Permission to Say No - Granted
By Tana M. Mann Easton, Lead Efficiency Engineer
Warren Buffet is the patron saint of “no.” He famously claims:
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
For so many of us, me included, we’ve been taught the default of “yes.” If someone asks for something, most of the time we just say we’ll do it without thought about what that yes will cost. And we keep saying yes until our life feels so unmanageable that we reach a crisis point and realize we cannot juggle everything anymore. But we can learn the art of saying no before we reach that crisis point.
I know there have been times in my life when I’ve forgotten that as an adult, I get a choice about everything that occupies my time. I choose the people, jobs, hobbies, and activities that form my days. And if there are people, jobs, hobbies, and activities that do not bring me joy or bring me closer to the person I want to be, I also have the power to no longer select those choices. I don’t have infinite time or energy every day. If I did, I could say yes to everything, and it wouldn’t matter. But my time and energy are finite, so a yes vote for one activity is a no vote for others. If you feel like your work commitments are infringing on your family time or any other imbalance exists in your life, remember your ability to say “no.” These minutes are your life, and every day you get to fill them with whatever you desire.
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Sincerely Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team