Learning to say No

I'm a people pleaser.  Seriously.  I walk through life looking for ways to make people smile.

Sometimes that means I look like a fool.  Sometimes it means I do something extremely awkward.  A lot of times it means I put myself on the back burner or play the role of doormat.  Oh, have you seen that one?  No mo'!

Lately I've been practicing ways to say no.  See, it seems like this really easy task, but when you get right down to it, it's not.
I mean, it may slip right out of your mouth easily (I applaude you), but when I go to form the word "no" in my mouth...it comes out more like "nnnnnnyessssss."  Not working for me.

There are nice ways to say no:
"No thank you."  "No thanks."  "I'm not really interested."  "Not right now, maybe next time."  "I'm not available."  "Sorry, I'm busy right now."
Unfortunately a lot of people don't realize you're actually saying no when you say those things.  They actually interpret you as saying, "I really don't want to, but see, you're just so much more important to me than I am that I'm going to do whatever you want so that you are happy.  Forget me."

Yeah, see, that just isn't working for me anymore.  When I say "no" nicely, I actually really mean no.  I know, I know...hard to believe!

So, sometimes, you have to break out the not so nice way to say no:
"No." "Nope." "Nah."  "Negative."  "Not happening."  "Never!"  "Not in this lifetime."
(I've actually never said any of those to anyone in real life, but in my head I've said it lots of times.)

Don't get me wrong, I love volunteering and participating and spending and you get the picture.  I've just recently realized that at times my calendar is overwhelmingly full and its because I'm afraid to say no to certain things!  I need to distinguish between what is good and what is great.  Catch my drift?

Sweater: GAP outlet, Top: Old Navy (old), Jeans: Goodwill, Shoes: Goody's (old), Jewels: Stella & Dot and Lila's Trunk and eBay

So, moral of the story is, next time you want to say no and you're really not sure how...think of this post.  I hope it has provided you some helpful, insight in how to keep peoples' muddy footprints off your face and provide yourself a little TLC.

Being the Yes (Wo)Man gets you great street cred, but makes your life a tad bit too self-less.  Amen?

Do you have a hard time saying no?

P.S. I got bangs.  What do you think?

Tales from the Teacher's Lounge

Tales from the Teacher's Lounge

So, I don't have an anecdotal story about teaching today.

Some weeks just aren't as amusing as others.

However, I do have bragging rights.

You see, I teach students who struggle in a lot of different ways:

academically, socially, financially, etc.

And this past week, the day after Thanksgiving, I gave my students a test.

It is a test we give four times a year to assess their progress in reading.

MY students grew.  67% of them grew.

So Friday we had a mini-party to celebrate.

I'm talking dancing on tables with Gangnam style and shining bright like diamonds.

Source: 24.media.tumblr.com via Deborah on Pinterest

We rock.

That is all.

Co-spiration Week #1

I'm no stranger to letting myself down on the health and fitness front from time to time as you may have read in this post here.  So I thought it would be beneficial (at least to me if not some of you) to get together with other women via Blogland every Sunday and inspire each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  A blend of collaboration and inspiration to equate co-spiration.

Source: preventionactivitytester.com via Camille on Pinterest

Yesterday I ran a 5k and if I'm being honest, I'm truly surprised I finished in under 30 minutes.  Typically I run a 5k in 28 minutes, but my time was a little slower due to my busy schedule lazy butt the past few months.  I'm glad I did it; even more glad I finished.  And it was a great way to get the ball rolling as far as my running goes....again.

My goals for this week are to:

• Lift 4 out of 5 days after school
• Run at least 3 times
• Work on some sewing projects for my upcoming craft fairs
• Provide myself 30 minutes each morning for quiet time

Source: mobypicture.com via becca on Pinterest