Step 15: Press Pause Before Saying Yes

The next time someone approaches you with a request – any request – press pause before saying yes.

Why?

Because you don’t have to do it all.

Really, you don’t.

And whenever we say yes to one commitment, we automatically say no to others that may be as or more important. We can’t do it all. So we must press our internal pause button and fully consider an offer before we say yes automatically.

Saying yes automatically can lead to overwhelm. Saying yes automatically can lead to resentment.

If we press the pause button instead, it gives us time and space to ask some valuable questions.

Questions such as:

• What is the best use of my time?
• How does this fit with the purpose I have in the world?
• What makes me the best person to do this?
• What will I be forced to say no to, in order to say yes to this?

It’s easy to be torn between Nike’s signature slogan – Just Do It – and the anti-drug campaign of the 1980’s – Just Say No. Especially since busyness is a drug for many of us. It’s a drug that causes us to feel in control, powerful. And we can mistake feeling busy and powerful with being whole.

But God created us as whole persons. No matter if we say yes to another demand, we are whole.

And to live into that being, we must practice self-care. That doesn’t mean selfishness, or simply going for a pedicure or having a glass of wine. It means taking care of our own emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual needs as much as we do others’.

It means pressing pause.

I’m Amy Hoogervorst, an integrative health coach, offering grace and space for a healthier you. Thanks for joining me for Step 15 in the “31 Steps to a Healthier You” series, part of #Write31Days 2017. You can read what the series is all about here and catch up on past posts. If you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe to get each one in your inbox.