Only say yes

To what deserves you / Issue 1,207

Oh, hi friends!

Your present self loves to say yes.

It feels easier!

But what would your future self want you to say?

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This is one of the prompts from the “Say No” chapter of my new book Do It (or Don’t): A Boundary-Creating Journal.* 

I just flipped through it looking for some inspiration. (Because, Sunday Scaries!)

And there it is.

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Saying yes isn’t always a response to an invitation, offering, or another person.

Often it’s simply low-hanging fruit that’s more tempting in the moment.

We also say yes to…

• Our phones

• Minor interruptions

• Drifting into a bad day

• Unchallenging work

• Red flags

• Overloading ourselves

If, for one moment, we considered before saying yes: How will I feel about this later? In a week? Next year?

We would make different decisions.

(At least I would!)

So that’s today.

Carefully deciding what deserves our “yes.”

And, in doing so, quietly listening to our future selves.

*The journal is officially out tomorrow, September 12!

You can support it — and me! — by ordering on Amazon, Bookshop, Urban Outfitters (they have such a cute photo for it), your favorite local indie bookstore, or ask me for a copy and I’ll send you one because honestly, if you’re here, I am 96% sure you’re going to love it?!

And if it might help you with your work or projects or the way you construct your days, well, I want you to have it. That’s why I wrote it. For you.