Every ‘Yes’ You Say Is a ‘No’ to Something Else
Why it’s so hard for us to understand this
It is with some pride that I can think of some “big” things I have passed on doing.
Tickets to the Super Bowl.
A trip to Necker Island.
More than a few different book deals.
I’m not proud because I think I am better than those things, it was just that I had better things to do with that time, at that time. Sometimes it was family, sometimes it was cooler work opportunities, sometimes it was just because I was exhausted and I needed to rest.
Just because you’re offered something that might be good for your career, that would definitely feel good to your ego, that most people would have said yes to, doesn’t mean you have to listen to your ego and accept the offer. You can say NO.
It’s easy to forget that, especially with peer pressure and FOMO, but it’s true.
There’s a great quote from Nassim Taleb: “You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept.”
I didn’t need it. I had competing interests. I could say “No,” so I did.
That’s a rich feeling, that’s only tangentially related to money.
