Before You Say No, it’s good to be clear on your yeses.
Tis the Season, right? Tomorrow begins the countdown to being asked a million times over to show up in ways you are less than excited to do. From hosting, baking, attending parties and gatherings and the list goes on. Before we even step into November, let's get clear on what we want to say yes to. Because when we are clear on that, everything else will fall into place.
Over the next minute, as you read this email. Remember that you are different in every way from every other mama. No one has your children, your family history, and your gifts and strengths, so no shoulding on yourselves. It is okay that you do not feel like you can host Thanksgiving dinner this year, that you don’t want to participate in the family gift exchange, or even that you do not want to help with your child’s school party. It is okay to say no to these things.
As a rule of thumb, we need to set our priorities and intentions for the season before entering into a new season. What do you want for your little family? Personally, I do not want to be running around like a headless chicken, and that means I need to take things slow. I need to plan and allow myself plenty of time to do it. This also narrows down my scope of what I can say yes to. I want my children’s memories of the holidays to be full of gratitude, Jesus, and our family traditions.
So here is our saying no game plan.
- Answer the question: what do I want for our little family this holiday season?
- Is this something only I could do?
- Would I be saying yes because of what others might think of me or out of guilt and shame? (Ideally, it is not a great way to go.)
- Come up with a one-liner. “You know I would love to, but our current commitments for this year don’t allow me to add on anything else.
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some great resources for you to use for this holiday season. Until then, I would love to hear from you. If you need help game-planning a “no,” simply hit reply, and we can tackle it together.
Here’s to a lighter holiday season.
Laura
