I don’t know about you, but business owners and leaders get asked to go to a lot of events, be on boards, support lots of causes, and do many things that take up your time. You don’t want to be rude or have people think you don’t like or support them, so you say yes – too much.
Besides taking up your time, these commitments take up your mindshare. You wind up getting drawn in and thinking about it, when it may not be the best use of your bandwidth.
Years ago ships were being loaded heavy to cross the ocean, and many of them sunk on the journey. A guy named Plimsoll had the idea to paint a line on the hull. When the ship was loaded to where the Plimsoll line was at the waterline, you stop. No more, or risk that ALL will be lost.
There are seasons in life and times when you can and should say yes more. But if saying yes will take you away from your most important mission this year, thank them for the invitation, and just say no.
That is so true! I learned a long time ago that if I was overwhelmed, it was my own fault; that by saying yes to everyone, I was saying no to myself. Now, I am very careful about what I say yes to. I try not to pick up something new until I have first put something else down. I still give of my self and my time, I am just very particular where I do that, and I make sure that when I say yes, it is something I have thought about and not just a knee-jerk reaction.
Good advise. Took me a long time to get that one down. Sometimes I may be a bit rude too!
I also learned a new word a while back “altruistic” I gave up on that one.