It’s Okay To Say No

So for about a year now I have tried to put out a blog each week and I have been very diligent in doing it on a Sunday afternoon. Yesterday was Sunday and I had the typical Sunday for me, a day off from training, some laundry and a bit of a tidy around the house. I must say it was a good day for it because it was cold, wet and windy! We went from 30 degrees on Friday to 4 degrees yesterday! Welcome to Melbourne weather.

So when I finished the vacuuming and was waiting for the laundry to finish I sat down to try and write my weekly blog.  There was nothing there, nothing in my head that I thought people would like to read, nothing that I wanted to write. This was a first.

At first I was very perturbed with myself and if I am really honest a bit panicky that nothing was magically appearing on my computer screen, so I closed the computer thinking that I would get to it later. But later never came. The fire was on, Jack was laying at my feet and I had my recliner chair back with my feet up. I started thinking about how long it had been since I had done nothing.

About an hour later (and with the last of the laundry finished) I thought that now would be the time when inspiration would come to me, so I opened the computer again and just sat there. I wrote a couple of titles, then nothing! I felt like I had lost my mojo, so closed the computer. Last night I was really mad at myself for not posting something.

Then this morning as I was training and battling the rain, wind and cold, I realised that it was okay yesterday to not do anything, to actually say ‘no’ even if it was to myself. Most of the time I find it hard to say ‘no’, to not only myself but others who ask me to do things. I feel compelled to say ‘yes’ because I don’t want to let people down, even if it is myself. But that epiphany out there on the trike made me realise that it’s okay to have time to actually do nothing. It really isn’t nothing, it’s looking after myself. I was tired and it was my brain’s way of saying ‘stop’!

If I had pushed through and written a blog yesterday I believe it wouldn’t have been helpful to anyone or even something anyone would want to read, so it was a good idea to just let it go for the day. And it gave me something to write about today!

So if you are ever scared to say ‘no’ to someone, just think if you say yes, will you want to get out of it later, will it cause you to lie to get out of the yes or cause you stress or anguish? Wouldn’t it be better to just say ‘no’ in the first place so you can have the feeling of freedom and empowerment over what you will or won’t do?

This blog may be a day late, but today I felt like I had learnt something from yesterday and wanted to pass it on!

“Freedom comes when you learn to let go, creation comes when you learn to say no.” - Madonna Ciccone