I’m A Can Do Spirit In A Get It Done Body

One of the reasons I went into business for myself was because I grew tired of being a Yes Man. Or in my case, a Yes Ma'am. That's right, I had a female boss at my last job and it was sexy! Her ordering me around and reprimanding me was hot! But I won't get into all of that because you'll think I have a thing for cougars, or MILFs, or dominatrices - none of which is true. Although office sex is a dirty fantasy of almost everyone and having my hands and wrists tied together with my own necktie is kind of fun, but I digress. Anyway, the point is I didn't want to kiss ass anymore (I'm resisting the urge to make a sexual joke here). I wanted to bark out the demands. I wanted to call the shots. I wanted to take control. I'm a good leader. Some would say a natural born leader. The only problem, lately I find myself saying yes too much.

Jim Carrey was recently in a movie called "Yes Man." I haven't seen the movie, but I understand the plot is about a guy that challenges himself to say "yes" to everything for an entire year. I imagine this didn't work out so well. I can say that with much confidence because I'm living the screenplay. It's not that I'm saying yes to everything on purpose or I'm some type of pushover that lacks a backbone to stand up and say no. It's just that I have a tendency to take on more than I have time for, and as much as I hate to admit, more than I can handle all at once. I keep saying yes to people, yes to more work clients, and yes to extra side projects because I don't want to pass up opportunities that may help further my personal life or my professional career. Of course when you spread yourself too thin, it leads to sleepless nights. And in my case, the return of panic attacks as well.

Experts will tell you that when you say no to someone, you're essentially saying yes to yourself. That may sound a little selfish, but it's necessary you do so in life. Besides, in a way I'm being selfish by saying yes to everyone and everything all the time because I am not able to give anyone or anything 100% of me. In fact, what I've been giving lately is 25% at best. Take my playwright project for example. Not only was I unable to attend the readings the other night due to a prior commitment, but my manuscript was only 3 minutes in length! I can write better than that, but yet I didn't because I simply didn't have the time. I'm overwhelmed with work and with life in general. While I'm putting so much unrealistic pressure on myself to do everything, the reality is I'm accomplishing very little in the process. And at times I feel as if I've accomplished nothing!

I've spread myself too thin and it's time to reprioritize my life. So I'm afraid one of the first things I may need to cut out of my life is the playwright project. I haven't done so yet because I hate to let the rest of the writers involved down, especially when it just began and I haven't given it a fair shot. But at the same time, I don't think it's fair for me to be part of the group if I can't contribute as much as everyone else is putting in. This is a decision I'll be contemplating in the coming weeks ahead.

I'm still a can do spirit in a get it done body, but I'm not some comic book super hero that can do it all. So why do I hold myself to that standard? It's time to stop that and realize I'm human. Realize I'm not a robot that can go, go, go! I need some downtime. I need to unwind and unplug. I need to relax. I need a massage!

I need to learn to say no quickly and politely. I need to delegate some of the work. I need to hire an assistant (perferably a hot one, just saying). I need to learn to ask for help when I need it. And above all, reward myself everyday with a little David time, at least 15 minutes of pampering. The only problem now, finding 15 minutes of spare time to do that.