When a Yes Person Learned How to Say No.

I have always been a “yes” person. I think it comes from two things. Mainly, I want to make everyone happy and I used to think that by telling everyone yes, I was solving this problem. Second, I genuinely have such a wide range of interests and hobbies, that it a lot of times is hard for me to say no to something, because I want to do everything. For example, I started college getting one major. I now have one major, three minors, and two certificates. A little much, huh? Well, it’s because I just wanted to take all kinds of classes that appealed to all of my interests, so I did. Because of this, I know that I will be a more marketable person upon graduation, and I have also made so many different friends from all kinds of different programs around my campus.

There are definitely a lot of pros to wanting to be involved in as many things as possible, but I also want to touch on the fact today that, it’s okay not to be so involved. I’ve realized that saying yes all the time isn’t necessarily something that works best all the time.

Last semester for example, I had three internships, a job, and was enrolled in 20 credit hours of classes. At some point, it began to feel like an addiction, this feeling of needing to say yes to everything. To being constantly busy and never having a waking moment of free time to spend wth anyone who I care about. I began to realize that while my resume was amplified, my personal time for growth was dwindling, and at times I felt like it was nonexistent. As someone who considers herself to be a creative, this kind of schedule didn’t work out so well. There was no time for me to sit back to grow and process when I don’t allow myself time to even eat at times because my schedule was so busy.

I’ve identified that this is something that I want to change for 2017. Already, I have signed up for a smaller class load, turned down one of my internships for this next semester, and built in time for myself in my schedule. Looking ahead to the next few months, I’ve already planned trips and fun activities that will give me time to get away and tap into my adventurous side.

While I still am very much someone who likes to have everything planned out, I’ve realized that I can also plan out time to just simply be excited for growth. Over this past month of being at home on winter break, I worked on making videos, creating art, listening to podcasts, and  journaling. It’s like an explosion of my creative self was what I needed to tap into my normal self again. 

I’m so ready to hit this semester running with a spirit that’s back to feeling my creative best! 

Love, 

Olivia