To Many Yes’s and Not Enough No’s

Do I really need to beat everyone and get to “A” from way back here in “F” to prove I’m worthy of an achievement? NO!

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. – Lin Yutang

I received a reminder today about greed again coming into my day as I looked at my list to move through and plan. A reminder that I had a plan to do something and I was certainly able to accomplish it. However, that shouldn’t mean it needs to be done.

We have to be able to tell ourselves and others “no” in order to do the things that really matter later on. This in itself is simplifying. We always feel like we need to do more and more. There is an inherent danger in a practice like that.

Knowing that nothing need be done is where we begin to move from. – Gary Snyder

“Knowing” is the key here and muscle we need to build in our self-awareness of it. Sometimes I have to say no to the the people that I really care about in my life. It doesn’t feel great, but if I don’t, they’re not going to get the best version of me when it really matters later on.

I began to realize that all the things I think “need” to be done are choices. I can let them complicate and aggravate my life, making it far more complex and unenjoyable. Or, I can be super intentional with my decisions and choices of what I say yes to, saying no to the things that nothing need be done at this moment. We need to practice on how to better exist.

Greed is our insatiable desire for more. It’s not always physical in the way it manifests and makes our lives more complex when we are not in control of it. It’s this constant drive to do more than we are capable of doing and grabbing for things out of reach. This undisciplined approach to simplifying our lives by letting greed rule over our planning our days out will always leave us empty and feeling unaccomplished. Just achieving something or gaining something is what greed falsely leads us to believe is going to make us happy and we will find simplicity in that accomplishment. It’s a false positive.

We cannot be overused in our discipline to saying no to more things and instead need to have thought. We need to have a strategy to our no and our yes. Find balance and not be ruled by one or the other by staying close to them.

All we can do is one thing at a time. All we have is this moment, this day. And it is enough. It is beautiful, incredible, if we just really see it and appreciate it. – Leo Babauta

Hope your week started off in a space you can really look at it and appreciate what’s to come.

✌🏻 Shawn