I’m a habitual organizer, somewhat of a people-pleaser and writer of daily “to do” lists. I have often taken on too much and sometimes it’s other people’s “stuff.” Their issues, their fears, their problems.
I’m learning to say “no” to what’s not right for me.
I’ve started stepping back and examining the other person’s intentions … and my own.
Am I really helping them? Or am I just doing their work?
Am I really needed here? Or do I just like the feeling of being needed?
It’s difficult to do because this contradicts learned behavior. The word “no” never came out of my mouth without some sort of explanation designed to make the other person feel better. To let them off the hook.
Saying “no” felt foreign at first.
Fears tumbled in my head: What will they think? Will they still be my friend? Will they still love me? Will they ever talk to me again?
Then I asked myself this: Are you saying yes for them or for you?
And I realized that every time I have chosen to say “no” to a situation that wasn’t right for me .. I have made more space in my life for the ones that are.
No.
It’s a sentence.
