230. Why I’m Saying No

By cpaine | October 3, 2023

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“Pretend you’re standing on the edge of a huge cliff and someone is going to push you off if you don’t let go of 2-3 things you’re carrying. What are you going to let go of?”

I was at the end of my first coaching session with @alliworthington a few months ago and she’d ask me to describe my life and responsibilities. She told me I needed to find some things to let go, scale back on, get help with, or delegate. I pretty quickly said, “I don’t know that I really can.” And I was prepared to back up my answer with lots of solid reasons why I needed to be carrying everything I was carrying.

Instead of me having an opportunity to do just that, she gave me the cliff analogy above and told me I had two weeks to ponder the question and come back to her with some ideas of what I was going to let go of.

I love that she did this because it was exactly what my stubborn, do-it-myself, don’t-ask-for-help personality needed to be challenged with. And — to my great surprise! — in the next few weeks, I found three big ongoing responsibilities that I could let go of — and I did!!

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I share what those three responsibilities were and how it looked and felt to hand them off and what I’m learning from this. I hope my journey and story really encourages those of you who might need the gentle nudge — or a strong kick in the backside — to release some of what you’re clinging onto thinking you’re the only one who can do it, the only one who is willing/stepping up to say yes, or the only one who can do it as well as you can.

This journey of letting go, praying for God to bring help, receiving the offers of help, and letting others help has been SO hard and humbling and so, so good for my soul. Plus, I’m starting to feel a lot more breathing room in my life again — which has been a huge gift!

In This Episode

[0:35] – We are talking about the importance of saying no today.

[2:32] – Hear about a potential water leak we discovered in Kathrynne’s house.

[6:38] – It turned out that it was just a reading error because the meter was broken!

[9:57] – Jesse’s passion for weather.

[12:41] – A funny story about our recent trip and a “stream”.

[16:52] – What has been saving my life lately?

[19:36] – Our little ones have been loving chalkboards and dry-erase boards.

[21:37] – I recently read Don’t Hold Back by David Platt!

[25:09] – Saying no.

[29:54] – On callings and also balancing that with a sustainable life.

[32:17] – Letting go of a role I’ve held for the past few years.

[36:06] – Two more responsibilities I let go of.

[37:38] – Saying no can make space for others to say yes.

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