I've often found it difficult to say no to people, I used to find myself saying yes to everything and everyone and over committing myself. Since becoming a mum I've finally started to feel more comfortable in saying no to people (perhaps it's a more common word in my vocabulary after dealing with a toddler!) I've often felt guilty when saying no, recently however, I attended a Buiness Chicks function where Zoe Foster Blake was speaking and she spoke about how when you say no to others you are actually saying yes to yourself. By not prioritizing doing something for someone else you are preserving time to do something for yourself. I'd never really looked at it that way before, but as I often find myself verging on the edge of overload this has been extremely useful advice to take in and last night I needed to give myself a kick up the bum and remind myself of this very advice. I was recently given an opportunity at work that could have been great for my career (it also could have completely set me up for failure), I made the conscious decision to say no and ever since, have felt guilty and worried that perhaps this could have been a career limiting move. It was only after talking to my dad last night (a great man of so much wisdom) that I realised yet again that it was ok to say no. With so many other priorities on at work at the moment, not to mention my priority to be the best mum I can be to my daughter I said no to ensure I kick ass at being a mum. Which right now is feeling pretty bloody tough when I'm also faced with sleep deprivation due to a toddler who now seems scared to go to sleep.
Sure sometimes my decisions may reflect poorly on the eyes of others, but right now at this point in my life there is only one set of eyes that are important to me, those big blue eyes of a 2 year old little girl looking up at me.
She is the reason I find myself saying no, because right now in my life she is my number one priority so I choose to say yes to things that make me a good mum, and if that means saying no to others then so be it. I've recently learnt to say yes to myself and reprioritize being fit and healthy because this makes me happy and being happy makes me a better mum. I found that I was prioritizing everything and everyone above my own needs and I didn't like the person I was becoming.
So if you find yourself in a situation where you feel guilty for saying no to someone, remember that you're actually saying yes to yourself. Prioritizing time is tough, even tougher when you've got little people that need your time to. Take a little time to prioritize you!
