Saying No {31 Days of Self-Care}

Welcome to Day 30 of my 2014 #Write31Days journey! If you are new here, you can read a little more about me in the sidebar.

I am currently reading The Best Yes, by Lysa TerKeurst, and participating in The Confident Mom’s study of the book. All I can say, is it is fantastic, and both the study and the book have opened my eyes to making sure I don’t get stretched thin. I highly recommend it!

I talked about saying yes yesterday, but today I’m going to hit on the opposite topic. Saying no. Some of you say yes too much. Some of you say yes to everything, even if you don’t want to, don’t have time, and don’t have the energy.

You say yes because you want to please people.

Did you know it’s okay to say no?

It may not be easy, but saying no can be saying yes to your family. To your spouse. To you. It could be that when you say no to a good thing, a great thing will come along. And then, because you said no to the good thing, you can say yes to the great thing!

For me, I have realized – through a lot of trial and error – that I cannot be everything to everyone. For one thing, I don’t want to be; for another, I simply can’t. We’ve got to learn that stretching ourselves thinner than thin is going to catch up with us at some point.

For years, I struggled with saying yes because someone expected me to. I still do, from time to time, but now I can acknowledge to myself why I am saying yes. I may come across as selfish, and that may happen to you as well, as you begin to say no, but it is not selfish when you choose your family, your time, your gifts, or yourself over someone or something else.

Saying no can open up an opportunity to pursue a new journey, hobby, business, or activity.

Saying no can give you a break. It can give you an entirely new perspective.

The word no can help you find your best yes.

Do you struggle with saying no? Have you learned how to find your best yes?

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