Latest / Overwhelmed Working Woman: Boost Productivity, Master Time Management, Overcome Overwhelm & Stop People Pleasing / #248| One No Can Change Your Week
Transcript
- 0:00Michelle Gauthier: Say no to one thing.
- 0:01Michelle Gauthier: That's it.
- 0:02Michelle Gauthier: That's the whole episode.
- 0:03Michelle Gauthier: You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less.
- 0:15Michelle Gauthier: I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach.
- 0:20Michelle Gauthier: On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's Working Woman experiences.
- 0:25Michelle Gauthier: And in each episode, you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease, and relaxation to your life.
- 0:33Michelle Gauthier: Hi, friend, welcome back.
- 0:37Michelle Gauthier: I want to talk to you about something that feels really relevant right now because if you're anything like me or the women I work with, May has arrived and it has arrived with a lot.
- 0:46Michelle Gauthier: Last year I think I did a whole episode on how May is the new December because it is just tends to be so busy, especially if you're a parent, end of your school events, sports seasons are in full swing, family things popping up, graduations, work deadlines that don't care what else you have going on.
- 1:04Michelle Gauthier: And somehow on top of it, there's this quiet expectation, maybe from others, maybe from yourself, that you will just handle it all.
- 1:11Michelle Gauthier: And you probably will, because that's what you do, right?
- 1:14Michelle Gauthier: But here's what I want to offer you today.
- 1:16Michelle Gauthier: Not a totally new system or a productivity hack.
- 1:20Michelle Gauthier: Just one small, probably uncomfortable, surprisingly powerful thing you can do this week to start feeling less like you're white knuckling your way through the month of May.
- 1:29Michelle Gauthier: And that is to say no to one thing.
- 1:31Michelle Gauthier: That's it.
- 1:32Michelle Gauthier: That's the whole episode.
- 1:33Michelle Gauthier: By the end of the episode today, you'll learn how to notice the automatic pull to say yes before you act on it.
- 1:40Michelle Gauthier: That's the key before you act on it.
- 1:42Michelle Gauthier: Why no is way more powerful than you might think.
- 1:44Michelle Gauthier: And what to do when saying no feels uncomfortable, because it will.
- 1:47Michelle Gauthier: It just does, especially right at first.
- 1:50Michelle Gauthier: Okay, let's jump in.
- 1:52Michelle Gauthier: Before you can say no, you have to catch yourself when you're about to say yes, either out of habit or just against your own will.
- 1:59Michelle Gauthier: So this week I want you to pay attention to that moment when someone asks something of you, or even if they don't, and you're just about to volunteer to add one more thing to your already full plate and you feel that automatic pull to agree, you don't have to fight it yet.
- 2:12Michelle Gauthier: Just notice it.
- 2:13Michelle Gauthier: Awareness is the first win.
- 2:15Michelle Gauthier: And honestly, for a lot of us, that's a win that we've never even tried to get.
- 2:19Michelle Gauthier: So just noticing and pausing before you say yes.
- 2:23Michelle Gauthier: So here's what I mean.
- 2:24Michelle Gauthier: May is a perfect example.
- 2:25Michelle Gauthier: There's a hundred things pulling you right now.
- 2:27Michelle Gauthier: And your default is probably to say yes.
- 2:30Michelle Gauthier: Yes, I'll handle it.
- 2:31Michelle Gauthier: Yes, I'll be there.
- 2:32Michelle Gauthier: Yes, we can bring the cookies, yes, I'll figure it out.
- 2:35Michelle Gauthier: And just noticing that pattern without judging it is really step one.
- 2:39Michelle Gauthier: And if that is the progress that you make for this week, just noticing that pattern and noticing that you say yes a lot when you don't want to, we're gonna count that as your win.
- 2:48Michelle Gauthier: If you want to take it one step further, I challenge you to say no to something.
- 2:55Michelle Gauthier: It can be anything.
- 2:56Michelle Gauthier: And like any new skill, the more you practice it, the easier it gets.
- 3:00Michelle Gauthier: But you have to start somewhere.
- 3:02Michelle Gauthier: So one no this week isn't about changing your whole life.
- 3:05Michelle Gauthier: It's just one rep, a practice run.
- 3:07Michelle Gauthier: You're just building the muscle to say no.
- 3:10Michelle Gauthier: And I talk a lot in this podcast about doing B minus work on purpose, choosing where to give your full effort and where good enough is genuinely good enough.
- 3:18Michelle Gauthier: And saying no works the same way.
- 3:20Michelle Gauthier: You're not abandoning all your responsibilities, you're just getting intentional about which ones you're actually yours to carry.
- 3:26Michelle Gauthier: Just one no this week.
- 3:29Michelle Gauthier: That is the rep.
- 3:30Michelle Gauthier: Okay.
- 3:30Michelle Gauthier: Just try to get that one no.
- 3:32Michelle Gauthier: And I want to be honest with you about how this is probably gonna feel.
- 3:36Michelle Gauthier: The reason why people don't say no is because they want other people to like them.
- 3:40Michelle Gauthier: They don't want anyone to be disappointed with them.
- 3:42Michelle Gauthier: And it comes down to they don't want to feel uncomfortable because saying no will feel uncomfortable, especially the first time.
- 3:50Michelle Gauthier: It might feel kind of awful.
- 3:51Michelle Gauthier: You might feel guilty, you might second guess yourself, you might spend 10 minutes after wondering if you made the right call.
- 3:57Michelle Gauthier: That is totally normal.
- 3:59Michelle Gauthier: And that is because you have just stepped outside of an old pattern that you've been in for quite some time.
- 4:04Michelle Gauthier: So I just want you to notice that discomfort and notice also that you survived it and you did it and you said no.
- 4:11Michelle Gauthier: Because on the other side of that uncomfortable moment is something that is really important.
- 4:16Michelle Gauthier: And that is proof that you can do it, proof that you can say no.
- 4:20Michelle Gauthier: You don't have to say, oh, I'm just not a person who can say no anymore, because you'll have your one rep of saying no.
- 4:25Michelle Gauthier: You're not going to overhaul your life.
- 4:27Michelle Gauthier: You're just taking this one step.
- 4:29Michelle Gauthier: So let's just think right now for you and think of something small if saying no to something big feels like too much.
- 4:36Michelle Gauthier: Think of a small place where you can say no.
- 4:38Michelle Gauthier: Is it something at work?
- 4:40Michelle Gauthier: Is it something where you can say no to your kids?
- 4:43Michelle Gauthier: Is it a volunteer job that you always do that you're just not gonna do this week?
- 4:48Michelle Gauthier: Really brainstorm about something that you don't want to do and practice saying that one no.
- 4:53Michelle Gauthier: If this resonated with you, please share it with another woman in your life who needs permission to say no this week.
- 4:59Michelle Gauthier: And if you're ready to go deeper to really understand why saying no feels so hard and how to make it feel easier and how to start doing it as your default, I'd love to talk to you.
- 5:10Michelle Gauthier: Book a free hour with me to learn about coaching.
- 5:14Michelle Gauthier: As always, the link for that is in the show notes.
- 5:17Michelle Gauthier: Okay, I can't wait to hear what you say no about.
- 5:20Michelle Gauthier: Have a great week.
- 5:21Michelle Gauthier: Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast.
- 5:28Michelle Gauthier: If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at MichelleGauthier.com.
- 5:34Michelle Gauthier: See you next week.