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Rachel Shubin's avatar

"Never say yes automatically" - this reminds me of Brene Brown's method of spinning her spinner ring (that she calls her boundaries ring) three times when someone asks her to do something so she has time to remind herself to "choose discomfort over resentment."

Both quotes prioritize only saying yes to the things that won't make you feel crazy or make you regret them later. You're building something. You're building for yourself a life of peace.

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Carol Szymanski's avatar

I love her advice: go for walks. Read somewhere that we’re built for 12 miles a day. She actually suggests this twice: take hikes. Walking is powerful. Cheryl strayed walked the pacific trail and kicked her heroin habit in the process. I would add to this something that has had a big effect on my mental health: take long drives. When I am home stewing in indecision and chewing on a problem I need resolved, no solutions come to mind. But if I leave the house and drive 45 minutes and more, the solutions find me. I have had so many aha moments while driving that it is my go to. Partly it is a much needed change of scenery but I am convinced other magic I cannot identify is going on.

I agree with the don’t say yes idea in principle but I also believe that doing hard things or kind things we don’t want to do is sometimes the best thing even for ourselves.

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