I have a hard time saying no to people. Especially to people who I care about. I never like to let anyone down and end up taking on far too much, getting overtired and sick. When I do say no people are so shocked that they tend not to take it well even when I give them advance notice of my intention to say NO. It is a major dilemma for me, but the older I get the more I realize that I have no choice. I can't do as much as I used to and I need to take better care of myself as I have found out that if I don't no one will.
I am an introvert masquerading as an extrovert. I like to socialize with people and have a good time, but that is not how I recharge my internal batteries as most extroverts do. I recharge mentally and emotionally in solitude.
Doing things like walking on the beach with Lucy or hiking in the canyon is something I love to do. I find it relaxing and renewing. I have had few chances to enjoy this simple pleasure since the start of the summer and with summer rapidly disappearing I have begun to realize that I need to manage my personal time better. I have to say NO in order to get time to rest and renew. So I am on to a new me. Every occasion I am asked to do something I will decide if I can balance that with some ME time or if it will prevent me from fulfilling MY goals. I only hope that those around me who I care about can understand that sometimes I just have to say no and they will have to get used to the new me. They need to understand that I will be able to give more of myself to them if they have less of my time and energies.
So I am going to spend the rest of the summer fulfilling my obligations and goals, but with more balance. I am going to spend more of my time laughing and less of my time grinding away.
I am an introvert masquerading as an extrovert. I like to socialize with people and have a good time, but that is not how I recharge my internal batteries as most extroverts do. I recharge mentally and emotionally in solitude.
Doing things like walking on the beach with Lucy or hiking in the canyon is something I love to do. I find it relaxing and renewing. I have had few chances to enjoy this simple pleasure since the start of the summer and with summer rapidly disappearing I have begun to realize that I need to manage my personal time better. I have to say NO in order to get time to rest and renew. So I am on to a new me. Every occasion I am asked to do something I will decide if I can balance that with some ME time or if it will prevent me from fulfilling MY goals. I only hope that those around me who I care about can understand that sometimes I just have to say no and they will have to get used to the new me. They need to understand that I will be able to give more of myself to them if they have less of my time and energies.
So I am going to spend the rest of the summer fulfilling my obligations and goals, but with more balance. I am going to spend more of my time laughing and less of my time grinding away.
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.
-- Mark Twain
-- Mark Twain
Good for you!! We all need to take this advice and learn to think of ourselves first so that we have more to give to others. :)
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