Realizing I Did Not Owe Everyone a Yes
I used to think “yes” was the magic word. Saying “Yes” made people smile. “Yes” got me invited back. “Yes” kept the peace, avoided awkwardness, and if I’m honest, made me feel needed. But somewhere along the way, “yes” stopped feeling generous. It started feeling heavy. It became a promise I made on autopilot, even when my chest tightened, my shoulders ached, and my mind whispered, “you can’t do this anymore”. No one warns you about the quiet cost of a life built on yes. You don’t realize how many times you’ve traded your time, your rest, or your joy for the comfort of others until you catch yourself cancelling your own plans for the third weekend in a row, just to meet someone else’s deadline or attend a gathering you didn’t want to go to in the first place. For me, it wasn’t a single, dramatic moment that broke me, it was small compromises piling up until I didn’t recognize myself. The way I’d agree to lead projects even when I wa...