Saying No Without Guilt
Only say yes when you want to
Story time - yesterday I was buried in work and had blocked off several hours to get it done. I got my water (hydration!) and coffee (does this even need an explanation?) and sat down to do my work. Then my son enters and asks me to take him to the park so he doesn’t have to do his run in our brutally hilly/sunny neighborhood.
BC (before coaching) I would have seen the choices as:
Take him but feel frustrated that I couldn’t get my work done
Not take him and feel guilty
So in case you’re like I was I’m here to let you in on a secret - there are other options!
I could have decided that spending time with my son before he heads back to school is important to me. And because it’s part of my value system I wanted to do this - without the frustrating martyr complex.
I could have said no - because I had work to do and honoring my work goals is also a value of mine. Thus the no wouldn’t have the accompanying guilt.
Or I could brainstorm other solutions - which in this case I did. I outsourced the park trip to his sister (yay for older siblings who can drive!), got my work done, and scheduled time with my son later in the day to go fishing.
The point is that prior to coaching I would have felt like I was a victim to the situation. Both choices would have left me feeling terrible. But now I know that my THOUGHTS about the situation are what is causing my feelings. And I can change my thoughts to change how I feel about it.
That guilt thing? It’s a time suck and a waste of your brain power resources.
It’s time to kick it to the curb. And the fastest way to doing that is with help.
So if you’d like to make decisions without guilt (trick question, you do) - schedule a coaching consultation with me. You’ll talk, I’ll listen and together we’ll map out a plan that you can easily get done.
