Doing more, less.

Just say no.

I love the New Year, not New Year’s Eve you understand (that’s another post), but January 1. There’s something theraputic about it. Calming & exciting. All in one awesome new package.

2013 was an amazing year, a year of firsts as well as a year of professional & personal growth — the shot above was from my first skydive. An eye (and mind) opening experience if ever there was one.

[*]Roughly the same altitude the Captain allows you to take your seatbelt off on a commercial flight.

Trust me, if you want to remind yourself (for whatever reason) life is for living, jump out of a perfectly good aircraft… perspective unlocked!

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
― Oscar Wilde

2013 was pretty epic, after what seemed like a running streak of $*** in 2012 with a loss in the family hitting me particularly hard.

I was pretty selfish last year, not that I chose to not do things for others, I probably did more for others than I ever have, but more that if I didn’t want to do something; I didn’t.

I refused to feel obliged.

If that is seen as a good thing or a bad thing I am not sure but I certainly enjoyed myself more than I have in a long time. I savoured everything I did, be that taking my parents for lunch or watching my nephew play football on the weekend. In. The. Freezing. Cold.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself selfish but I certainly asked myself: Do I REALLY want to do this?

If the answer is anything other than a firm YES; I’ll say no.

Now that isn’t to say I enjoyed myself less or was any less present before I started applying my magic ‘formula’ but I felt more positive about having consciously asked myself the question in the first place, rather than the knee-jerk yes I had become accustomed to. It was a small affirmation that that’s how I wanted to spend my time, at that moment.

If 2012 taught me anything it’s that time is precious.

“Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.” — Laozi

Here’s to saying ‘no’ more.