Say YES to Yourself!

August 7, 2012

Have you ever noticed how we often have a hard time saying no to others, but it is somehow natural to say no to ourselves. We have different ways of telling ourselves no. Here are three of the more common ones and what you can do to start saying yes.

1.) I dont have time. There are 24 hours in every day, yet we struggle to find even one hour that we can claim as our own. We have time to clean, help others, cook, help others, take care of kids, help others, go to work, help others you get my point. There are always those things that have to be done. Aside from that, the other things can either wait or just not get done.

Taking care of YOU needs to be on the list of things that HAVE to be done. You know the priority list ?

The truth is you DO have time to exercise, eat well, relax, take a bath whatever it is that keeps you healthy and balanced. You dont need to find the time; you need to give yourself PERMISSION to be a priority.

2.) I cant afford it. I would argue that you cant afford NOT to do things for yourself. When we ignore ourselves and our needs, our physical, emotional, and mental health suffers. When we are running on empty that spills over into our relationships and our jobs; and we end up not really being 100% present or effective at anything. For example, I often hear people say theyd really like to work with a personal trainer, but they cant afford it. These same people often spend $50 or more a week on miscellaneous items including coffee, take out, happy hour, tabloid magazines, energy drinks, etc. (If I just named everything on your list its because Im guilty of this frivolous spending, too!) If you add all that up, you could easily afford one personal training session a week. When you give yourself permission to make yourself a priority, you will surely place more value on yourself than that $5 coffee or the latest gossip magazine. If you still cant afford a personal trainer, thats o.k. Get your friends together for a healthy hour and take a walk or prepare a healthy meal.

3. Im not good enough. This ones a biggie. This type of fear-based thinking can literally paralyze us. Our own self-limiting beliefs cause us to say no to possibilities; therefore, we are saying no to ourselves. When we tell ourselves that we are inadequate, we begin to believe the lies (Im: too fat, too short, not smart enough, not pretty enough, not fast enough, not disciplined enough, not as good as everyone else. the list could go on forever) that our inner critic tells us. We deny ourselves the opportunity to even TRY to do something for ourselves. If we want to change that then we have to challenge the negative thoughts that clog our minds. When we unclog our minds from the negative self talk, we can begin to see that we are good enough RIGHT NOW. When you believe that you are good enough, worthy enough, and capable enough to do whatever it is you want to do you will finally be able to say YES to yourself!

Learning to say yes to yourself can be challenging. Its not easy to adopt a new way of thinking; but changing your mindset is really the first step to achieving your other physical, mental, and emotional wellness goals. If you feel stuck and want some guidance to help you move forward, check out my wellness coaching services . I can help you get started. All you have to do is say yes!