What Does Saying No Really Mean?

This past week I found myself feeling overwhelmed. I was Drowning – that feeling we get when we are doing too much. Everyone has a different threshold, but I had clearly reached mine. My To-Do List was not only getting longer, but it also was not having anything taken off. In other words, I was getting nothing done. My mother and stepdad were coming into town for a short visit and I had no idea how I was even going to spend time with them, and as they get older, I want every minute of them that I can get.

When we are frantically trying to do too much, everyone and everything around us suffers. We cannot be present with those we are with, we forget to take care of ourselves, we don’t get enough sleep or eat properly, we are more inefficient, we lose things, we become disorganized, our environment is in chaos, and we are more prone to accidents or getting sick. You know that feeling. And when it hits, it’s time to say No.

When we say No to things on our plate, it is more than just saying No to things that we’d otherwise be doing. When we say No, we are actually saying Yes to a way of being. We are saying Yes to a greater calm, to being present and being intentional in how we live our lives. We are saying Yes to being in choice. And that’s powerful.

Ask yourself if you are in that state of Drowning. Have you hit your threshold? Do you need to be saying No to things on your plate? If your answer is Yes, get intentional about what you will say No to, and put the plan in place. It feels powerful and freeing. On the other hand, if you are feeling stuck, that there’s nothing you can say No to, please contact me. I will help you figure it out. Because there is always something you can be saying No to. You are always in choice. You get to choose how you will Be. Please don’t settle for any less.