A
re you one of those busy people who can always be counted
on to take on an additional job? You’ll not only serve on
the volunteer board, you’ll chair it, take the meeting notes,
edit the newsletter, and head up the recruitment subcommittee.
“I just don’t know how you do it all,” folks tell you.
Do you? Do you know why you do? And have you considered
how much that extra work is costing you?
“I just don’t have your energy,” folks tell you, or “I can’t ever seem
to find the time”—right before they ask you to take on another job.
“We can always count on you!” they gush when you say “yes.”
Your willingness to serve speaks well for you. You help because
you believe in the cause and because you want to make your fam-
ily, your workplace, and your community better places. You’re
a helper, a problem solver, a doer. You’re community-minded, a
team player, in sports parlance the “go-to person.”
But you may be doing more than you should—for your own
physical and mental health, for the well-being of your loved ones,
and for your ability to be effective and efficient. To find out, exam-
ine your motives—all of them—for saying “yes” to each task.
Why We May Have Trouble Saying “No”
- Looking for love in all the right causes. You do indeed
earn the gratitude and approval of your peers when you
shoulder their burdens. The need for their approval and
acceptance may in part be the reason you say “yes.”