The disease to please is a real thing. Many of us put other people’s needs before our own. Underpinning this behaviour is often the fear of being irrelevant or not being good enough, so daily we pretzel ourselves into what others need us to be, which can lead to over-whelm and over-extension. Saying ‘yes’ to more stuff doesn’t mean you get to the destination quicker; the opposite is more likely to be true.

My learnings:

• 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 and learn to articulate them so they are overt, not covert.
• 𝗕𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁; don’t be the one to set the precedent that it’s OK to trample over your boundaries.
• 𝗝𝗢𝗠𝗢 - (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁); you don’t have to be involved in everything. Be discerning.
• 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.
• 𝗡𝗢 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻; 𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 with a different magnitude of commitment. If I am saying YES to this, what am I saying NO to?
• 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝗲-𝗷𝗲𝗿𝗸 ‘𝘆𝗲𝘀’ 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. There is power in the pause.
• 𝗔 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗸. Placing others’ priorities above your own has yet to be found in a job description.

What is the impact of being careless with your focus and energy?

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