Trust Your Gut

I love to be able to say yes, help people, positively position Sterling Bank and solve problems. I always have more on my plate each week than most reasonable people would undertake in a month.  I finally reached my limit last week.  I was asked to be a fill-in panelist for a national conference.  My heart and mind said, "yes" because I love making presentations, knew it would be great publicity for Sterling, and would have enjoyed reconnecting with former colleagues.  I had lovely encouragement from Edgar to participate.  But my gut said, "no", because I already had an overflowing agenda, the topic would have required hours of preparation, and the travel time wasn't insignificant. Though I agonized over my answer, as soon as I decided to say no and delivered the message, I instantly knew that I'd made the right decision. My stress level decreased and I was able to successfully address several important priorities.  And, I didn't burn a bridge, as the conference organizer indicated an interest in having me for a future event. 

As this example indicates, when we make the right decision, for the right reasons, we aren't necessarily eliminating future opportunities to say yes.