I tend to say yes too often. Yes, I want to subscribe to that magazine. Yes, I'll take on the project at church. Yes, I can write that article for you in six minutes (well, that's a bit of an exaggeration). All the yeses lead to a lot of stresses. And they leave little time for relaxation.
A couple of weeks ago, I traded e-mails with a friend about a writer's group I've been a member of for the past year. It was renewal time and I decided to leave the group rather than stay a year longer than I probably should have. I always have this tendency to be committed to groups, and projects, and subscriptions, one year longer than I know I should. Schedules change. Priorities change. And life in general changes. So, I'm getting better at recognizing when to say yes and when to say no.
I have this thought that runs through my mind periodically. It goes something like this: Wouldn't it be nice to be "caught up" with everything? Wouldn't it be nice to have a squeaky clean house, all of my e-mail answered, all of my writing projects done way before deadline, and all of the many other little things that need to be done? I could call friends and talk as long as I wanted. I could read as many books as I wanted. I go could fishing. I could visit relatives I haven't seen in ages. I could just relax.
But if I spent every moment of my life doing the things I consider to be relaxing, I'm guessing that they'd lose their luster somehow. I guess I'm in search of what everybody else is—a balance between the necessary and the not so necessary. Sometimes it can be hard to find, can't it?
