Give Yes a Rest

Topic for this blog…the extremely powerful word “NO”

I have always been kind of selfish. By that, I mean that I try to have my first filter to be “is this good for me?” rather than “Is this good for someone else?” It turned out that being charitable and giving time to various causes WAS good for me and I enjoyed it. But things change when you retire. The things you use to say yes to…because they might be good for your career or for the networking involved…might keep you from exploring things you would really like to try in your retirement.

Here is what I know for sure. If you allow it to happen, people will continually put their work onto your retired shoulders. If you accept the burden you will put yourself in a position of having to put off or adjust travel plans, put off learning opportunities and just plain busy up your life so you really can not fully enjoy a true retirement.

Secondly, give someone else a chance at those juicy board assignments. You’ve been there and done that. Let someone else take your place and learn from the experience. Quit hogging up the good spots. You may think no one else can do that job…but I promise you that they can. Give the gift of opportunity.

Saying YES makes you feel important. It makes you feel needed. It is what you are use to doing. I’m here to say…give Yes a Rest. Try saying No for the first couple of years of your retirement. The more you say it, the better your life will be.

If you feel yourself getting dangerously close to saying yes to a board position or a charitable task, drop me an email at djhzz@aol.com BEFORE you accepts. I will do all I can to talk you out of it, unless I am taking a nap at the time.

 

Aloha,

Don Hurzeler