Start Your Year Off With No

This time of year can feel like you need to say yes to everything. Yes to a new career. Yes to a new partner. Yes to a new health regime. Yes to saving money. But what if instead you decided to start your year off with No.

Women tend to struggle with boundaries and saying no. I love the concept of necessary endings, which essentially means you create the ending rather than waiting for someone else to end it. Taking an inventory of your life is basically deciding what needs to change, what you need to let go of, and what needs to end.

It is common to take on routines and commitments in all areas of life, but if you do not pause, reflect, and re-access, you may find yourself still doing things that no longer serve you at this chapter or phase of your life.

Here is what I mean by taking an inventory. Break out your life into these eight categories:

• Career
• Money
• Health
• Partnership
• Living Environment
• Personal Growth
• Self-Care
• Friends and Family

Write down the activities you do in each area. There may be some categories that do not have an activity, and in that case skip it or rename the category that better aligns with the structure of your life.

Then, review the list in each category of your life. Close your eyes, breathe, and check to see if these activities feel energizing or meaningful to you, or if they feel draining, boring and/or more like an obligation.

This is where you find your NOs. What in your life can you stop doing so that you may either create more white space or do more of what you have been wanting to do but have been putting off? For example, maybe you have been volunteering at the same organization for 7 plus years but feel called to volunteer your time elsewhere.

SAY NO and choose what lifts you up.

Maybe you have dinner with the same friends every Tuesday night but you have been yearning to take Salsa dancing and cannot fit it in anywhere else. Say NO to the friends’ dinner and take a Salsa dancing class, or better yet, enroll your friends to go with you.

Maybe you and your partner go to the movies on date nights but you want to try going to a play or doing day date like a hike. Say NO to the movies and start planning more exciting dates for you and your partner.

Maybe you have done the same workout routine for years but are utterly bored or basically not mindful when you do it. Say NO to the workout and try something that seems more fun to you.

By starting your year out by saying NO, it opens the space for your HELL YES!

Please, try it out and let me know how it goes. OR if you are stuck, reach out for a session. I would be happy to help you do a life inventory.