Saying "no" in a culture of "yes"

As kids, we’re taught to be courageous and try new things.

As students, we’re taught to be daring and say yes to radical ideas.

As business owners, we’re taught to be bold and strike out on our own.

We live in a culture of YES.

• Try something new!
• Put yourself out there!
• It’s ok to be uncomfortable - that’s where growth happens!

Yes!

Saying yes to new opportunities and choosing to enter the muddy uncomfortable middle of change is necessary for personal and business growth.

“Growth happens at the edge of our abilities,” as Chris of SightShift always says.

And we can’t find the edge of our abilities without pushing ourselves past them.

2020 has been the Year of the Muddy Middle Of Change.

We’ve all been suspended at the edge of our abilities for months now, working hard to keep our businesses going and to help our customers and clients find joy and success too.

And showing up for our friends and families.

And...showing up for ourselves? Maybe when there’s time?

A few weeks ago I was on a walk with my partner and was lamenting the stress I was feeling.

I was exhausted, feeling burnt out, and felt tired of living on the edge.

My business has nearly doubled this year, which has required me to rethink my processes on the fly and shift my mindset as to where I’m growing into.

That type of thinking takes a lot of brainpower and space, space that I didn’t really have because I was working on the coolest projects I’ve ever done with the most awesome clients I had ever had.

I was, and am, so damn excited about this growth.

This is what I’ve been working so hard for.

But back to that walk with my partner.

She listened patiently while I processed through trying to balance my utter joy with utter exhaustion.

And then she said, “You know, you can take time off. You usually have a natural lull in work over the summer which gives you a break.

But that didn’t happen this year because of COVID. You need to build in your own ‘lull’ so you can recharge and reset.”

Y'all, my partner is amazing.

I had never thought about building in my own ‘lull’ in projects.

Enter Marshall Shorts, graphic designer and brand builder.

Last year he did a thing that blew my mind.

For the month of November in 2019, he said “no” to almost everything.

No new projects.

No new speaking engagement.

No to new requests from current clients.

Just a hard “no.”

NO-vember.

In a culture where YES is king, saying NO felt revolutionary.

So, this NO-vember I’m saying NO.

I’m giving myself the time to regroup, restructure, and recharge so I can enter into new projects with all of my energy.

I’m also doing this to remind myself that saying “No” is 100% ok.

?Boundaries are important, and taking time for yourself is equally so.

I’ll be doing things like go to the dentist, have sessions with my business coach to help me re-center, work on my fiction novel, and build a bathroom in our basement.

If you have a Thing you want to chat about, grab a time now before I start my NO challenge.

Have a project in mind? Want to launch into 2021 with a fresh website and clear messaging?

Start up a conversation here.

Want to grab a virtual coffee with me and get to know each other better?

Snag a coffee date here.

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