Saying no is hard.
At one point in my early 40s, I was helping three renegade nuns found a small private middle school, serving on the parish council of my church, and teaching Sunday school to sixth-graders, as well as being in charge of a den in my son’s Cub Scout Pack. These were all good causes, but my wife and I were also struggling to keep two businesses afloat—a bed-and-breakfast and a bookstore—while raising and homeschooling our children.
That was the crazy year I finally learned how to say “No,” not just to others, but to myself as well. With the exception of being a Scout den leader, I had volunteered for those other tasks. Carried away by enthusiasm, I quickly found myself in an all-out sprint with the finish line nowhere in sight….