Just say ‘no.’

There’s been a recurring theme in my life recently – the idea of saying ‘no.’ One of my friends randomly sent me an article from the NY Times on the idea of saying ‘no’ and now I’m thinking that the universe is up to something.

Days later I found out about a productivity webinar on how you should say no to make room for your “big yes,” and while I was procrastinating on writing just now I stumbled upon an article on “17 things you shouldn’t apologize for in your 20s,” and the first thing on the list was “telling people no!” The universe clearly doesn’t want me getting off track either.

I love it, though, because I know it’s something all moderately social people struggle with. Saying ‘no’ to friends, family, work tasks, commitments in general is hard! We don’t want to feel like we’re letting people down or risk hurting their feelings, so often we sacrifice our own needs. But here’s the bottom line: time is our most precious commodity. We all run out of it, we will never know how much of it we have left, and so all we can do is make the most of every moment we have. Saying ‘no’ is the only way to ensure we reserve that time for the things that matter.

There are a lot of things worth loving in this world, but when you make that list, don’t forget to count yourself, and make sure you’re high on it. Make sure you’re loving yourself with all the time you have. Sometimes that means investing in friendships and opportunities, but perhaps more often that you think, it means saying ‘no.’

This Sunday, I said no to more than a couple things, but I had to do it (I still love y’all!). Even now, it’s difficult to not apologize for it, but I’m restraining myself. I needed to rejuvenate, and you know what? That’s in everybody’s best interest. So think on that the next time you’re between a yes and a hard place. The real ones will understand.