I feel as though I am just emerging from a long hibernation. This is my first blog in nearly 9 months. Why the hiatus? Was it that I had nothing to write about? Had I lost my desire to engage through this medium? Clearly not! And, yet, I had also reached an inflection point where I knew that I needed to create some space for my self amidst the ever-increasing priorities of life. Perhaps you can relate?

So, I chose to say, “no.” Arguably one of the most difficult words to articulate. Speaking for myself, I don’t want to disappoint others, and I certainly don’t want to miss out on what might turn out to be a fantastic opportunity. This begs the question, how do we know what to say, “no” to? As David Whyte shared so beautifully in The Heart Aroused, “One way to come to yes is to say no to everything that does not nourish and entice our secret inner life out into the world.”

What does this mean? It means understanding, truly, what you are meant to do with your unique talents; and having the courage to create the space to do it. This is no easy task, nor is it something you do once and then move along your merry way. Along your journey, you’ll invariably be faced with the traffic jam – the feeling that you are wading through all of this “work” that is slowing you down in your ability to have the impact, on your self and others, that you are meant to have.

The question becomes, how long does it take you before you realize that you’re stuck? And, once you realize it, what will you do about it? In my case, I chose to create time and space for my self. To say, “no” to things that I could in order to say, “yes” to opportunities that would get me back on track. That decision has led to some amazing opportunities – a teaching assistantship at HBS, two international speaking engagements this summer, the onboarding of a fantastic Executive-in-Residence who will help us take the Center to the next level – and those are only the professional opportunities!

I welcome hearing your stories of how saying “no” has led to an even better “yes.”