It has been a while since I have written an article for you, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about you.
If you aren't subscribed to my general yoga blog, you may not know, but six months ago I gave birth to a baby girl. Since then our little family has spent time traveling in and living between Boston and Canada and even spent a month in Hawaii. My husband Steve got a new job, I rekindled my teaching business and we moved into our new home.
During this time, I noticed that something solidified that I have been consciously working on within myself and my business for years.
I will admit I usually roll my eyes when I hear someone give a platitude like "children are our best teachers", but while Audrey can't literally teach me how to be a better yoga professional she has, effectively nearly eliminated a problem many of us yoga teachers have.
In the chaos of life with a baby I finally learned the just how important this powerful sentence is for my business and my sanity.
And I want you to repeat it with me.
"Let me get back to you on that."
Yes, that is the sentence.
"Let me get back to you on that."
It isn't a positive affirmation or a secret mantra, but this sentence alone can save you from stress and wasting your time.
When I first became pregnant I tried desperately to keep every commitment I made. But it quickly became clear that my energy, availability and even my patience was more limited than before. I learned not only to say "no thanks" when I wasn't interested in pursuing a project, but how to also stop investing my time into anything or anyone I found draining or negative.
Through the ongoing project of supporting a baby that gets more active by the day, I guard my time even more fiercely now.
You don't need to have children to relate to this or to practice it, you just need a reason to value your time and energy.
By your very nature as a yoga teacher, I bet you are eager to make others happy and may be viewed as a "helper" in many of your relationships. While it is an honour to be thought of as a giving supporter for other people, it may also mean that people are overly comfortable in asking for things from you beyond the boundaries of simple generousity.
You may get frequent requests to teach free classes, give massive discounts and do things that no one would expect from another business owner (when is the last time you asked your dentist or massage therapist to work for free).
If you have trouble saying yes to the right things and no to everything else give this a try for a week and see what happens try this exercise straight out of my book The A-Z of Being a Successful Yoga Teacher.
The next time anyone asks you to take on something new or wants to reserve your time or energy do the following:
1) Press Pause. Don't say "yes" even if the idea makes your heart leap (at least for this one week), instead practice saying "Let me get back to you on that."
2) Let the decision rest for 24 hours. That should be enough time to let any emotional involvement settle and to consider a few different options. After that time period answer the following questions:
Is this opportunity:
- something I want to do because it is fun, exciting, etc.?
- supporting a friend or cause I believe in?
- aligned with my direction and big goals?
- something I have the time/ energy for at this moment?
If you can't answer "yes" authentically with both heart and mind in agreement to at LEAST two of these questions, politely decline and save your precious time and energy.
After a week you should be able to see your patterns and even if you don't continue to go through this process with each and every opportunity that arises, chances are you will be clearer about saying yes to the right things more often.
Any tips for more empowered decision making? Share with us in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Annie Roi "Play"