I read a quote the other day about a very true subject that I’d never thought much about before. When you say “yes” to something, you are saying yes as a commitment of your time, energy, and focus. But by saying yes to one thing, you’re also saying no to something else.
Very simply put, the things that you say yes to mean that you are going to occupy your time saying yes to certain elements. There are certain things, certain people, and certain objects in your life that require you to use your time on those and forsake the others.
Through my recent sobriety, this has become very clear to me that you have to make time for the things that you really want to make time for. You have to spend your time doing the things that you know are going to be a fruitful and beneficial use of your time. You have to spend your time doing things that put you in a good, positive place – not in a negative place.
When you think about how you say yes to things, you also need to realize that you are saying no to other things. By saying yes to spending more time with friends and family, you are saying no to spending time by yourself or in other courses of action.
By saying yes to taking on more projects at work, you are saying no to letting idle time or idle hands go to use or go to waste.
This is not a new principle. But it’s something that has touched me very deeply this week regarding how I think and allocate my time, my energy, and my focus going forward.