I was going a little crazy a couple of weeks ago because I had said Yes to too many people (I believe Oprah calls it “the disease to please”) and had WAAAAY too much on my plate.  I felt like I had painted myself into a corner of chaos.  I prayed to God that I would be able to find a solution.  Later that day, I felt inspired to read this article that changed my life:  http://the99percent.com/tips/6216/a-new-kind-of-new-years-resolution-saying-no.

The article talks about Saying NO by creating a “Stop Doing” list.  In a world of To-do lists, this was a novel idea to me.  But first, the article encourages one to write down their 3 ultimate goals or top priorities.  I immediately got out a pen and wrote in my Journal my top 3 ultimate goals in life.  Then it tells you to safeguard or protect your focus on those goals by learning to say NO.  This is a hard one for a people-pleaser like me.  Sometimes I feel like I have to be busy to feel important but that’s such a lie.  Everyone is busy but it takes more focus to be disciplined.  Sometimes we just fill our lives with all this “stuff” that has nothing to do with what we really want.

Starting a “Stop-doing” list was liberating.  I immediately felt burdens lifting from my shoulders as I began to safeguard my ultimate goals and priorities by listing things that I would stop doing.  Because saying No is so hard for me, writing it down really helped me to remember what I will say no to when asked. It has made saying no so much easier because I know that by saying NO, I’m really saying YES to the things that I love and passionately desire.  I’ve already been practicing and have said NO to about 5 different projects that have come my way.  It has brought me so much PEACE.  I share this with you in hopes that saying no might help you too.  I am already so much happier and full of peace because of this article.

Another thing that I enjoyed from the article was saying NO to new ideas. Way too often I get all sort of ideas that sound great but really won’t bring me any closer to my ultimate goals.  They will only cause more stress and distraction in my life.  Rarely do you hear anyone encourage you to kill new ideas.   Yet, it is essential in order to maintain focus.  One thing that helps me is to remember that I am only saying NO for NOW.  I know that there is a time for everything but sometimes now is not the time.

What are you going to say NO to?