I recently heard someone say that when making a decision, unless your gut reaction is a “Hell yeah!” then it is a no. Many people are trying to decide what activities and commitments they want to re-engage as the pandemic restrictions are lifted. In some respects, sheltering in place for such a long period forced us to ask some hard questions: do we really miss certain activities, or did we fall into a habit of going with the flow?

For some people (like me), it can be hard to know what you really want to do and what you do not. Much of the time, it is a default to defer to others’ desires. Women struggle with this in particular. When we defer to others’ wishes without thinking through whether or not we really want to do something, we set ourselves up for resentment and complaining - a real fun-suck.

I’m working to figure out what I want to do and what I don’t. This means I have to listen to myself, which entails getting still enough to pay attention to what my gut is saying. The next step of growth will be saying no when I don’t want to do something without apologies or excuses. For now, listening for my gut to say “Hell yeah!” is enough.

Photo courtesy of Kuhlens Photography