Hey, friend -

Sometimes, when I sit down to write you a pep talk, I put my hands on the keyboard and absolutely nothing happens.

The blinking cursor mocks me: You [blink] have [blink] nothing [blink] helpful [blink] to say.

Today, at least, my cursor is wrong. Because the moment my fingers settled on ASDF JKL; the universe (muse, gut feeling, intuition, whatever you want to call it) handed me today's pep talk. And when the universe offers a direction, I take it.

That's not always been the case, though.

My version of ignoring the universe looks a lot like (looks exactly like) saying "yes" when I should've said "no."

I'm the only child of a career military officer and church enthusiast, so my do-what's-expected-of-you instinct is no joke. Calling me a "people pleaser" is like calling Dwayne Johnson "strong." It's factually accurate but nowhere near the whole truth.

Every time my mouth has said "yes" when my gut was shouting otherwise, I've regretted it. Every time. Yeses that should've been nos have lead me to heartbreak, resentment, burnout... acne, joint pain, weight gain. Ugh.

Pep Talk #010: No is a complete sentence.
I don't know who needs to hear this today (besides me), but you're allowed to:
>Decline the opportunity.
> Not go to the thing.
> Turn down the client.
> Opt out of the activity.
> Not accept the terms.
> Walk away from a "sure thing."
‍
And you don't even have to give an explanation.
> Thanks for thinking of me, but I can't.
> I appreciate the invitation, but no thank you.
> That sounds fun, but I won't be able to join you.
> Now isn't a good time for me.
> I don't do that anymore.

I won't pretend saying "no" is comfortable. But it gets easier every time. And it's a helluva lot easier than the sh*t that follows when we say "yes" to the wrong things.

So who needed to hear this today? Was it you? Tell me what's up.

No, non, nein, nope, no can do —
Kelley