The more we put ourselves out into the world, the more people come to know us by the value we add—and the more they begin to depend on us. This is beautiful…until it isn’t. Because over time, the value we add and the strengths we command become commodities people want more and more of. Eventually, we’re faced with a flood of requests: friends needing support, family projects that need a helpful hand, community support requests, work opportunities, and so much more. For many of us, our hearts want to say yes to all of these things, but everything we say yes to means we’re saying no to everything else.

In this episode, I offer a perspective and tools to navigate this tension between wanting to give and needing to protect our capacity. Because hey, we’ve all been there. The month I said yes to too many things and eroded my margins landed me in bed with migraines, a cancelled videographer session, and a good, hard look at the greater contribution I had sacrificed by saying yes to so many small ones.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why every yes is also a no—and every no is a yes to something else, though we often don’t see it in the moment
• How leaning into this concept makes saying no much easier
• The concept of a high-quality no
• Using values, Regenerative Design, and priority thinking to help differentiate your yeses from your no’s
• Examples of the areas my students struggle with the most, and the payoff they experience when they start to use this thinking

We also dive into the truth that saying no with love, clarity, and strength doesn’t create rejection—it creates relief, respect, and space. A “high-quality no” (as Eckhart Tolle would call it) is contagious in the best way: it shows others what’s possible when we live in alignment with our commitments to ourselves.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be challenged to ask yourself: Every time I say no, what yes am I creating space for? It might just be more joy, more peace, and more energy to make your own ideas for how the world can be a better place, real.

Mentioned in this episode: Eckhart Tolle

How to connect with Marie:

• On the Web | The Local Bloom
• Instagram: @the.bloom.coach
• All Things Marie on LinkTree

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