The Power of No

A lot has been written about the power of YES, and it is powerful indeed. But what about the power of NO?

Remember that workshop Coach Peggy suggested I do this summer? Good things happened because of that suggestion, good growth for me, AND I’ve been stressing about it since she mentioned it to me. I had a massive panic attack, and couldn’t figure out why, until I realized it all had to do with the workshop.

I didn’t feel ready. I’ve been to only one CORE, so I don’t even know how to ask questions yet! I don’t have a lot of things in place, like insurance, or a place to hold the workshop if it’s raining (and we all know it NEVER rains in the Pacific Northwest, right? No, only for a few months out of the year. The rest of the time, it drizzles). But Coach Peggy said I should do a workshop, so dangit, a workshop I would do!

Except....Peggy never said I had to do it; it was a suggestion. A suggestion. I discovered in that moment that I have interpreted others’ suggestions as directives for pretty much my entire life. What an eye opener!

Then I figured out I didn’t have to say “yes” to this suggestion. Instead of saying “yes” to something that was causing me massive anxiety and panic, I could say “yes” to my inner knowing. I will know when I’m ready to take whatever next step is awaiting me. I’ve done it many times, and been successful. So in this case, I chose to say “No. Not yet.”

I cannot tell you how much better I felt the moment I uttered those words. I did say them out loud. There wasn’t anybody around, but it didn’t matter. Saying them out loud seemed the thing to do.

So a workshop is in the offing, but it may be a bit further out than this summer. When I do it, I’ll have a teeny bit of excited anxiety, and a whole lot of fun. And so will the attendees. Win-win all the way around. I like that!