Addicted to Yes

I was recently sitting on the balcony of a resort in Jamaica. It was early, and the world was quiet. It was wonderful to be able to sit and take the scene in. I was on a much needed mini vacation with my husband, and it was amazing.
The reason I'm telling you this is not to make you hate me for being in Jamaica. I'm telling you this because this mini-vacay and my recent milestone birthday triggered a bit of a self-reflective period for me. What am I doing with my life? Am I making an impact? Am I staying true to my artist self, mommy self and career self?
The answer is a resounding sort of.
And that’s ok. As I get older, I’m learning to be a little kinder to myself. It's literally impossible to excel at all of the things I'm trying to accomplish, so now I'm trying to figure out what I can do well, and then start to let go of the things that are taking away valuable time. This is easier said that done for me though since I say yes to everything.
Learning to say no when we live in a world of 'yes' can be tricky, but why are we saying yes to all of these things? I truly enjoy all of the things I commit myself to, but for some reason I don't have that voice in my head telling me to say no to things I know I won't have time for. Anyone else suffer from this same affliction?
So, fellow "yes-ers" unite! Let's help each other recognize when we've taken on too many things and offer reassurance that the world won't end because you didn't raise your hand for the decorating committee, sign up to be the class mom or take on 14 unpaid gigs.
Let's take a deep breath and start taking stock of what really matters. Who's with me?

2 comments