Freedom to Say "No"

It can be hard to say “no”
It can be especially hard if you have low self esteem and anxiety that saying “no” will end friendships or make you the bad guy.
It can be hard when your heart strings are pulled or when you feel a sense of responsibility.
It can feel like you are being selfish.

BUT

It is so darn important to be able to say “No” even though it can be one of the hardest words to utter.

One of the things I am trying to learn is how to say “No”. How to disengage from toxic people, how to set up professional and personal boundaries, how to manage my time, how to think about my self as a finite resource and how to be aware of my needs.

It is a dificult journey.

I left GCV in part to be able to focus on other things. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t accept any new responsibility for another year (other than the things I had already signed up to do: school, etc.

Since then, I have said no to the following things

Organizing a clothing drive
Being a camp consoler
Running a once a week day care out of my home
Being a full time nanny
Being a part time nanny
Running a Girl Scout Troop
Being the 2nd in command of a Girl Scout Troop
Running a fundraiser
Writing a weekly blog for an established platform
Writing a recurring blog for an established platform
Being on the board of another nonprofit
Being on the advisory board for another nonprofit
Being a district representative for my daughter’s school
Organizing a protest
Spearheading a boycott.

Which makes me feel better about saying yes to the following:
Teaching Sunday School 2 times a month
Joining a Parent Involvement Team
Getting elected School Site Council

So… progress!

As school starts in a few weeks and I get back to my more rigorous writing schedule, I only hope my ability to say “No” to things stays strong.

Fingers Crossed!