“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘YES’ burning inside.”
~ Stephen Covey
We have been talking about making good decisions and choices that keep us on our path. But as we travel down the path there are all sorts of distractions and potential detours that keep us from reaching our goal. They pull us off the path and cause delays.
Are you protecting what matters the most? Are you protecting what Dr. Covey called That “Bigger Yes” inside of you? To do that, we must learn to set boundaries and to say no. And if you have a history of saying yes to most everything, then learning to say no can be challenging.
Of course, we all have responsibilities, these are the essentials of daily life and work. And yes, in any given situation sometimes those responsibilities can be overwhelming. We can talk about that.
These people are up to their eyeballs busy with time-sucks that just wear them out. Plus, they are doubly frustrated because they are not able to make progress towards what they really want to do.
There are multiple reasons why people don’t say no. Here are few:
Lack of a clear vision. You do not know where you’re going, so the path is not clear.
You are a giver. You genuinely enjoy helping others and giving your time and talent, but to many times the person sacrifices their own vision which can be deeply impactful, and in a negative way.
Fear of rejection. You are afraid of what people will think if you say no. Again, you are not committed to your vision and you are focused on what you cannot control, which is what other people think.
Fear of success. This one is a bit tricky. But sometimes people are just flat afraid of what might happen if they do “go for it”. The “Bigger Yes” when you think about it, suddenly seems noticeably big. So much responsibility and so many things to do and those things are hard. If you have all these other distractions, then you have an excuse for not living your dream…… right? Wrong.
Develop a clear vision, see the path, commit, develop actions that keep you moving down your path. Make good choices and learn how and when to say no.
Work with me and we can get there.
GRACEFUL IN FORM, POWERFUL IN PURPOSE, POSITIVE IN ATTITUDE.