Not Responsible For Other People's Success

We know that I care a lot about self-care. That self-care seems to be the best way for me to make myself happy, to have enough energy to deal, to feel my feelings and to be present in my days. I think a lot about how, when my reserves are low, I feel like a screaming 4 year old. And if my reserves are high, I feel like Superwoman.For the past few weeks, I've been dealing with anxiety. It's coming from feeling really out of control with my salaried job and from not having enough down time, even with vacation.I've spent the past 6+ months feeling like "life is steam-rolling me and going with the flow is gonna get me sucked out to sea." And I wrote about wanting to make a change. To create boundaries and understand what my priorities are, instead of just going with the next thing...and the next thing... and the next thing.It seems that, to dig out from the back log, to create space, to feel in control, I needed a new tool.So, I've started saying No.It began with the hand-to-heart practice that Heidi taught me. That little action began to give me pause.Then, I decided to clear my meetings for the next few weeks. Meetings take up tons of energy for this introvert, they suck up time and create even more work. I needed a buffer. I needed to go through the back-log from months of chaos. I needed to feel relieved and focused when I woke up, not dread.Then, I listened to Tiffany Han on Elise's podcast (episode 17) where she speaks about taking a social media break, being bored, and saying no.

"You are not responsible for the success of anyone else's business endeavor...people need to be strict preserves of their sanity, because no one else is going to look out for you. Cuz no one else cares that much, honestly. We're all trying to do our own thing."

What?!I am not responsible for other people's success?Of course I've heard this before, but for some reason, Tiffany's no bullshit attitude coming through my headphones was like a sermon. I felt the grace of good advice run through me.Because that's how I feel. Often. That I am responsible for everything. And to start saying no, to separate myself from other people's needs, to create some space to think about how I feel and what I want - this has felt like a game changer.So, I said no.No, I don't want to go to Six Flags.I don't want to leave my apartment.I don't want to cook tonight.I don't want to host that event that maybe only 10 people will show up to.I don't want to stay up late.I don't want a glass of wine.I don't want to travel for work right now.I don't want to meet up on a Saturday.I don't want to go on a 10m hike.These things are all awesome in the general context of life. I am not turning down bad things, if anything, I am saying no to things that seam unreasonable to say no to. But, it has to be done.Because each time I said no to one of these items, I created space for downtime, for refueling, for quiet.(We know, I need so much downtime to function.)But also, each time I said no, I was able to say yes to something awesome too. Going to the beach for lunch, going for a run alone, meeting a friend for coffee, spending time with H, working on a cool project, blogging, reading. Or doing nothing. Things that refuel my reserves. Things that I deem worthy of my time. Things that matter to me.So - as the deep summer is upon us - I encourage you to say "no" to something this week. Open up some space in your life. Maybe it's something you hate, or something you said yes to once before and now feel obligated to keep it up. Maybe it's something where the other person will be disappointed or you'll feel guilty. Go listen to that podcast and try out that two-letter word. No.Because you are not responsible for the success of anyone else.You can be selfish, in the very best way. You can say No.