31 Days – Saying Yes
Yesterday I talked about saying no. I wanted you to really evaluate all of your
commitments and find what is not energizing you. What drains you? And why do you continue to keep that
commitment if it isn’t something that you love?
commitments and find what is not energizing you. What drains you? And why do you continue to keep that
commitment if it isn’t something that you love?
Today I want to talk about saying yes.
An amazing thing happens when you say no; you have more time
to say yes.
to say yes.
What would you do with more time?
I am always bemoaning the time. Time seems to slip through my fingers often,
and at the end of every month I wonder where the previous month went. Part of this is because I have 3 kids. I think when you have kids, time seems to
move so fast – you never have a day when you are so bored and go to the mall
for the hundredth time because you don’t know what else to do; at least I don’t
anymore!
and at the end of every month I wonder where the previous month went. Part of this is because I have 3 kids. I think when you have kids, time seems to
move so fast – you never have a day when you are so bored and go to the mall
for the hundredth time because you don’t know what else to do; at least I don’t
anymore!
But, when I started to remove the excess from my life, I
realized that I had a little more time for myself.
realized that I had a little more time for myself.
It isn’t just outside commitments
that I said no to.
that I said no to.
One thing that is really important to me is cooking from
scratch. That gets to be an awful lot of
cooking when you are at home with kids all day.
And it creates an awful lot of dishes daily. I don’t know about you, but I can easily run
my dishwasher 2-3 times each day. We run
out of dishes to use frequently, so I started buying paper plates to use. It isn’t the fanciest way to eat, but it
saves me a lot of time on clean up.
scratch. That gets to be an awful lot of
cooking when you are at home with kids all day.
And it creates an awful lot of dishes daily. I don’t know about you, but I can easily run
my dishwasher 2-3 times each day. We run
out of dishes to use frequently, so I started buying paper plates to use. It isn’t the fanciest way to eat, but it
saves me a lot of time on clean up.
It may seem like something really small, but it was an
incredibly difficult decision for me. I
am also passionate about green living – and paper plates really do not fall
into the green living realm.
incredibly difficult decision for me. I
am also passionate about green living – and paper plates really do not fall
into the green living realm.
Saying no to this one aspect of green living was a hard
choice, but it allowed me more time to spend with my kids, and less stress at
the end of the day.
choice, but it allowed me more time to spend with my kids, and less stress at
the end of the day.
Even if it seems like something incredibly small, it plays a
part in overall self-care.
part in overall self-care.
Stress is obviously bad for your health and happiness, so
removing things that cause stress will benefit you in the long run.
removing things that cause stress will benefit you in the long run.
When you say no to activities that do not have a positive
impact on your life, you are able to say yes to the activities that do energize
you.
impact on your life, you are able to say yes to the activities that do energize
you.
What are some things that you want to
say yes to?
say yes to?
I want to say yes to low stress, to board games with my
kids, to knitting on a Wednesday evening.
I want a peaceful environment where we are not running off to the next
activity without taking a breath. I want
to say yes to family dinners, and yes to quiet mornings.
kids, to knitting on a Wednesday evening.
I want a peaceful environment where we are not running off to the next
activity without taking a breath. I want
to say yes to family dinners, and yes to quiet mornings.
These are all things that will energize me, that will help
me continue to live my life well with and for my children.
me continue to live my life well with and for my children.
Less stress means a happier home life. It also means that your health is
better. High stress can cause so many
health issues, so we want to avoid it at all costs!
better. High stress can cause so many
health issues, so we want to avoid it at all costs!
Have you looked at your time assessment that you did at the
beginning of this month? Can you cross
off some more of those items today?
beginning of this month? Can you cross
off some more of those items today?
What can you say no to
in order to say yes to something else?
in order to say yes to something else?
so true! Thanks for the reminder