You’re trying. Hard.
You get busy. It happens.
Before you can think, you go from doing one thing to another, to another. Until you’re spinning plates on sticks like that guy on the Ed Sullivan Show.
You can’t breathe. Your chest hurts. You think, “Am I having a heart attack? Maybe I should see a doctor.” Then you remember that you’re a Creative. You likely don’t have health insurance. So you decide to wait. “If I really have a heart attack, then I’ll go see a doctor.”
You try everything to help with the anxiety and stress. Yoga. Meditation. Weed. (It’s cool in Calífas.) You order melatonin drops. A salt lamp. You go Keto, maybe even Vegetarian. But not Vegan. You don’t wanna go that far.
You’re in the thick of it and don’t even know what “It” is. You just know that you have to keep going or everything will fall apart.
The problem is, and a big part of you already knows this, things have already started to fall apart.
It started when you said “Yes” to too many things.
- Your church groups need snacks. YES!
- Your friend needs your sheets for their aerial practice. YES!
- You need to prepare for your audition, but your acting class buddies need help with theirs. YES! YES! I really shouldn’t but, YES!
Saying “Yes” is not a bad thing. Saying “Yes” to too many things is when it gets hairier than Mr’s Bigfoots’ legs before bikini season.
This is when you get to make a choice. Before you feel that pull to say Yes the next time someone comes to you with their priorities.
Step back, put on your Locs, take a deep breath and say ¡Chale!
Taking a step back and realizing you don’t have to say Yes to everything, will free you. Not just your time, but your sanity güey.
You’ll breathe easier. You’ll enjoy Life more. And shockingly, you’ll even enjoy serving yourself and others.
Because when you say ¡Chale!, you prioritize what is truly important. All the other stuff is fluff and smoke. It will get figured out. It will get done. Maybe not by you and maybe not in the way you would’ve done it. But it will get done.
It’s really hard, as a Creative, to say ¡Chale! to a gig, or a friend, or a paycheck. We say Yes to a lot. We want to work. But saying Yes to too much might take you away from what will truly challenge you, and fill your heart like a warm burrito with perfectly salted chips on the side.
Find your purpose. Take time to help others. But remember it’s okay to say ¡Chale!
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