"Yes" and "No"

I really struggled this week with getting to my blog site. With 2 days of intensive Authentic Leadership training Monday and Tuesday and preparing to leave tomorrow for a trip to visit my son in the States for the weekend, today became my only opportunity to offer some thoughts for the week. On Sunday I looked ahead in my day timer and realized that I would be saying “no” on many occasions in the days ahead in order to prioritize what I wanted to accomplish. Amazingly, my practice facilitation topic during my training yesterday was “How do I learn to say “no” and be o.k. with it”?

I already knew that saying “no” can be extraordinarily freeing, but what I also learned was that the truly fulfilling side of this act is the opportunity to say “yes” to so many other things. Because saying “no” can be perceived as negative and uninviting to yourself and others, saying “yes” becomes very positive and exciting. There is so much talk about saying “no” and how difficult it is to turn people down and the guilt that is felt by uttering this very short word. So, let’s make it easy by turning it around and making it a “yes” to all the great possibilities that it presents.

“Yes” to all the things you want to do, instead of “no” to all the unimportant, unfulfilling things you struggle to fit into your life. When you look at all of the great “yes” options, you will see how ridiculous it would be to choose doing the obvious “no’s” in your life. You will find that the “yes” experiences you choose will be the things that bring you the most joy in your life. The “no’s” will be task oriented “to do” things that can wait until tomorrow, next week or even next year. You may even decide to shelve them forever.

This is the reason you did not hear from me at the beginning of this week. I needed to prioritize and do something that meant the world to me; something that gave me great purpose and joy. It is the same reason that you will not likely hear from me until next Monday as I leave tomorrow morning to visit my son to celebrate his 21st birthday. I will bring my computer, and if the opportunity arises, I will do a little blogging, but it may not be on the top of my list as I say “yes” to spending time with my number one son.