When You Say Yes...What Are You Saying No To?

Read the title of this blog post again.
Now slower.
Think about it.
What did you come up with?

That question was asked to good friend of mine who has a similar problem many of us seem to suffer from and that, my friends, is the ability to say no.
This question has literally changed my entire outlook on saying yes or no to certain jobs, social events, personal choices and on and on I go.

When you say yes, what are you saying to no to?
Are you saying no to:
Quiet time in prayer?
Time with your children?
Time with your spouse?
Time with family
Rest?
Healthy eating?
Working out?
Stress free days?
A good book?

I said yes to the duck face and no to looking good haha

Sometimes I say no :
Owning my own business has been a legit exercise in time management and the ability to say no. Sometimes, I DO have to say no to good things like a few social events here and there or a good movie at midnight or morning coffee with friends to get some work done in the studio.  I have also learned when to say yes to those things.

Gotta find your balance:
Everyone has their own way to balance these things, but mine has certainly been learning to say no even when I know I might disappoint a friend or perhaps turn away a photo shoot because I need time with my kids.   I see some people literally run after EVERYTHING they are asked to.  Committees, sports teams, every single birthday party known to mankind, dinners, photo shoots etc.  These aren't necessarily bad things, but sometimes they are taking away from the other things we need to being saying yes to.

I said yes to waterfalls and no to work for a day.

Goodbye Social Media (for a bit)
I have also learned to put the phone down and read a book.  I read an entire 450 page novel last week after putting my phone away for about 4 days.   Go figure.

Fitness:

It's always been important to me. I took a month off because I had seriously hurt my back and realized I was little grumpy and my self esteem was taking a hit. However, I really didn't feel I had the time.  (that's a lie).  I have time.   I just had to say no to maybe messing around on Facebook, or no to a load of laundry here and there to invest in 55 minutes of my day to working out . I am doing the Body Rock TV 30 day challenge in case your interested.  I said yes to fitness.

All this to say- when you say yes to everything and everyone... you might actually being saying to no to some really good things in your life.