It seems that everyone is choosing a word to claim for the year of 2021. Do you have a word? Mine is TRUST!
I guess picking a word for your year isn’t just a fad. You see, at first I thought it was a bit silly. But the more I think about it, the more I think it gives us focus.
Do you have a word for 2021?
I recently read a book called Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. Shonda Rhimes is the brilliant writer behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and other brilliant TV Shows that we love to binge wat h. If you haven’t read the book, I recommend it! Click here to grab your own copy. I loved the audio book because Shonda Rhimes is reading it. I love her voice. There is nothing better than an author telling their own true story.
In this book Shonda Rhimes shares how she learned to Stand in the Sun and while giving a commencement speech at Dartmouth she motivates the college graduates to always be their true self!
For her, this meant learning to say YES to hard stuff. She made a promise to herself that she would say yes to every opportunity that felt scary, uncomfortable, or difficult. She kept her promise and lived to tell all about it!
Her word was YES!
This got me thinking.
Some of us need to learn how to say yes, but others need to learn to say no, and others just need to learn to be still and trust.
Saying Yes
What is it that you need to say yes to? Is there something hard that you keep thinking about? Do you want to try to run a marathon? Do you want to write a book? Do you want to try going to church? Maybe for you, you need to contact on old friend or family member that you’ve lost touch with. Each and every one of us has something that we need to say yes about.
So what is it? What is it that you need to say yes to?
Saying No
I have a friend that never says no to anyone. Well…she’s getting a little better at it, but she used to really suck at saying no. I think she didn’t want to let anyone down. But what happened was just that. She would say yes, then at the last minute, she’d “forget” about whatever that thing was. You see, in this situation I’d rather just hear the NO and move on.
I think so often we take on so much. We over commit ourselves. We try to be everything for everyone. We try to be the best mom, the best teacher, the best wife. We make perfect meals, and have the laundry done, and volunteer, and work fulltime, and have the perfect house… and the list goes on.
But at some point…We need to say NO.
Maybe you need to say to some of the activities you are committed to. Maybe it runs deeper, more personal and you need to say NO to negative self-talk, gossip, unhealthy relationships, or even late night eating (GUILTY!).
Maybe you take on too many projects and are feeling overwhelmed. Are you a workaholic that desires to spend more time at home? Do you have trouble telling people no? Just do it…say NO!
What is your NO?
Just Be Still
You know there are times, when you just need to be still! Sure there are things that I need to say yes to and things that I need to say no to. But what I really need, is to JUST BE STILL.
I’M NOT SAYING DO NOTHING!
Being still is something. It is not easy, especially if you are a doer. Being Still takes patience. It takes faith. It can feel like you are doing nothing. It’s a time of reflection and hope.
I am saying just what Shonda Rhimes said in her speech to Dartmouth. Be True to YOU!
What do you need to do, to really be true to you?
Don’t push yourself until you are overwhelmed and have nothing left to give. Don’t under estimate yourself either. You can do hard things! You can do what you never thought that you could do. But you are not God! You are not perfect! You can’t be everything to everyone! Like Shonda Rhimes maybe you need a Year of Yes! On the other hand, maybe you need to have the courage to say no. Or maybe you need a year to BE STILL and reflect, pray, have faith, and trust.
So…as you enter 2021, what will it be? Did you choose a word for your year? Did you have a New Year’s Resolution? Will it be your Year of YES? Your Year of NO? Or do you need to BE STILL?