Hi everyone! It’s been a while but I wanted to bring back my “Fit Fridays” series, in which I discuss different aspects and tips towards living a healthier life mentally, physically and nutritionally. This week I wanted to talk about something that I learned (through the hard way) fairly recently and have really taken to heart: the power of saying “No”.
At a time when we often hear daily mantras like “Say Yes!” and “Say Yes to Happiness“, I’ve found that I love saying “No”. Saying “No” has brought me more happiness than “Yes” ever did.
Let me explain.
Last fall was my time to say Yes! Last fall I had so many amazing opportunities come up- so many exciting things happen and unfold that I just had to say Yes! to. I had multiple job opportunities and options arise (some short-term, some long-term) that had the ability to unfold into wonderful things- life changing things. And I said yes. To every. Single. One.
It ended up being a time where I was more stressed and more unhappy than I had ever been. I felt like I was living just to “do” and not for myself but for others. I had no time to do the things I loved: cooking didn’t happen, baking didn’t happen, working out didn’t happen, spending any part of the weekend with Mr. C didn’t happen (in fact, I usually only saw him at night shortly before going to bed and then I would be awake and out the door before he got up in the morning). I genuinely enjoyed the things I was doing but it was all too much. I had multiple break-downs over those few months- times where I just sat down by myself and cried and I think the most relaxing time I had was when I had a concussion from a car accident and was forced to sit and sleep a lot for several days over Thanksgiving.
Through this process though, as I’ve mentioned previously, I learned where my limits are. I learned why it’s so important to have rest time but most importantly, I learned about my priorities, which is what brings us to “No”.
I’ve recently been spending a lot more time thinking about my goals and priorities- for the short-term and the long-term. Things like “Where do I want to see myself in 5 years?” and then writing down the things I need to do to get there. It’s so easy to get caught up in the middle of what’s happening immediately and lose track of the path of where you truly want to be.
Sitting down and writing down my goals has helped me immensely because it’s made it easier for me to see what is helping me along my path and what it taking me away from it. Knowing that path and that intention makes me feel ok with- in fact, I feel empowered with saying “No” to things that don’t match.
When I was so busy and overworked, I wasn’t truly able to give each thing I was doing my all. I wasn’t able to truly focus on what I was doing and give each thing the passion, care and attention that it truly deserved. By saying no to things that don’t fit, I’m better able to focus on the things that matter. I have more time to pour into my goals and priorities- more time to focus on my blog, my school work and my related studies, my family and friends but also more time for myself and more time to relax. All of these things, in their own way, are contributing to where I want to be in in the future and I am a much happier person because of it.
Have you found yourself in a situation of saying Yes to too many things? What happened?
