“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” Josh Billings
Recently I have had an amazing opportunity pretty much fall into my lap and when the door of opportunity opens, you should jump through before it swings shut again right? Well, no. In my case it was more tentatively shuffling through with my hands over my eyes, not convinced it was the right thing at all.
I gained some clarity today whilst talking it through with my teacher and mentor Shamash Alidina. "Saying no to something", he wisely told me, "is saying yes to something else. If you don't take this one, other opportunities will come".
Of course it can be scary turning down a surefire thing (especially financially) but I had momentarily lost sight of one of the Dalai Lama's 18 rules for living, the 3 R's.
Respect of self. Respect for others. Responsibility for all your actions.
As grateful as I am for this opportunity, and no matter how many people tell me I am lucky and should go for it, I know in my heart it is not the right thing for me.
So, I am honouring myself, and all involved in saying no and I trust that there will be other, exciting things ahead if I remain open and true to myself.
If find yourself in a similar situation trust your instincts, they won't guide you wrong.
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