Written by: Coach Miki
I was taking a walk in town the other day when I saw a sign in the window of our local sporting goods store: “You run the day or the day runs you.”
A catchy phrase for a running store, and it reminded me of a workshop I facilitated several years ago about leading your life instead of life leading you.
How often do we operate on default mode by letting the calendar run our day instead of the other way around? Ask yourself honestly:
Are you taking on more work when you already have too much on your plate?
Are you saying YES to additional commitments when deep down you know the answer should be NO?
Are you consistently putting your own priorities last and everyone else’s needs above your own?
If you answered yes to any or all of the above, know you’re not alone. Most of us were never taught that “no” is a complete sentence. Instead, we were taught that saying “yes” shows that we’re hardworking and makes us good team players. While that may be true in a general sense, saying “yes” to everything can leave us depleted, resentful, and running on empty.
In other words, every “yes” means a “no” to something else. And by saying “yes” to less, we’re creating more space for what matters most (to us).
Leading your life doesn’t mean doing everything. It means doing the right things with intention in ways that actually align with your values, your vision, and your well-being.
Let’s do a quick exercise called a calendar audit: Take a look at your calendar or write down what you did over the past 24 hours (or the past week, if you’d like a broader look). Then, set aside some time to reflect on how you spent your time by considering some or all of the following:
How do you feel about how you are using your time? Is it in alignment with what you say/feel is important?
What awareness did you gain about how you’re spending your time?
What do you need more/less of? What (different) choices do you want to make?
What’s one thing you can say NO to this week? Feel free to share or drop it in the comments!
