Saying No to the Things We Want to Do

Inspiration credits to Rohan Rajiv

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert once shared an exchange she had with someone who was trying to help her with her struggles as a writer.

This wise older woman asked - What are you willing to give up, in order to have the life you keep saying you want?”

She said — “You’re right — I need to start saying no to things I don’t want to do.”

She corrected her — “No, it’s much harder than that. You need to learn to start saying no to things you DO want to do, with the recognition that you have only one life, and you don’t have time and energy for everything.”

This resonated with me. There’s things I want to do and things I really really want to do.

It’s easy to say no to things I don’t want to do, it’s much harder to say no to things I want to do.

But the things I want to do might be stopping me from doing the things I really really want to do.