There have been many times when I have had to retract my “yes” and revoke my commitment. This feels terrible because I know I am letting other people down.
Other times, I stay committed but I am unable to contribute fully. In other words, I half-ass it just to fulfill the commitment instead of pulling back from it.
After going through this process for the past several years, I began to really challenge myself on my tendency to say “yes.”
I started thinking about HOW I want to show up for others. How do I want to feel when I commit myself to something? I realized that saying “yes” too often put me in a bind and led me to feeling frustrated with myself and with my commitment.
So I began saying “no.”
In the moment, it felt SUPER uncomfortable, icky and against my nature to say “no.”
But, in the long run, it felt amazing to have my time to devote to tasks and commitments that I wanted to.
Nowadays, when I am asked to do something, I ask myself two questions:
1) What will I be giving up if I say “yes” to this?
AND
2) Is it worth it to me to give these things up?