No.

Dear Essentialists,

Thank you for reading today, really.

Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who wrote about her experience working with patients in hospice care, found the number one regret of the dying is this: "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." (See page 16 of Essentialism).

Have you ever felt the tension between what you feel you should do and what other people expect of you?

In this episode, Danielle LaGrone from Toronto, Canada gets vulnerable in revealing a dilemma. She has internal clarity about something but her well-intended mother wants her to do something else. What will she do? It's a conflicted, touching conversation. Listen and subscribe here.

Here are simple steps for applying this practice:

1. Notice any physical reactions within you that are telling you, "No."

2. Believe it.

3. Have a conversation with other people who want you to ignore this internal clarity.

In Essentialism I wrote, "If it isn't a clear yes, it's a clear no." But before you get to that level, apply this rule: "If it's a clear no, don't say yes." That may seem obvious, but many of us violate it. At the end of our lives we will want to have been true to ourselves, not have capitulated to what others expected of us.

Thank you, again, for reading this. 

Greg

p.s. My appreciation to Jon T. who wrote to me this week, "Thank you for doing the Essentialism podcast. I really appreciate your kind, genuine, uplifting demeanor as you talk with guests on your podcast. Thanks for helping me become a better person." Listen and subscribe here.