I actually love making resolutions. I love themed parties. And I love/hate the channel TLC. There— all of my guilty pleasures out at once.
A new year doesn’t actually mean much I suppose– the time period of a year is pretty arbitrary and more than anything just a way for human beings to grasp at some control of time and its exhausting hurtling.
But I like making resolutions, themes and TLC so 2017 is the year of NO.
You’ve probably heard of the Shonda Rhimes book Year of Yes, read a Facebook infographic about the power of saying “yes” to everything and had panic-inducing flashbacks of that motivational speaker screaming about missed opportunities everytime you get too nervous to raise your hand in a big meeting.
But much too often we forget the power of no.
I’m at an amazing point in my life where the opportunities are endless, my curiosity is running rampant and my ambition is high. I’m grateful for this moment in time and every experience I’ve gained from this indulgent smorgasbord called college. But I’ve reached a critical point where my attention, focus and sanity has become frayed at the edges, stretched between forty eight directions, all the while shrieking a forced yes at every aspect of life. Our energy is not limitless. We are just given a precious span of time with a dose of Redbull and told to have at it.
There comes a day when we simply must become more aware of what is truly worth our energy. Finding some stuff. And focusing on that.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done” Steve Jobs
Choosing is difficult. Saying no can be awkward. The guilt that ensues– even worse.
But this year say no to overcommitting, over scheduling, over extending and over analyzing. Say no to thing thing you do only because you’re afraid of what they’ll say or think. Say no to things you do because you’re afraid of missing out. Say no to micro analyzing every situation, conversation and post. Say no to constant control.
Do less with intensely more focus.
Set boundaries. And do not feel guilty about it.
This is living. There’s not too terribly much to be sorry about that.
