas in your life?
How much time do you set aside to just BE?
Once we have identified our intentions around how we want to spend our time, can we get confident in those decisions? Can we honor ourselves and set boundaries where we need to? Can we express and communicate with the people in our lives why we need to do something besides what they asked us to do?
Seattle, in particular, has this social issue called the “Seattle Freeze”. Where people say things like, ‘yes! let’s get together sometime’. When they actually mean ‘the only time I have time to see you again is the next time we bump into each other’. And that’s okay if you just tell people that. They will understand.
Time is limited. Life is precious. So ask yourself, what do I need to say yes to this month? Or better yet, start with what you need to say no to. Make a list. Write it down. Keep it in your wallet.
Each day as you wake, may you honor your time and space in this life. May you say yes to the things you have a burning desire to say YES to. And then politely, smilingly, and non-apologetically say NO it’s right for you.
I invite you to share your “NO” list with us today in the comments. Let the materialization of this list hold you to your commitment to yourself so that you may live your best life possible. Namaste