I've learned that saying "no" helps us to prioritize and is essential for self-care. However, saying "no" can be difficult for a lot of reasons - even when we want to. It took a long time for me to buy into the idea that I needed to say “no” more. When we talk about keeping the main thing the main thing, it’s usually a cautionary tale about getting sidetracked by taking on too many things (which are not the main thing), and your real focus (the main thing) suffers. Why would I need to heed this warning? I get things done. Nothing suffers, or so I thought. Because I had been effective doing it this way for so long, it took some self-reflection to arrive at this point where I am now embracing the word “no”. Since then, I’ve been taking things off of my plate that are distracting and/or not aligned with or beneficial to my “purpose work”. As we enter into 2020, I urge everyone who, like me, wants to be more productive and effective in the new year, to embrace saying “no” and "yes" to self-care.
Geneviéve Jones-Wright
Founder and LeadEmpowerMentor, Motivation.In.Action (MIA)
