Did you know that you can’t do everything?
Life is busy. There are dishes to clean, clothes to wash, and litter boxes to empty. Well, at least, I have litter boxes. We have four cats and seven litter boxes.
Did you know there are only 24 hours in a day? Did you know part of that time it is a good idea to sleep? And as suggested by The National Sleep Foundation, healthy adults need from 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
You can’t do it all.
No, you can’t volunteer for everything; you can’t please everyone, and you can not stay awake forever.
Make time in your day to create. Just say no.
No, I will not help you clean all the sidewalks in the neighborhood with a toothbrush.
No, I will not read everything you post on Facebook.
No, I will not clean the house all by myself, and let my children watch television all day.
No, I will not let your elephant stay with me when you go to Rome.
No, I will not stay awake all night and read odd news stories about two-headed cats.
When you don’t make time in your day to create, your paintings will never get painted, your stories will never be written, and your songs will never be sung. I know, I know, tomorrow you will do it. Really, I know. For the past twenty years, or seven thousand and three hundred days, I have said, “I will do it tomorrow.” But, the next day was the same as the one before. The dishes were washed, the counters were sort of clean, and the floors were swept, but my words stayed in my head, and my canvases remained white.
I would rather die with a few dishes in my sink, and dog hair on the carpet, then never take time to paint or write. On my tombstone may no one ever write, “She died with all of her dishes washed, and the vacuum was always running.”
Wake up early and write then, stop watching television at night and write then, stop spending eight hours a week scrubbing your walls and write then, or paint, or compose music or_____________. Fill in the blank.
Make time in your day to create. Just say no. ( p.s. I know I am repeating myself. But, in writing if you say things twice, you are either forgetful,have early Alzheimer’s, or you really want to make a point.)
Nike said, “Just do it.” I say, “Just say no.”
Do you have any bad habits you need to say no to?
Please tell me in the comments, I would love to chat.
p.s. There is a, “However.”
However, please don’t be completely selfish with your time. There are organizations that need your help. Be wise and take time out of your life to help others. It is healthy to set boundaries. Know where you fence is. Take care of yourself. But open your gate a little and share your time. Learn when to say yes, and when to say no.
If you need help setting boundaries, I suggest the book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Cloud and Townsend.
————————-
Today I talked about why you should say no to the bad. Tomorrow I will talk about why you should said no to the good.
Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Amazon. The link to the book Boundaries is an affiliate link. The pennies Amazon pays me helps pay for Kitty Litter. As I said before, we have seven litter boxes and four cats.