a quick post about something i’ve been thinking about a lot lately:
“NO”. it’s the new black.
i am a people pleaser. i always have been. i’m also super-duper type A so i never want to miss an opportunity… of any kind {i’m told that i suffer from FOMO – fear of missing out}. granted, the result of this condition has been lots and lots of amazingly cool things that i am so blessed to have been part of, but … i’m tired … the weird thing is, i didn’t even realize it. that’s just how i operate – a zillion things in my head at once, heart racing, go go go, etc etc. it wasn’t until this summer that i made a conscious choice to start saying that scary little two-letter word… no. i felt a lot of guilt the first few times i tried it out, but miraculously the world didn’t fall apart! no one was mad at me either. weird. not what i was expecting. once the guilt faded i actually felt a huge sense of relief. i’ll get back to my regular life come september, but i am definitely going to throw my new favorite word into the mix a lot more often! you should give it a whirl… it’s fantastic.
{art from the sketchbook of martha rich}
By saying No you are also giving the people around you permission to do the same – with no judgment or recourse. I hope you are enjoying your “Summer of No” and all the freedom and rest that comes with it. Well said, and well done. xo
The Artful Desperado did pretty much this exact same post a few days ago…http://www.theartfuldesperado.com/blog-labs-very-successful-people-say-no/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=blog-labs-very-successful-people-say-no
whoa… there must be something in the air! gab is a good friend of mine – looks like we have more than ‘taste in art’ in common! (what a great, inspiring post. thanks for the head’s up andrea!)
It’s SO HARD to say no. Especially to good opportunities. Sometimes you need to learn that saying no is saying YES to something else, like your family or yourself 🙂 Yay for nay!
YES! {that was an easy one to say yes to) ; )
Danielle, I’m a painter and I have the same struggle. I don’t want to miss out on a great painting order! I guess I have FOMP! HA!!! Anyway, I’m glad to have taken the summer off to start painting for myself again. Maybe I’ll learn to balance life better in the fall. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
good for you molly! obviously none of us want to miss amazing opportunities… i think it’s just learning how to only say yes to the things you REALLY REALLY want to do. besides, if something drops in your lap once, it will probably show up again when it makes more sense (and if not, it wasn’t meant to be … right?!)
It is a very good word and I should learn to use it more often…too. Beautiful no by Martha Rich…so the word no can also be a pretty little thing 😉
it sure can! : )
Ha ha! I guess your FOMO is very good for this blog 😉 Maybe even the reason for it…
you might be right ; )