Tuesday at 2:00pm with Russ

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)

Greetings to you!

Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.

Russ...

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. when you say yes, you are saying no to every other option. No is a decision, Yes is a responsibility." James Clear

What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

James Clear, in the quote above, just shines another light on the idea that learning to say no is a way to save your time and energy for the things you most need or want to do.

I like that idea.... "No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility".

There's a freedom that comes with saying no. It's a definite decision, a closed door, a final word. "NO" usually ends the conversation and moves me back to the task at hand.

Here's an example...

As I was writing this post, a friend texted me and asked for a phone call. I had blocked out 2 hours to work on this post and another writing project, so I was protective of the time.

I told him NO, and that I wasn't available, but could connect later.

He wrote back that it wasn't a big deal and that he'd see me in 2 days at a lunch we had scheduled.

Just like that, I was able to turn back to my writing. (I also turned off my message notifications so I could focus).

The NO was a decision, that once it was made, allowed me to keep doing what I had planned to do. Had I said YES, I would have left my focus to talk to a friend, and who knows where that would have led. The reality is that I have limited time today to get some things accomplished.

Now, had my friend said that it was really important or an emergency, I would have made time, but he just wanted to chat.

We do this all the time.

  • I say yes to a last-minute opportunity, and the prior commitments are all affected because I'm preparing for this new thing

  • I say yes and then it takes up mental space in my mind. I begin thinking about it, preparing for it. It might be a great thing, but that idea that a YES is a responsibility is true! When I say yes to something I want to do my best.

  • I say yes to my friend today even though we have a scheduled conversation planned in 2 days. My writing doesn't get done, or I take time from someone else to make up for it.

Clear basically says that a NO is a decision and a YES has all kinds of impact and ramifications that need to be considered.

Sometimes I just don't take the time to evaluate those ramifications before I say yes... usually it comes as we get closer to the think I committed to.

In what ways has your YES turned into greater responsibility and energy, surprising you in the details and ramifications?

DEEPER STILL:

The best way to learn how to say YES and NO is simply by doing it. We learn from our successes and our failures.

I've shared this with you as well, but I've missed out on some great opportunities because I said NO. At the time, it didn't seem right, but in hindsight, I often wonder.

I remember a 2 job opportunities I had early on in my career. Both of them were a long interview process where I was pursued, and it felt really good. In fact I was sitting in a situation where I had three valid offers on the table, and I was trying to make the right decision. Gina and I were young, we weren't sure about which job to take, but in the end, we needed to just go with our GUT (which I believe is the Holy Spirit speaking in my life!).

We pulled the trigger, said NO to 2 of them, and said YES to the one we felt was the best one, and it was a great decision! We moved, built lifetime friendships and grew up in this community and it was wonderful.

However, there are times that I wander what might have happened had we taking door number 1 or 2? It might have been better! It might have been a disaster!

That's when the voice of God in our lives is so important, and we learn from experience how to hear His voice, and not our own voices.

I have zero regret about this decisions. Saying NO was a decision, and then it was done. There was freedom in that. Saying YES changed our lives forever, and I believe it's exactly where God wanted us to be.

Think of a time when you had to make a difficult decision.. what helped you come to the decision? Do you have regret about that?

 

Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:

Source: www.leadermundial.org